Jiufen is a small mountain town in New Taipei City, Taiwan. When gold was discovered in the area in 1893, gold rush hastened the once quiet village’s development into a town. Jiufen quickly went into decline due to the gold mining activities declined after 1957. The mine was shut off in 1971 and Jiufen was forgotten.
Since 1990s, Jioufen experienced a tourist boom that has shaped the town as a tourist attraction thank to the movie A City of Sadness and a Japanese anime movie Spirited Away. Now Jiufen has become one of the top tourist attractions among Japanese tourists.
Get In
By Train
Take a train to Ruifang Train Station, Hop on one of the buses to Jiufen in front of the train station.
By Bus
Take a bus from near Zhongxiao Fuxing MRT Station in Taipei City to Jiufen
Get Around
There are two major streets that are full of stores, restaurants and attractions.
Ji Shan Jie
Stores and restaurants.
Shu Qi Lu
Tea shops.
Fun
Sheng Ping Xi Yuan:
This deserted place tops many people’s must-see list because it is the first movie theatre in Taiwan.
Ghost Mask Museum:
If you are bold enough, you can pay 50 TWD($30 for students) to get into the dark room. (Photo-taken allowed)
Hiking:
There are two hiking routes you can take and both are quite challenging.
Retro Deco:
There is a retro-style museum allow tourists to take photos on Shu Qi Lu near A Gan Yi Yu-Yuan.
Temples
Fu Shan Gong
Fu Shan Gong is the most famous temple in Jiufen because it has a long history and some interesting stories.
When the village boomed into a town, people wanted to rebuilt the original small temple for the Tu Di Gong god. But Tu Di Gong didn’t agree and rejected their requests three times. So people built a new temple surrounding the old one which became a temple inside a temple.
When locals rebuilt the temple, they didn’t even forget to offer Tu Di Gong pretty girls – nude girls.
Food
Lai A Po Yu-Yuan (Taro Sweets):
A Gan Yi Yu-Yuan (Taro Sweets):
Meat Dumpling(Rou Yuan, Ba Wan):
Pork inside, sticky rice(mochi) outside
Unbeatable Sausage:
1 for 35 TWD, 3 for 100 TWD
Gold Miner’s Bento lunch, 60 TWD:
