Jiufen (or Jioufen) is a small town in northern Taiwan famous for its nostalgic old street, food and ocean view. Jiufen was a prosperous gold mining town since 1890s but its popularity faded as the gold resource was depleting since 1950s.
Jiufen was given a new life in 1989 when award winning movie “A City of Sadness” (directed by Hou Hsiao Hsien and starred Tony Leung etc.) was filmed there. Jiufen has become a popular tourist spot since then and a favourite weekend getaway location for Taipei folks.
The most iconic spot in Jiufen, made famous by A City of Sadness
Old streets in Jiufen
Oceanic and mountainous view from the town
Jiufen is also famous for being used as a model in Hayao Miyazaki’s Oscar winning anime movie “Spirited Away” in 2001. Korean drama “On Air” also filmed some scenes in this small town in 2007/2008; in fact I just watched that episode a couple of days before visiting the place, so it provided some extra fun during the visit.
Too bad I didn’t have much time to spend there; I would definitely visit Jiufen again in future to explore the lovely little town in details.
nice photos!! i like the first one, very oriental feel.
very traditional looking.
i love places like these =]
the food is nice, and the scenery is very beautiful
YJ, I saw On Air too and that drama was great. When I saw this street, I was thinking I wanna go and shop there, looks better than Temple street in HK.
Gillian… I have been to Temple Street as well. It’s probably unfair to compare both places, as Jiufen is optimised as a tourism village with great scenery, good food and unique items; whereas Temple Street looks more like a bargain hunting place instead.
[...] local foods in Jiufen, a small town in Taiwan which I visited in late April 2008… Caramel haw (冰糖葫芦; [...]