This was our first time in the Sanchong district of Taipei. We came just to see what the Orange line MRT had to offer. What we found was a delight. First: explore the Xianse temple. Then, check out the surrounding night markets. As usual, the temple was very impressive. The Xianse temple MRT station immediately wowed us with a large, very intricate mosaic. A photo doesn’t do it justice, as it stretches along the entire upper wall of the station. At the station exit, we got turned around a little. I forgot once again to check the north/south orientation of the street map at the station. Some twists and turns aside, we walked to the temple in about 10 minutes.
XianSe Temple
We made it here just before dusk. That was fortunate, as the changing light made for a somber but beautiful experience. This was also my first time noticing dogs at the temple. These were obviously street dogs. But they also looked comfortable and fairly well looked after. The surrounding area feels very 
urban. There were some empty lots nearby that also had dogs bedding down for the night. After enjoying the beauty and serenity of the temple, we headed off to find a local night market.
Starlight night market
Google maps had a marker for the Starlight night market relatively close by. As it was now after nightfall, we wanted to find some local food. Along the way, we found a large community garden that was reclaiming empty urban space. Getting from the temple to the Starlight night market wasn’t exactly easy. In between us and our destination was a large divided and elevated highway. Eventually, we found the one curious but functional staircase, and the Starlight night market was on the other side. 
This night market was a bit underwhelming. It is located under a large elevated highway. We visited in February, and there was a large section that was closed. Stalls were covered up, and chairs were stacked in large piles. At the other end of the covered lot was a small well-lit section. It did have some carnival style small kids rides. All in all, nothing to really hold our attention. I imagine it might be 
better in the summer when more people visit the adjacent “Blessed water park.”
Blessed water park
This was our first great stumble upon of the night. Xingfushuiyang Park is a large park with great trails that runs northeast a wetland from the Starlight night market.The park was pretty impressive at night, with a lot of fun sculptures and points of interest. The paths were well lit, and we did see people out using them. The best part for us was the walk up to the next MRT station. We realized it is not only an orange line stop, but also a stop on the 
new purple line to the Taoyuan airport! Unfortunately that portion of the station was still not open to the public, but the platform overlooking the park had a great view of the city in the background.
There is a ramp to the below-ground entrance to the orange line station. We were still looking for a night market. Two stops over is the Taipei bridge MRT 
station. I had heard there was another night market here that was popular. It isn’t listed as a “must go” markets, like Shilin or Raohe in other parts of Taipei. But it definitely was on my list.
Sanhe night market
I’m glad it was. Pauline and I loved this night market. The Sanhe night market is right down the block and across the street from the Taipei Bridge station. Even though we went on a Saturday night, it was well visited but not crowded. It had a great sample of things for sale, the usual interesting food stands, a lot of clothing and specialty item stands, and a good mix of small low to mid scale retail stores. We really enjoyed ourselves and the feel of this market. Pauline was really glad to find some great sweet and savory vegetarian fare here! Here is a sample of what the market felt like through the eyes of our Gopro:
This is not from the Sanhe night market, but this is a short sample of some Night Market cooking with gas!