29th May 2020
It's weekend again and this time, and this time, we are heading north towards Taipei but then, our destination is not Taipei, as we have been there before, so, this time, we are heading north to JiuFen,
九份.
JiuFen was actually a prosperous gold mining town but went into sharp decline when the mining was discontinued. The old streets, tea houses and stunning views of the Pacific Ocean saved it from becoming a ghost town. JiuFen is now a popular destination who anyone who want to relive scenes from the past.
Getting there from Jhudong (the place where i was staying) is practically a breeze but the journey does not go well for those who dislike long hour trip. The duration of the journey can simply past the 2.5 hours gap but do not fret as what awaits you at the end of the trip is endless excitement. Beware, don't always put too much hope on something as you will normally end up disappointed.
For this trip in particular, i would need to take a bus ride from Jhudong to Taipei and it will cost you around TW$140 per pax per way but for those who is not from Jhudong, well, you can actually take any public transport to Taipei first, be it High Speed Rail (HSR), normal train or bus. This public transport will basically take you to either main bus or train terminal in Taipei. From there, if you are in the main bus station, walk to the train station which is located beside the main bus terminal and if you are already in the train station, you can just proceed to the counter and buy a train ticket from Taipei to
Rueifang.
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| At Rueifang Train Station |
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| Left or Right?.... Of course Left........!!! |
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| Outside Rueifang train Station. |
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| Behind the car is the place where everyone Q for the bus. |
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| Dine in while u r waiting for the bus |
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| Things u can eat |
The train ticket from Taipei to Rueifang is quite reasonable which is around TW$50, and it will take around 1 hour and 5 minutes depending on the flow of people. It would need to make around 12 stops before reaching the destination. To make matter worse, it can be pretty boring since there is not much nice view to see throughout the journey
. Once you reach Rueifang, proceed across the road from the train station where you can see
a group of people would be queuing for bus towards Jiufen or area around it. Taking this bus would
only cost TW$15 but then, it would take around 20 minutes of fast pace action up the hill.
Unfortunately for me, the bus driver seems to be ex-fourmula 1 driver and taking each conner
would be a muscle aching experience for everyone on the bus but nonetheless, he manage to get us
up there safely.......that is what most important.
In comparison, this Jiufen is a nice place to visit and i'm not the only one who thinks like this, as there are
thousand of tourist flocking to this place on a daily basis especially on weekends and public holidays.
If you were to go on a tour in this country, JiuFen will surely will be one of the destination they would
put inside the visiting list.
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| The bus take I took to JiuFen. (No. 1013) |
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| The thick mist |
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| Entrance to JiuFen alley |
Once you are here, the first thing you would notice is the nice view that awaits every visitors, the view of a
town (Keelung) below. Unfortunately for me, the day I visited this place, it's only covered with mist,
a thick, white mist which follows by chilly weather with rain occasionally. So, don't expect pictures
which carry scenic view of the place. I was not quite sure what to expect from JiuFen as I only know
that it's a place which we should visit if we are here in Taiwan and that is why I did not put much
expectation in except enjoying what i would be seeing.
So, what does this JiuFen has to offer that makes everyone talk about it and crave about it?
To summarize it all in once sentence, it is basically some sort like a market which sells everything ranging
from clothes to ornaments, from special local dish to titbits and all that is surrounded by old shops as well
buildings, bringing nostalgic feeling to everyone who is there.
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| A crowded small alley |
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| Shops in the alley |
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| Malaysia 'poh pia' in the making? |
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| The end result of the 'poh pia'. |
Walking in the rain is something I dreaded and the feeling on that day is not much different.
Walking in a narrow path way with roofs zig-zagging on top of you do not make things easier.
Seems like the rain water is following you everywhere you go eventhough there are roofs over your head.
With that aside, JiuFen offers me a wonderful time as you can see a lot of different stuff being sold here
and there is on thing that caught my eyes as well as my ears, it's some sort like a flute but it comes in
many shapes and sizes, as well as sound.
If you know how to play it, it will sound very nice but if you don't then .... ..... err......... better put it
aside as decorative item.
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| The flute |
There are many other things that you can get with a great bargain but that is for me to say, for you to
find out. This post won't be complete if I don't show you the place you should be if you are here in JiuFen.
If you do notice something in common in all the blogs or magazines that you might came across explaining
about JiuFen, beside showing you the beautiful night scene, they will also put in a picture that depict an
alley, a very 'chinese' like old alley. Lantern, pagoda like roofs as well as Chinese wordings hanging-advert,
those are the ingredients in making a scene you would never forget.
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| 'Tang Yuen', famous stuff.....make sure you try it. |
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| The making of Tang Yuen. |
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| End result of Tang Yuen. |
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| 7000km to England, 5000km to Milan.....? |
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| Chinese Lantern....... |
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| Tea House |
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| The old movie that makes this place famous. |
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| Chinese orchestra? |
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| One of the alley. |
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| One of the alley |
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| Fish ball shop |
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| The famous fish ball. |
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| The famous alley I've been saying. |
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| Looks better without the mist. |
There are many walk paths that you can get yourself into but make sure you don't stick at one main
path only as there are plenty to see and taste in other smaller path-ways as well. So, don't miss all
those nice things when you are there.
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| The bus stop to go back. |
When you think it's time to go back, just proceed back to the place you arrive and that is as simple as
it gets but then, the place to wait for the bus is at different place and it's nearer to the entrance of the
JiuFen alley. The bus stop is exactly in front of the 7-Eleven convenient store. Sometime the crowd
can get quite big but queueing for it is quite easy as long as you are comfortable standing.
For the same amount, T$15, the bus will take you back to Rueifang train station and for
additional T$30, it will get you way in to Keelung City.
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