Jiufen (or Chiufen as our literature at the time listed it as) is a former mining village in Taiwan that exploded with life right at the end of the nineteenth century – the result of a gold rush – although some form of habitation had existed in and around the area for centuries prior. This was the place we wanted to visit during our Diamond Princess cruise stop at the port of Keelung in 2008 but the reason wasn’t because of a keen interest in mining villages, nor a keen desire to partake in some tea at one of the tea houses that the village is now famous for, but rather for the often-cited (though denied) apparent inspiration for the animated classic, Spirited Away.
In the previous part of this travelogue series (see: Taiwan: Northern Coast And Fushan Temple) I covered how Princess Cruises filled out this excursion by first taking us to a scenic viewing spot on the coastline, then stopping en route to Jiufen with a look at quite possibly the most garish temple on the planet, both of which were in constant, heavy, soaking-you-to-the-bone rain. Our look around the tourist hotspot, despite its altitude in the hills, did not escape the deluge.
We weren’t to be treated to a tour of Jiufen on this excursion. Instead, we were led by our guide to roughly the centre of the village and a general indication of what lie in each direction was given. Then, before we were let off the leash to explore on our own, we were taken to one of the many buildings now serving as a tea house. We were served green tea – a first experience for us and very nice indeed – but there was also coffee available because the tea house knew that Americans made up the bulk of our tour group and you know Americans! “Oh, what a lovely tea house. I love the wooden beams and the smells. Oh, those tea pots look amazing. This is all so quaint. Do you do coffee? I’ll have a coffee.”
Our excellent tea consumed we had some free time to set off and wander around. Jiufen was only navigable on foot; the streets were narrow and often stepped, lined on either side by shops catering to visitors and locals with food stalls next to soap stalls and places selling souvenirs or antiques. In areas where the awnings and close buildings would blot out the already dingy light it felt like walking around at night. The darkness, the shop smells and noises and lights, and the ever-present rain tumbling out of the sky gave everything a Blade Runner feeling. We loved it.
We started off by heading towards the top of the former-mining village.
There was only one way to go from the uppermost reaches of Jiufen so, like the rain which had become a waterfall in several locations, we made our way back down into the bustling heart of the village. It became clear why there was no guided portion to this visit; the narrow streets would’ve made keeping everyone together and capable of hearing anything difficult enough, but there wasn’t a huge amount to see anyway. Shops, shops, and more shops. But don’t let that put you off if shops aren’t your thing. Jiufen has a feeling to it. It’s an experience just to be there, even if there’s not a lot to sate your thirst for knowledge.
We ate up all our allocated time completing a circuit of Jiufen, enjoying the views despite the weather, absorbing the atmosphere of the place, before starting on the downwards stretch towards the car park where our bus and the rest of our tour group would be waiting.
Jiufen is a wonderful place. There’s not a lot to do there but it’s worth visiting, it’s worth having some tea in a tea house, and we’d like to have some more time so that we could go on a food-tasting tour of the stalls through its many streets. You wouldn’t need to spend a long time here, but if you’re in the northern part of Taiwan then it’s a place that gets a big thumbs up from us.