No trip to Taiwan is complete without some form of Taiwan souvenir to take home, from tasty treats like pineapple cake to more lasting treasures like a Taiwan tea set or ‘gaji’ bag.
Be it cool ceramics from Yingge to top Taiwan tech and cheap consumables from Syntrend Creative Park Mall, there are super Taiwan souvenirs for you to take home alongside your photos and magical memories.
And for our Filipino readers, we know how much you love your Taiwan pasalubong (souvenirs) so enjoy!
Here is our guide to Taiwan souvenir shopping with gifts to suit all budgets and tastes (quite literally).
This article was originally published on 17 January 2025.
You might like – Best places to buy souvenirs in Taipei >
Taiwan checklist
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For booking rental cars visit Discover Cars. For private drivers and taxis, check out our Transfer guide >
For more recommendations, check out our Taiwan travel booking resources page >
All set for Taiwan? Do one final check with our Taipei first timers guide and our packing list guide. Travelling with kids? Check out our Taipei For Kids eBook >
The best Taiwan souvenirs / Pasalubong to take home
1. Shiba Says souvenirs
Shiba Says is Taiwanese cartoon character with over 1 million followers on Instagram.
As well as featuring on all of the Taipei Metro public safety videos, you’ll see lots of Shiba Say souvenirs, from cute keyrings to birthday magnets.
2. Striped Taiwan market / shopping bag (“Ga Ji Dai”)
You will see these red, green, white and blue striped shopping ‘Gaji’ bags all over Taiwan, used to carry goods by locals and tourists.
Amazingly, they are so iconic, we’ve also seen Taiwan striped shopping bags in magnet form, on cards and a whole array of other market bag merchandise.
Read more in our guide to Taiwan’s striped shopping bag >
Buy a Ga Ji Dai striped bag on Amazon >
You might like – Our travellers guide to the Taiwan Receipt Lottery, ‘free’ to enter with most souvenir purchases
3. Taiwan Pineapple Cake
Taiwan’s classic pineapple cake is a decadent dessert that is a regular topic of conversation in our Facebook Taiwan Travel Tips (TTT) group – many believe Sunnyhills pineapple cake or Chia Te Bakery to be the best but others have said Pan’s Cake and Suntone.
This big debate sounds like a great excuse to try plenty of Taiwan pineapple cakes!
This is possibly the most popular Taiwan food souvenir to take home as it is uniquely Taiwanese and something you are allowed to take back home through customs. Pineapple cake is also pasalubong perfection for Filipinos.
Read more about the best pineapple cakes in Taiwan as voted for by our Taiwan Facebook group >
Purchase ChiaTe pineapple cakes on Amazon >
4. Taiwan Rice / Mochi Cakes
Pineapple cakes not your thing? I (Neil) am not a fan so for a tasty alternative snack that you can take home, try some flavoured Taiwan rice-cakes (‘mi gao’) and mochi balls available in various flavours.
5. Wooderful Life
A quick mention of one of the most beautiful toy shops in Taiwan, Wooderful Life – they have branches across Taipei (and Taiwan) including a store at the famous Red House in Ximending.
Wooderful Life is a Taiwanese chain of wooden toy shops that produce the most incredible and intricate gifts such as music boxes, wooden puppets and traditional toys.
6. Taiwan stamp book
Collecting stamps around Taiwan’s various attractions and Metro stations is one of the most fun things to do in Taiwan (and free!).
Popular with kids, Taiwan ink stamps are also one of the most popular areas of discussion in our Facebook Taiwan Travel Tips (TTT) group.
Possibly as a fun Taiwan souvenir for yourself, there are even special stamp books and notepads you can buy so you can keep your stamp collection safe, ready to take home.
There are lots of places where you can buy beautiful stamp books – popular locations in Taipei include one of the gift shops on the top floor of Red House in Ximending, Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall gift-shop plus the Taipei 101 gift-shop. Alternatively you can purchase a stamp book on Amazon such as this one >
7. Din Tai Fung merchandise
Taiwan’s tasty xiao long bao / dumpling chain has lots of fans around the world so it is no small wonder they have their own merchandise range.
Behold ‘Bao Bao’, the Din Tai Fung mascot! For any Din Tai Fung devotees, the tasty Taiwan dumpling restaurant has a huge range of cute merchandise.
As well as plushies, toys and stationery, DTF also has its own line of pineapple cakes & butter cookies to take home. Check out our guide to dining at Din Tai Fung in Taiwan >
We’ve also seen the bobble head doll available on Amazon >
8. Loose leaf Taiwan tea
Popular across Taiwan, the famous loose leaf tea is a popular purchase from tea-growing regions like Pinglin and Alishan – plus closer to Taipei, Maokong has a huge collection of tea houses that have sealed bags to take home.
Check out this Pinglin tea culture and Maokong day tour from Taipei >
Check out the range of Taiwan tea on Amazon >
9. Bugcat Capoo
Bugcat Capoo (貓貓蟲咖波) is one of the most popular Taiwan cartoon characters, a cute cross between a blue cat and a bug, created by Taiwan illustrator Yara (亞拉).
Bugcat Capoo has over 1.6 million followers on Instagram and has lots of merchandise to collect plus gift shops like this Bugcat Capoo House in Taichung or a Bugcat Capoo themed 7-Eleven in Xinyi Taipei.
You can buy so many Bugcat Capoo branded gifts from ink stamps to motorcycle helmets – one of the cutest Taiwan souvenirs you will ever find!
10. Taipei 101
Likely Taiwan’s most iconic building, Taipei 101 isn’t short on its own souvenirs – you can even get Taipei 101 shaped water bottles, tea bags, jigsaw puzzles plus building block sets.
They’ve even created a cute cartoon character, Damper Baby, out of their famous Taipei 101 ‘mass damper’, a huge ball which helps with earthquake resistance. So for a very quirky Taipei souvenir, head up Taipei 101.
You might like our guide to the best Taipei 101 viewpoints or our guide to Taiwan’s highest cafe, Simple Kaffa Sola, atop Taipei 101.
11. Drinks Carriers
An inexpensive but very practical gift, you’ll see people using patterned drink carriers all over Taiwan.
Shop around at the Taiwan night markets and you’ll find them as cheap as NT$20 for sturdy drink carriers with cute cartoon characters.
12. Taipei’s Wonky Post Box Souvenirs
Special delivery – meet the most famous wonky post boxes in Taiwan, ‘Little Red’ & ‘Little Green’!
In 2015, typhoon Soudelour devastated Taiwan, including bending these postboxes in downtown Taipei.
After the storms, these two tough mailboxes featured on the local news and locals began to take pictures & selfies with them.
Such is their popularity, you can buy everything from Taipei wonky post box stickers to building block sets.
Check out our weird, wonderful and unusual things to do in Taipei guide >
13. Mini Lanterns
Taiwan is renowned for its lantern festivals like the Taipei Lantern festival and the annual Taiwan lantern festival, plus a popular activity is to release lanterns from Shifen Old Street along the Pingxi Line, an easy day-trip from Taipei.
You’ll find mini lanterns available to take home in lots of gift shops particularly around Ximending costing around NT$75 per tiny lantern – some even light up with mini LEDs.
14. Kavalan Whisky
Cheers / ganbei to Taiwan’s most famous whiskey, Kavalan located in Yuanshin, Yilan County.
Kavalan Whiskey only started brewing in 2005 and celebrates its 20th anniversary this year – in that relatively short-time, it has become Taiwan’s best known premium whiskey brand.
Make a trip to the source in Yilan County or stock up at the airport – the Taiwan duty free liquor allowance is 1 liter per traveller over 20 years of age.
Book this private Taiwan Kavalan Whiskey tour on Viator or this private Kavalan Whiskey tour on Get Your Guide.
15. Jade jewellery
A ‘gem’ of a Taipei weekend market, Jianguo Jade Market and Holiday Flower Market (建國玉市) takes place every Saturday and Sunday in Taipei’s Da’an District.
Visit the jade market to see thousands of gems and jewels on display. Here is our Jianguo Jade Market guide >
16. ORINGO leather shoes
For a Taiwan fashion fix and stylish souvenir, pay a visit to one of ORINGO’s five stores – famous for their Taiwanese handcrafted footwear plus their chic accessories like handbags, belts and socks, ORINGO have five stores in Taiwan; three in Taipei and two in Taichung.
ORINGO is an award winning Taiwanese handcrafted footwear and lifestyle brand that celebrates its 20th anniversary this year – we opted for some women’s Chelsea Boots in black and elastic sided men’s half brogues in brown, plus some leather closed toe slippers (which get even more comfortable the more you wear them).
We visited and took these photos at ORINGO Dongmen near Yongkang Street in Taipei, a beautiful boutique to browse with very attentive staff.
We should also mention the ORINGO packaging is rather neat if you want to take your stylish souvenirs home safely to wear as a lasting memory of your Taiwan trip.
Check out the full ORINGO Taiwan shoewear range here >
17. Fun Taiwan t-Shirt or clothing
There are lots of fun t-shirts to buy in Taipei and Taiwan featuring characters like Taiwan’s Oh Bear or Shiba.
One of the most popular t-shirts found by one of our Taiwan Facebook group members is this ‘Taiwan Not Thailand’ t-shirt which was bought at Huashan 1914 Creative Park.
For good quality and inexpensive clothes to take back home, try Taiwan’s NET clothing store, which is a bit like Taiwan’s answer to UNIQLO but way cheaper.
They have branches all across Taiwan including a big NET store in Ximending.
18. Regional Taiwan Snacks
You’ll find snacks from all over Taiwan in larger gift shops or Taiwan supermarkets.
For instance, Carrefour Ximending has two aisles dedicated to food and drink from Taiwan’s regions.
We spotted snacks and supplies from Jiufen, Yehliu, Yilan, Chiayi and Taichung like Fu Yuan peanut butter egg rolls and blissful bubble tea.
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19. Studio Ghibli merchandise
All aboard the ‘cat-bus’ in Taiwan!
Did you know there are 10 Studio Ghibli stores in Taiwan (called ‘Donguri Republic’), with mountains of Princess Mononoke merchandise, shedloads of Spirited Away souvenirs and tonnes of Totoro gifts?
Xinyi’s Donguri Republic / Studio Ghibli Taipei store is located on the top floor of Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Taipei Xinyi Place A8, handily next door to a huge children’s outdoor play area (which is incidentally is one of the best things to do in Taipei with kids).
Better still, there is something to suit all budgets from glorious Studio Ghibli gachapon to huge plushies. The Xinyi Donguri Republic store even has a huge recreation of the My Neighbour Totoro cat bus which you can pose with and even go inside!
You can also find Studio Ghibli merchandise in many Taiwan gift shops, especially in Jiufen.
Check out all the Studio Ghibli merchandise on Amazon >
20. Taiwan beer merchandise
Although we are partial to Taiwan craft beer bars, there is a big market for Taiwan Beer souvenirs from cool clocks made out of compressed glass bottles to super cute beer can stickers.
Other malt merchandise includes Taiwan Beer themed tote-bags (perfect for carrying a 6 pack) plus cute can keyrings and fridge magnets. Cheers / Ganbei!
Taiwanderers tip – sometimes in Taiwan convenience stores like 7-Eleven Taiwan, we’ve seen Taiwan Beer offers like buy 6 cans and get a free souvenir glass or bag. So buy big to get free gifts. You’re welcome – with the money you’ve saved with this tip, why not buy us a beer?
21. Taiwanese Chips and ‘Good Luck’ snacks
Take home some Taiwanese potato chips – you’ll find dozens of snacks to buy as souvenirs; from shrimp crisps to oyster omelette flavor potato chips.
Perhaps the most famous is Kuai Kuai Coconut Corn Puffs 乖乖 famous as being Taiwan’s good luck snack. Amazingly, the corn puff packets feature in many workplaces as a charm placed around computers or technology to stop them breaking; they are a popular temple offering too.
Find out more about Taiwan’s Kuai Kuai Coconut Corn Puffs 乖乖 >
Taiwanderers Tip – if you want to try lots of Taiwan snacks, we found Carrefour had loads of inexpensive selection bags of Taiwan chips, where you could get 8 mini packets of different flavours for around only NT$50.
22. Ceramics from Yingge
A 30 minute train from Taipei Main Station brings you to Yingge, Taipei’s Ceramics Capital.
Famous for all of its pottery workshops and ceramic manufacturers, Yingge has a traditional Old Street plus several massive new museums.
A great place to buy unique Taiwan souvenirs like local pottery, there are even glass blowing centers in Yingge where you can ‘blow your own’.
We’d rate Yingge as one of the best day-trips from Taipei >
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23. Starbucks mugs
Love it or loathe it, there is no denying there is a big market for collectible Starbucks mugs and cups from around the world and Taiwan is no different.
Such is the demand, many travellers earn a side income by taking orders for Starbucks cups to take back home.
Starbucks Taiwan releases several series a year, from sakura / cherry blossom themed cups to Lunar New Year mugs and cute Starbucks bear plushies (or bear keyrings, if you are packing light).
And of course you can buy Starbucks mugs in Taiwan from each of the main regions, including a Sun Moon Lake, Kaohsiung, Taichung plus several more.
Read more about Taiwan Starbucks mugs >
You might like – Best places to buy souvenirs in Taipei >
24. TOMICA Taiwan Exclusive – Chun Shui Tang Bubble Tea Car
We’ve always been BIG fans of TOMICA, the collectible toy car company originally from Japan.
A member of our Taiwan Travel Tips (TTT) Facebook group alerted us to a new Chun Shui Tang bubble tea car that TOMICA launched in Taiwan in late 2024 – there is also a miniature bubble tea store you can buy with it too.
An excellent Taiwan souvenir for children (or big kids like us) – we’d also recommend a visit to the original Chun Shui Tang in Taichung.
Did you know there is also a Taiwan TOMICA themed 7-Eleven in Kaohsiung too?
25. Hello Kitty Taiwan
OK, so we know literally everywhere in the world has Hello Kitty merchandise but there is also lots of exclusive Hello Kitty Taiwan merchandise, available in convenience stores like 7-Eleven plus special Sanrio stores like the one in Terminal 2 of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.
On our latest trip, we spotted lots of Hello Kitty merchandise in a gift shop along Dihua Street selling Hello Kitty Taiwan screen wipes, stickers and fabric pouches.
You might like our Hello Kitty things to do in Taiwan article >
26. Personalised Stamps / Commemorative Stamps
Finally, if you’d like to take back home your very own Taiwan stamp, there are various ways to create your own personalized stamp block.
Some stations and malls have vending machines where you can create your own stamps – or there are special shops like Ri Xing Type Foundry near Zhongshan MRT station in Taipei.
Here you can create your own customised stamp in English or traditional Chinese letters and you can create your own stamps for less than NT$360 including a case.
Find Ri Xing Type Foundry on Google Maps here >
Our final Taiwan souvenir and ultimate Taipei gift / pasalubong
26. Get a Taiwan tattoo
If you want a more lasting unusual souvenir from Taipei, you could always head to Tattoo Street in Ximending.
There are several tattoo shops located in one covered lane, all of which have tattoo ‘menu boards’ outside.
To find Tattoo Street in Ximending, just keep an eye out for the huge golden statue (a bit like a giant Oscar statue) that is holding a massive tattoo needle – quite the unique Taipei tourist attraction!
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