投稿類別:英文寫作類

篇名: THE ATTRACTION OF THE TAIWANESE IN NIGHT MARKETS

王思方。私立中山工商。綜二 1 班 王舒嫺。私立中山工商。綜二 1 班 蔡秀敏。私立中山工商。綜二 1 班

指導老師： 劉美華老師

The Attraction of the Taiwanese Snacks in Night Markets

I. Introduction

A. Motivation

In , the most special landmark is the . There are many famous night markets throughout Taiwan. Starting from every evening, the night markets are always crowded with people. Furthermore, the Taiwanese snacks in night markets have played important roles in ’s lives. There are many unique Taiwanese snacks in night markets that you can’t find in any other countries around the world.

Every time when we go to night markets, we can see lots of vendors selling Taiwanese snacks, and there are many teenagers purchasing them. As we can see there are all sorts of snacks sold in night markets, and they are so popular with teenagers. So we want to carry out a study to investigate the attraction of the Taiwanese snacks in night markets.

B. Research Questions

The present study was designed to address the following research questions: 1. What are the teenagers’ responses to the Taiwanese snacks in night markets? 2. What are the teenagers’ perspectives on the attraction of Taiwanese snacks in night markets?

C. Methodology

The subjects were 350 students, ranging in age from 15 to 18, in Chung Shan Industrial and Commercial Vocational School in . Concerning the subjects’ frequencies of visiting , 49% of the students seldom went to night markets; 41% of them went to night markets once in a while, and only 10% of them went to night markets frequently. On average, 66% of them went to night markets 0 to 2 times per month and 26% of them went to night markets 3 to 5 times per month.

One questionnaire containing two parts was designed as the instrument of the study. In the study, 350 questionnaires were delivered to the subjects and 80% were valid. The first part of the questionnaire aimed to investigate the subjects’ background information for visiting night markets in Taiwan. The second part of the questionnaire

1 The Attraction of the Taiwanese Snacks in Night Markets consisted of seven items. Item 1 to 4 were designed to answer the first research question to investigate the teenagers’ responses to the Taiwanese snacks in night markets; Item 5 to 7 targeted on the second research question to explore the teenagers’ perspectives on the attraction of Taiwanese snacks in night markets.

As for the study procedure, first we designed a questionnaire with our teacher to gather applicable information to the research, and delivered 350 questionnaires to eight classes of students in Chung Shan Industrial and Commercial Vocational School. Second, we collected and classified the data from the questionnaires. Third, we analyzed the statistical results of the data and made a conclusion to the study.

II. Thesis

This section contains two subsections to present relevant information to the current study. The first subsection offers a review of literature related to the study, and the second subsection illustrates the statistical results gathered from the questionnaire.

A. Literature Review

1. The Origin of the Night Markets

The first night market in Taiwan was located in the old city center such as the first night market in Tataocheng. The food vendor of the city gathered together to form the night market gradually. Today at the edge of metropolitan areas and rural areas the night market was getting popular after the traffic was well developed at the late 1970s ( , 2011).

The night market in Taiwan also plays a special role in Taiwanese society, and this phenomenon is caused by the economic situations. The shortage of labors was the main reason to the bad economic development in the earlier Taiwanese society. The vendors in the night markets could provide a better income than a normal work, which was the reason why the night markets in Taiwan have mushroomed (Guo, Hu, Ma & Wang, 2011).

Nowadays many teenagers will choose the night market as a place of union and it’s a good place to gather around. There are many activities to do in the night market, and the most eye-catching vendors are the snacks vendor. Taiwanese snacks in the night markets are innovative and distinctive in comparison to other food. Additionally,

2 The Attraction of the Taiwanese Snacks in Night Markets different night markets have their own local flavors; most of all, they are in an affordable price for teenagers.

2. Popular Night Markets in Taiwan

a. Shilin Night Market

In the beginning, Shilin Night Market was well-known for its snacks and vendors, even until today they are also the main reasons. The snacks in Shilin deserve a good reputation because of its local flavors and they are only available in Shilin. Most of all, Shilin Night Market is regarded as a popular tourist spot for European and American gluttons. The specialties are listed as below: oyster omelet, wrapped biscuits, stir-fried cuttlefish, shaved ice, fried chicken, , fried buns, and spare ribs stewed in herbal soup (Shilin Night Market, 2011).

b.

Being an age-old night market located in Kaohsiung, Liuhe Night Market is famous for its various choices of food and its local dishes, which attract many tourists from different countries. Furthermore, Liuhe Night Market has got an award from the tourist bureau as the most charming night market in Taiwan. The specialties are listed as below: seafood, cold , ice cream, papaya milk, roast sandwich, oyster omelet, eel noodles, sesame oil kidneys, and rice ball soup (Liuhe Night Market, 2011).

c. Fenguia Night Market

Taichung, the “university city” is where Fenguia Night Market located. Thanks to its good location, near the Fenguia University, the night market is always popular with students. Not only delicious snacks but also cheap clothing appeals to various ages of people. Fenguia Night Market has got an award from the tourist bureau as the most tasty night market in Taiwan. The specialties are listed as below: teppanyaki, bag small intestine, cheese potato, crêpe, and fried bread (Fenguia Night Market, 2011).

B. Results and Discussion

This section focuses on presenting statistical results of the questionnaire. The results of the study are discussed in two parts: (a) the teenagers’ responses to the Taiwanese snacks in night markets, and (b) the teenagers’ perspectives on the

3 The Attraction of the Taiwanese Snacks in Night Markets attraction of the Taiwanese snacks in night markets.

1. The Teenagers’ Responses to the Taiwanese Snacks in Night Markets

This section includes Item 1 to 4 in the second part of the questionnaire, shown in Figure 1 to 4, to explore the teenagers’ responses to the Taiwanese snacks in night markets. Except Item 4, all of the items in this section were single answer questions.

140 120 100 80 數列1 60 40 20 0 satisfied neutral unsatisfied

Figure 1.Item 1 (Do you feel satisfied with the price of the Taiwanese snacks in night markets?)

As shown in Figure 1, 124 out of 250 (50%) teenagers held neutral opinions to the price of the Taiwanese snacks in night markets; 106 out of 250 (42%) teenagers were satisfied with the price, and only 20 out of 250 (8%) teenagers were unsatisfied with it. It can be inferred that most of the students didn’t have any thoughts about the price. It seems that the snacks in night markets were at an affordable price, which is the reason why more teenagers were satisfied with the price than those unsatisfied.

250

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150 數列1 100

50

0 yes neutral no

Figure 2. Item 2 (Will you go to night markets for the purpose of buying your favorite Taiwanese snacks?)

4 The Attraction of the Taiwanese Snacks in Night Markets

As demonstrated in Figure 2, 195 out of 250 (78%) students would go to night markets so as to buy their favorite Taiwanese snacks. The results show that most of the students would rather go to night markets to buy their favorite snacks. It is possible that the Taiwanese snacks are the most distinctive features in night markets and that’s why most students would go to night markets for their favorite Taiwanese snacks.

200

150

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50

0 yes no

Figure 3. Item 3 (Do you like the Taiwanese snacks in night markets?)

According to Figure 3, 176 out of 250 (70%) students preferred the night market snacks, while 74 out of 250 (30%) students didn’t like them. Accordingly, most of the students enjoyed the Taiwanese night market snacks. It can be inferred that many of the Taiwanese snacks were special and innovative in flavor, which was the reason why many students wanted to go and have a try (Lin, 2012).

120

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0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

Figure 4. Item 4 (What kinds of Taiwanese snacks do you like to have when you go to night markets?)

5 The Attraction of the Taiwanese Snacks in Night Markets

Note. 1=Teppanyaki; 2=Wrapped biscuits; 3=Oyster omelet; 4=Papaya milk; 5= Fried crispy squid; 6=Steam meatball; 7=Coffin; 8=Fried chicken cutlet; 9=Pork intestine thin noodles; 10=Barbecue; 11=Brined chicken; 12=Stinky tofu; 13=Fried salty chicken; 14=Roasted octopus; 15=Lemon

Based on Figure 4, fried salty chicken (50%), barbecue (33%), and fried chicken cutlet (30%) were selected as the top three most popular Taiwanese snacks among teenagers. Just as Zhao (2000) pointed out that fried food was the best way to satisfy children and teenager’s appetite. As for the barbecue, teenagers considered it delicious might be the reason that barbecue provided varieties of sauce to add in, which satisfied their desire for rich flavors.

2. The Teenagers’ Perspectives on the Attraction of the Taiwanese Snacks in Night Markets

This section includes Item 5 to Item 7 in the second part of the questionnaire, presented in Figure 5 to Figure 7, to examine the teenagers’ perspectives on the attraction of the Taiwanese snacks in night markets. Item 5 and 7 are single answer questions, and Item 6 is a multiple choices question.

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0 Iced products Barbecue Teppanyaki Fried food Soup

Figure 5. Item 5 (What kind of Taiwanese snacks are the most attractive to you when you are visiting night markets?)

As presented in Figure 5, the teenagers considered barbecue (39%), iced products (24%) and fried food (20%) were the top three most attractive Taiwanese snacks in night markets. Based on the statistical results, barbecue was the most popular sold in night markets. It can be inferred that the various ingredients and delicious barbecue sauce caught teenagers’ taste.

6 The Attraction of the Taiwanese Snacks in Night Markets

180 160 140 120 100 數列1 80 60 40 20 0 Reasonable Reasonable Friends Catering for Diverse Media quantity price suggestions all tastes flavors advertising

Figure 6. Item 6 (What are the reasons that attract you to buy Taiwanese snacks in night markets?)

When it comes to the attractive reasons for teenagers to buy the Taiwanese snacks in night markets, Figure 6 illustrates that 170 out of 250 (68%) students chose diverse flavors; 130 out of 250 (52%) students chose catering for all tastes, and 125 out of 250 (50%) students chose reasonable price. As a result, various flavors were the most attractive reason for the teenagers to purchase the Taiwanese snacks in night markets. It might be possible that teenagers were tired of eating the same flavor of food again and again, so they preferred to have something innovative to content their desire (Chen, Zeng, & Dai, 2002).

140 120 100 80 數列1 60 40 20 0 Fitting in Good deal Wide Special local flavor varieties flavor

Figure 7. Item 7 (What is the most distinctive feature of the Taiwanese snacks in night markets?)

Concerning the most distinctive feature of the Taiwanese snacks in night markets,

7 The Attraction of the Taiwanese Snacks in Night Markets

Figure 7 shows that 117 out of 250 (47%) students considered the feature of wide varieties to be the uniqueness of night markets; 57 out of 250 (23%) students agreed that it was a good deal to buy the Taiwanese snacks in night markets, and 42 out of 250 (17%) students thought Taiwanese snacks were able to fit in local flavors. Corresponding to the results displayed in Figure 6, teenagers showed great curiosity in diverse choices of flavors and varieties, which have become the representative feature of the Taiwanese snacks in night markets (Cai, 2012; Zhao, 2000).

III. Conclusion

After the analysis of the collected data from the questionnaire, the major findings of the study can be summarized as follows. First, although many teenagers didn’t go to night markets very often, the majority of them would go there because of their favorite snacks. In addition, some teenagers considered that the Taiwanese snacks in the night markets were attractive owing to the feature of diverse flavors, reasonable price, and catering for all tastes. Finally, most of the teenagers agreed that fried food (Lin, Hong & Xu, 2011) and barbecue were the most popular Taiwanese snacks in night markets.

Two suggestions can be taken into consideration for future studies. First and foremost, a survey expanded to the students in other high schools in Kaohsiung can help to apply the study findings to a larger population. Second, an interview directly with night market visitors may provide the chance to gather more detailed and various information relevant to the current study.

IV. References

1. . Retrieved August 13, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fengjia_Night_Market 2. Liuhe Night Market. Retrieved August 13, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liuhe_Night_Market 3. Shilin Night Market. Retrieved August 13, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shilin_Night_Market 4.林欣儀、洪紳語、許曼琳。高雄市夜市之青少年消費行為調查。國立鳳山商工 小論文。民 100 年 10 月 16 日。取自 http://www.shs.edu.tw/works/essay/2011/03/2011033012254659.pdf 5.林宜屏 (民 100 年 2 月)。別處吃不到的宜蘭基隆小吃。食尚玩家，233。

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6.郭明澤、馬炯修、胡家琪、王紫庭。台灣夜市文化。私立明道高中專題。民 100 年 10 月 16 日。取自 http://cs.hccvs.hc.edu.tw/~hsieh/Thesis/present/dp21/9.ppt 7.陳昱安、曾秀玲、戴美珍 (民 91)。淡水小鎮吃喝玩樂-古道輕鬆走。 墨刻出版社。 8.趙強 (民 89 年 5 月 2 日)。青少年膽固醇問題。中央日報，20 版。 9.蔡佳玲 (民 100 年 2 月)。排隊也甘願的大台北小吃。食尚玩家，234。

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