The old commercial street in Hailing District is the traditional heart of Taizhou's retail and social life — a pedestrianised stretch of early Republican-era shophouses that has been restored without being entirely sanitised. The ground floors are occupied by a mix of genuine local businesses (tea merchants, dry goods dealers, a few remaining traditional medicine dispensaries) and restaurants serving Taizhou's characteristic dishes.
It is a good place to eat in the evening. The family restaurants tucked into the lanes off the main street serve crab roe dumplings, ginger duck, and the local fermented tofu in unpretentious settings, at prices well below anything a hotel would charge. The street is busiest on weekend mornings and after 5pm, when local families gather for the evening promenade.