Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Nestled against the mountains and hemmed in by the sea are the villages of Jiufen
(Jiǔfèn) and Jinguashi (Jīnguāshí), two of the quaintest stops along the northeast coast.
Both villages were mining centres during the Japanese era and by the 1930s, Jiufen was
so prosperous it was known as 'Little Shanghai'. Jinguashi later became notorious during
WWII as the site of the prisoner-of-war camp Kinkaseki.
A gold rush began in the 1890s during the construction of the Keelung to Taipei rail-
way. The rail work had attracted Cantonese miners who had taken part in the great Cali-
fornian gold rush and among them were the Li family, who have long been credited with
discovering the first gold deposits in Juifen. Following the discovery, the Taiyang Mining
Corporation was formed and exploited the deposit until 1971.
After mining ceased, Jiufen and Jinguashi slipped into obscurity. With the release of
the 1989 film
City of Sadness,
set in Jiufen in the aftermath of the 2-28 Incident, urban
Taiwanese began to flock to the old villages in search of a way of life that had been all
but swept away in the rush to modernisation. Rich in Japanese-style homes and narrow
winding lanes, Jiufen and Jinguashi gave them exactly what they were looking for.
Any trip to the area should leave time just to wander the hills. If you can imagine a
grassy emerald landscape, with a rugged topography dominated by jagged shale peaks
and steep slopes dropping into the sea, then you've pictured something of this extraordin-
ary bit of Taiwan.
Sights & Activities
Jiufen
Orienting yourself in Jiufen is fairly straightforward as there is only one main road and it
winds up very steeply. The bus drops you off near the town's 7-Eleven, which is close to
the sights.
Jishan Street
STREET
(Jīshān Jiē, Jiufen Old Street)
Narrow, covered Jishan St often leaves lasting impressions.
It's really just one long covered lane, but spending a few hours here browsing the snack
and craft shops is a lot of fun. Jiufen's famous stair-street, Shuqi St, which features an
old theatre and teahouses used as sets in
City of Sadness
, intersects it a few hundred
metres down.
