Located in Ruifang District of New Taipei City, Jiufen (Chiufen) used to be the center of gold mining activity in Taiwan. Today, the mountainous scenic village overlooking Keelung’s outer sea is a must-see attraction for visitors to Taiwan.
The name “Jiufen” means nine portions in Mandarin. According to references from Taipei County Government, the name came about during the Ching Dynasty when there were only nine families living in the village. Due to the lack of resources, whenever one of the nine families went grocery shopping or purchased goods from freighters, they would purchase nine portions.
Jiufen became a prosperous gold mining town in 1893 when gold was found in the area, attracting large numbers of gold miners and earning the name “Gold City of Asia”, “Little Shanghai” and “Little Hong Kong”. The gold fever officially ended in 1971, bringing the whole village into sharp decline. Fortunately, its quaint streets, tea houses and stunning views of the Pacific Ocean saved the village from becoming yet another a mining ghost town.
Jiufen is now a popular tourist destination for visitors eager to relive scenes from the past. It has preserved most of its old architecture and maintained the unique atmosphere of a mountain city, attracting several internationally-acclaimed movies to shoot here such as Hou Hsiao-hsien’s A City of Sadness which won the Golden Lion award at the 1989 Venice Film Festival. While Jiufen brims with visitors eager to re-visit its golden past, it still maintains a tranquil atmosphere excellent for sightseeing, and not to mention authentic local snacks which we wolfed down and carted home by the boxes.
There are many unique teahouses located along Shuqi Street. Scenes from “Spirited Away” written and directed by Japanese animation master Miyazaki Hayao were referenced from Jiufen Old Street. It is said that Miyazaki’s source of inspiration particularly came from Ah Mei’s Tea House. Many Japanese tourists thus come to Jiufen in search of the scenes in the animation and a mask that resembles “Yubaba” the bathhouse witch.
As we made our way up to the mountain towards the main streets, we were greeted by little houses with very interesting artwork on its walls.
There were many photo vantage points for visitors. Also do look out for the gold-coloured signages who tell you more about its residents who may be a famous artist or personality.
Even the mailbox was nicely decorated
How much is that kitty on the window?
A very innovative homemade flower pot
We bumped into Robert Yu, a Taiwanese artist who specialises in miniature carvings
Robert has carved intricate designs on many small surfaces, in particular thin pencil leads. I admire his eyesight and patience.
The ladies were held captive at this shop selling aboriginal products along the hillside. The owner Annie was a really friendly lady, and we ended up spending almost an hour at the store – we had not even made it to the main streets yet!
Ah Mei-Mei!
How do I look? I bought the tamer-looking headband on my hand, and looking forward to wearing it to an appropriate event :)
Going aboriginal in Jiufen – where’s the boar??
Aboriginal rice wine with cute packaging
I got the strongest one with 40% alcohol content for Darren, but he hasn’t said anything about its taste. Either it has not been opened, or it was so strong that he forgot everything after drinking. I suspect it was the latter.
Shuqi Street 豎崎路
The main area of interest to visitors are the town’s historic commercial district comprising two pedestrian streets: Jishan Street 基山街 (which runs along the ridge line), and Shuqi Street 豎崎路 (which runs along the slope of the hill).
Rows of teahouses, bed and breakfast houses and art shops line both sides of the stairs along Shuqi Street.
Jiufen Old Street on the other hand, offers abundant local snacks which include sweet taro ball dessert, rice cakes with Chinese herbs, red vinasse Taiwanese meatballs and more.
Walking around Jiufen gave me a very nostalgic feel, as if I went back in time
Stepping into Jiufen’s most bustling Jishan Street, you’ll find a diverse array of handicraft, old-style grocery stores as well as interesting local snacks.
Beautifully painted ocarinas
Even the grasshopper came to shop for essential oils
We saw some very interesting health clogs – this particular pair is supposed to help you stretch your calves, although I wondered how many steps one could actually take in those.
Diet Clogs
I was super tempted to get these
I was super happy to find a Lavender Cottage retail shop here! I love their products.
Colorful bath salts
Buy, buy, buy!
The child in me got me blowing lavender bubbles
And made a new furry friend named Ah Jiu
Carine and I buying mini sky lanterns with written well-wishes as presents
Of all the attention-grabbing marketing tactics I have seen, you win hands down, aunty. Admire your guts!
These codfish snacks came highly recommended, and we carted them back in every flavour by the boxes. Super addictive when you eat it in front of the television.
Crispy barbequed pork
An interesting twist to the traditional barbequed pork, these crispy sheets tasted pretty good. Samples were aplenty, so we were rather well-fed by the time we finished shopping. We bought all the sakura shrimp flavour as that was our favourite. I liked the red wine flavour too.
Wild boar sausage
Burning Snow
This impressive-sounding snack is a crepe comprising of grounded peanuts, malt sugar, ice cream and celery leaves.
Aromatic tea leaf eggs
Handmade fish balls
I wished I had four stomachs so I could eat more
Smelly tofu – my fave!
One of the must-eats in Jiufen would be Grandma Lai’s Yuyuan 賴阿婆芋圆 (No.143, Jishan Street) – the ancestor of all the taro ball stalls which have sprouted up in the area.
In the early days, Grandma Lai made a living out of raising pigs before making chewy taro balls that has become the most famous local snacks of Jiufen, that even the Taiwanese drive from all over for takeaways. The stall’s taro balls use freshly-picked taros that are finely pureed, thus maintaining the natural sweetness of the taro. Have it cold or hot in various sweet soups.
Sink your teeth into this chewy dessert
City Of Sadness Restaurant (悲情城市小上海茶楼)
We had lunch at this restaurant which was featured in Hou Hsiao-hsien’s film A City of Sadness.
35 Shuchi Road, Tel:+886 2 2406-2289
Very retro setting
Betel nut flower cold dish
It tasted like bamboo shoots, with a slightly sticky aftertaste
Fried wild boar meat
This was my first time eating wild boar, and it tasted really tough. Not exactly my palate.
Three cup chicken (三杯鸡)
A popular Taiwanese dish of chicken simmered in sesame oil, soy sauce and Chinese wine that cannot go wrong.
Local wild vegetable called 龙须菜
This was yummy!
Mapo tofu
This was sinfully good – it’s pork lard oil dribbled onto white rice to give it a nice aroma and smooth taste. But I sure won’t be having this too often!
After lunch, it was time to bade farewell to Jiufen and proceed to our next location Jinguashi and Shifen to release sky lanterns!
More on Taiwan:
Taiwan: Blooming Delights and Cultural Richness in Daxi 大溪
Taiwan – Nature’s Wonders at Yehliu Geopark 野柳地質公園
Jiufen Old Street
Address： Jiufenjishan Street, Ruifang Town, Taipei County
Tel： 886-2-29603456
Getting to Jiufen
By Train
1. Take the train bound for Ruifang from Taipei Railway Station (linked to Taipei Main Station on the MRT). The ride takes about 50 minutes.
2. Exit Ruifang Station, walk towards Ruifang Old Street and look for the “Welcome” sign across the street for buses bound for Jiufen. Cost: NT$15 and takes about 15 minutes to reach Jiufen.
By Bus
From Zhongxiao Fuxing MRT, take MRT Exit #1 and head towards SOGO mall on your right. The elevated railway line will be in front of you. Walk a minute and take the first left. After a few meters you will see the 1062 bus stop.
Cost: NT$102 (have the exact change or an easycard.) The journey takes a little more than 1 hour. Sit on the left hand side as there are great views of the valleys as it ascends Jiufen.