Jiufen (九份) - City of Gold
Jiufen is my favorite destination of Northern Taiwan. With it’s amazing view of the coastline, fun hikes with incredible viewpoints, impressive waterfall, relaxing tea and popular Old Street, it’s easy to understand why so many people love that place so much.
Popularized with the movies Spirited Away and City of Sadness, Jiufen used to be a gold mining town that was abandoned and revived by tourism in the 1990s.
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Jiufen is 40km, about an hour, from Taipei. There are several transportation options available:
By car:
Nat'l Hwy 1 → Exit at the Dahua Junction → Prov. Hwy 62 → Exit at the Ruifang Interchange → County Hwy 102
By Taxi:
A one way ride to Jiufen will cost at least 1,200-1,400 TWD ($40-50 USD) and takes about 45 minutes from Taipei.
By Train and Bus:
THSR Taipei Station (or TRA Taipei Station) → Taipei MRT Zhongxiao Fuxing Station → Keelung Bus 1062 (bound for Jinguashi) to Jiufen Old Street.
The journey takes 30 minutes for express trains, or 50 minutes for local trains – both cost around 50 TWD one way.
By Private Car Charter:
If you are in a group, this is the best option for you. You can split cost and the driver will wait for you all day. You can customize your travel and ask for recommendations too. They also have a suggested itinerary you can follow too.
Book a Tour:
If you want to explore many different destinations with locals who know a lot about the area, this is the best option for you. The guides are very knowledgeable and bring you to secret spots.
Jiufen village and Northeast coast Tour
English Walking TourYehliu, Jiufen, and Shifen Day Tour with Taiwanese Pastry Making
The name Jiufen ‘‘nine portions’’ comes from the first years of the Qing Dynasty, where the village housed nine families and would ask for nine portions every time shipments arrived from town.
In 1890, workers discovered flakes of gold while digging for the new Taipei-Keelung railway. In 1893, a rich in gold placer district was discovered and the region seemed promising for gold mining.
This resulted in a gold rush, that developped the village into a town and reached its peak during the Japanese occupation. The land was occupied by the first Japanese company to mine quartz in Taiwan, the Fujita Company. They would occasionally make a few thousand yen per month from the operation in Jiufen.
At present day, many houses and inns reflect the era under Japanese colonization. During World War II, Allied soldiers captured worked in the gold mines. The mine was shut off after WWII, in 1971, and Jiufen became an abandoned ghost town.
However, the town was revived and transformed into a famous tourist attraction destination after the movie A City of Sadness (1989), which talked about the events of the February 28 Incident and won many awards around the world.
Jiufen also became popular in 2001 with its resemblance to the anime movie Spirited Away and attracted many Japanese tourists. Some said that Miyazaki got inspired by Jiufen to create his movie, but he denied it. It became one of the top tourist destination in Taiwan due to many travel guides and magazines about Taiwan.
Situated in the mountains, Jiufen has lots to offer, from beautiful hiking trails to delicious local delicacies. Here are a few of the main attractions in Jiufen:
Jinshui Highway
If you ever come to Jiufen by scooter, this road will be one of the highlights of your trip. With this zizaging road going up the mountains towards the village, you will have a blast. Watch out for the many turns!
I recommend taking this road during spring time, when all the flowers have bloomed. It will bring you to amazing viewpoints of the mountainous scenery.
Baoshishan Lookout
This lookout is located 5 minutes from Jiufen if you go down the road. From this viewpoint, you can admire Ying Yang Sea and the Teapot Mountain Trail at a distance. It can be a good spot for admiring the sunset.
Ying Yang Sea
Can you see the bay where the water meets and mixes with shades of gold and blue? This amazing natural phenomenon is caused by the high concentration of iron ions caused by the abondance of pyrite (fool’s gold) in the area. Because of the high toxicity, it is recommended to not swim there and rather admire it from a distance.
The locals have named this place Ying Yang Sea to represent the duality of dark and light and the balance of the whole.
Golden Waterfall
Imagine seeing a waterfall made of gold. That’s why this place is called Golden Waterfall. Because of the high concentration of minerals in the riverbed, it creates this golden color that makes it an unforgettable place. No wonder so many people go there to take pictures or to spend quality time with their significant other! This is my favorite spot in Jiufen and a great place for photography enthusiasts. However, it’s best to go early because there are many tourists in that area.
Try to visit during a sunny day so you can see the full beauty of this natural wonder. If you go on a cloudy or rainy day, you might miss your opportunity.
The green hills contrast highly with the golden-orange rock formations.
Jiufen City
Jiufen city is quite beautiful with its colorful houses on the hills overwatching the coastline. Some of these houses keep the Japanese architecture and style from its occupation.
As Jiufen was forgotten for a long period, there are still a lot of abandoned crumbled buildings, relics of the past and mining days.
Teapot Mountain Trail
This region is home to many different hiking trails. Here is one of my favorite:
Remains of a brick building.
This trail has amazing viewpoints of the coastline, yingyang sea and of the area from above. It takes about 3 to 4 hours to complete and you must crawl through a cave to reach the top. Because there are no trees to hide you from the sun, bring a lot of water, sunscreen and a hat.
The hiking trail is well maintained and has ramps and stairs. Some ropes will help you near the top.
Walking on that small rock trail with the steep drop on both sides gave us quite the adrenaline rush. You get a great view of the whole mountainous region from the top.
It can be quite steep to climb at the top, so be careful not to slip. I had a great day exploring the hike with my friend Patrick. He made a vlog about it. You can check it out here.
In order to reach the top, you had to crawl through a cave, using ropes to pull you up. It was totally worth it. Some people prefer the views of the Keelung trail, but for that awesome experience, this was well worth the effort!
Expect to see many other people because it’s a famous hiking trail so there will be a lot of tourists.
Reaching the top
We ended up at the gold museum by following the trail to the bottom.
Check out this interesting blog for more about hiking Teapot trail.
Jiufen Old Street
If you stay in Jiufen, you can visit when there is nobody and the shops are closed. The atmosphere is quite different then.
This narrow alleyway is filled with local shops and souvenirs along the way making it a very popular spot for tourists to discover Jiufen. You will find local delicacies and gift shops. Because the alley is very small, be prepared for it to be quite crowded every time of the day. It will lead you to Amei Teahouse and other famous places in Jiufen.
Photo by East Meets Dress on Unsplash
If you want to go a step further in your photoshoot, you might want to rent a Qipao, traditional outfit, for the day:
One Day Traditional Qipao Rental
Jiufen Teahouses
There are a few famous teahouses but the most popular is definetely A-mei Teahouse. This is the teahouse that is similar to the one in the movie Spirited Away. The red lanterns illuminated at night make it a great place to discover at night as well. The teahouse can be quite full because of its popularity and very pricy. This is why I decided to go to the teahouse across the street to try the famous Taiwanese Oolong tea.
View from the opposite teahouse across the street, Jiufen Teahouse, during a rainy day.
Because of the number of tourists, most of the teahouses might be full. This is why it’s best to reserve in advance and you can get good discounts as well. Click below to learn more and book your table:
There are a few places to stay nearby. Here are a few recommendations:
If you want to save money, it might be best to book your hotel in Taipei or in another smaller village instead and come by scooter.
Here are a few recommendations to try out:
A-Zhu Peanut Ice Cream Roll
Ah Gan Taro Balls
Oolong Tea
Wu Di ‘Flower Lady’ Taiwanese Sausages
Zhang Ji Traditional Fish Balls
Ah Lan Glutinous Rice Cake
I really enjoyed the Oolong Tea, the Peanut Ice Cream Roll and the Fish Balls. Here is an article who describes it better than me: Jiufen Food
Goldore Gold Museum
Shuinandong Smelter
Bitoujiao Trail
Shen’ao Elephant Trunk Rock
Houtong Cat Village
Shifen
Yehliu
Keelung Mountain Peak
Dioshan Historic Trail
Banpingshan Trail
Conclusion
As you can see in this article, Jiufen is an amazing destination that everybody will enjoy. It is so different from the rest of Taiwan that not only international tourists, but even the Taiwanese come to visit this place. It has it all: amazing views, gift shops, teahouses, hiking trails… That is why I strongly recommend you visit this place if you come and visit Taiwan.
Don’t forget to leave a like and comment if you have any questions or additional recommendations. See you in the next adventure!
For more about Jiufen, check out these amazing articles:
Jiufen - A day trip from Taipei
Jiufen Old Street: Things to Do on this Classic Taipei Day Trip