One thing first.
That “tourist market” under Chongxin Bridge is a morning market. Stalls are up before dawn and gone by around noon, selling second-hand goods, old tools and curios. Go at night and you get bridge piers, the levee and wind. Not a single stall. The address is No. 1 Shuhong 16th Road, directly under the bridge; go in the morning, posted hours apply.
Sanchong’s night market is on Zhongyang North Road. Sanhe Night Market. This piece starts there and runs by the clock.
21:00 Sanhe Night Market, Zhongyang North Road
Out of MRT Taipei Bridge, follow Chongxin Road Sec. 1 to the Zhongyang North Road corner, five to ten minutes on foot. Cailiao station works too, ten-odd minutes over from Chongxin Road Sec. 3.
Nine o’clock is peak crowd. Cold cuts, savory porridge, braised pork rice, fried snacks, NT$50-100 a portion, under NT$200 a head. Stalls wind down around midnight, a bit later on weekends; each stall posts its own hours. For an easy walk-through, arrive after ten: queues are half as long and the popular stalls are still open.
How to walk the market and which stretch to hit first is in the local’s guide to Sanhe Night Market; no repeat here.
Parking, one line: lots along Chongxin Road charge NT$20-40 an hour. Do not park in the lanes by the market; towing is diligent.
23:00 The izakaya take over
When the market lights go down, Sanchong’s drinking starts. Two strips.
Chongyang Road Sec. 3. 老串角居酒屋-三重店 is at No. 103, 5,000-plus reviews and a 4.9 rating, the district’s calling card for izakaya. Book on weekends; on weekdays you mostly walk in.
Chongxin Road Sec. 2. 炭伙 居酒屋 at No. 29, 老味噌居酒屋 - 三重店 at No. 46-6, same block, skewers versus grill. For cocktails instead of beer, double back to Lane 15 of Zhongyang North Road: 1997Bar 壹玖酒柒 is at No. 13, 1,300-plus reviews, one of the few proper bars in Sanchong.
NT$400-600 a head. Noticeably cheaper than Datong across the river, one bridge away.
The full roster is in the Sanchong bar and izakaya list.
00:30 Singing
Drunk enough to sing, Sanchong has two big rooms.
摩羯座KTV, No. 6 Zhengyi North Road, 2,700-plus reviews and a 4.6 rating, about ten minutes on foot from Chongyang Road Sec. 3. 好樂迪KTV 新北重陽店, No. 1 Chongyang Road Sec. 1, right by Taipei Bridge, 2,600-plus reviews: chain prices, chain routine, and the small-hours slot is usually the cheapest room rate; the front desk posts the tariff.
Both run till dawn; closing time is whatever is on the door.
To save money, 豪情卡拉OK on Ziqiang Road Sec. 1 is in a basement, 200-odd reviews, old-style karaoke pricing, for people who sing and do not look at the decor.
If the drinking continues in the room, the exit is a taxi or a designated driver, no exceptions. Zhengyi North Road and Chongyang Road Sec. 1 are easy to hail on late. For how room rates compare across New Taipei, the New Taipei KTV guide has a table, and every Sanchong venue is on the Sanchong KTV list.
02:00 Massage to close
Done singing, legs still there. Longmen Road.
八方悅足體養生會館, No. 32 Longmen Road, 1st floor, 2,000-plus reviews; 恆仁堂足體養生館, No. 697 Ren’ai Street, 1,600-plus. Foot massage runs forty to sixty minutes, and plenty are still lit at 2 am; each shop posts its own hours. How to choose, how to ask about booking: how to pick a massage shop in Sanchong and Luzhou goes into detail.
When not to come
Do not run this route on a Sunday night. Many izakaya take Sunday off and the market thins out early; the upside is that karaoke rooms are easy to get.
Skip the market in the rain. The canopies on Zhongyang North Road do not cover much; jump straight to the 23:00 section.
In July and August the market is still stuffy at nine; go in after 10:30. Winter is the reverse: eat before eleven and hide in an izakaya.
Getting home
Last trains on the Zhonghe-Xinlu Line run at roughly a quarter past midnight from Taipei Bridge and Cailiao; check station notices for exact times. After that, taxis are easy on Chongxin Road and Zhongyang North Road, one meter drop back across the bridge into Taipei.
If you drank, designated driver. There is no second way to write this line.
The district as a whole is in the Sanchong nightlife guide; the street-by-street supper version is the Sanchong supper map.