site logo
    log in

Nearby:

Ah Gan's Taro BallsAh Ying's Red Meatball

Jiufen Old Street

台湾九份老街

Things to do in New Taipei City | Taipei | Taiwan

A seaside mountain area near Taipei, Jiufen is bustling neighborhood known for its narrow streets, food stalls & sweeping views of the mountains & sea. Jiufen was also the real-world inspirations for Studio Ghibli's blockbuster movie, Spirited Away. Today Jiufen is a popular day-trip destination for visitors of Taipei and some of them even stay overnight in one of the Jiufen's inns and B&Bs for a true local experience.

During the first years of the Qing Dynasty, the isolated village housed nine families, thus the village would request "nine portions" every time shipments arrived from town. That was how Jiufen (Jiu means nine and fen means portion) became the name of the village.

Rating:

Google Rating4.2 / 5
Tripadvisor Rating4.1 / 5

Contact:

website-themewebsite-theme-hover
Website

Address:

Jishan Street, Ruifang District, New Taipei City 22450, TaiwanMap
navigate-white

Category:

Food Place, Mountain, Historic Neighborhood
Saved in Taipei Top Attractions for First-Time Visitors
place-tip-bulb
Visitors spend on average 3 - 4 hours here

Selected Trips

See All
Trip Blog Post by @triptsy: Taipei New Year Trip | 6 days in Dec/Jan (itinerary, map & gallery)
Hoptale traveler profile
triptsy
6 days in Dec/Jan

Taipei New Year Trip

Trip Blog Post by @Mitxel: Lovely Taiwan 🇹🇼 | 4 days in May (itinerary, map & gallery)
Hoptale traveler profile
Mitxel
4 days in May

Lovely Taiwan 🇹🇼

Trip Blog Post by @Kylie: [4 DAYS] Kaohsiung & Taipei, Taiwan, 2019 | 4 days in Sep (itinerary, map & gallery)
Hoptale traveler profile
Kylie
4 days in Sep

[4 DAYS] Kaohsiung & Taipei, Taiwan, 2019

Trip Blog Post by @l______ot: Taipei | Taiwan 2019 [Part 1] | 6 days in Mar (itinerary, map & gallery)
Hoptale traveler profile
l______ot
6 days in Mar

Taipei | Taiwan 2019 [Part 1]

Selected Photos

See All
Jiufen Old Street / 台湾九份老街
Jiufen Old Street / 台湾九份老街
Jiufen Old Street / 台湾九份老街
Jiufen Old Street / 台湾九份老街
Jiufen Old Street / 台湾九份老街
Jiufen Old Street / 台湾九份老街
Jiufen Old Street / 台湾九份老街
Jiufen Old Street / 台湾九份老街
Jiufen Old Street / 台湾九份老街
Jiufen Old Street / 台湾九份老街
Jiufen Old Street / 台湾九份老街
Jiufen Old Street / 台湾九份老街

Traveler Notes

Jiufen is a good day-trip destination from Taipei. Jiufen used to be an isolated small village until the discovery of gold in the surrounding mountains during the Japanese occupation in the late 19th century. It then quickly developed into a busy town due to the gold rush. Many buildings in the town remain unchanged to this day, reflecting both the Japanese and Chineses influence on architecture and culture. Jiufen experienced a tourist boom after the award winning movie " A City of Sadness " (悲情城市) (Venice Film Festival) was filmed in the area in 1989. Today, in a maze of lanes and alleyways winding through the mountains, Jiufen is filled with retro-style cafés, food stores, tea houses, souvenir shops, as well as fantastic views of the ocean (on a clear day).

We had a high expectation of Jiufen but similar to our night market experience, Jiufen didn't deliver. The mountain streets in Jiufen were narrow and crowded so there was a lot of pushing and shoving. That alone wouldn't be an issue for us as rush hour on New York subways could be just as crowded. However, the narrow streets in Jiufen actually carried two-way foot traffic and the traffic flow coming from opposite directions brought us to suffocating complete stops multiple times. Food sanitation was also not up to western standards, like the night markets in Taipei. All the famous food spots had long lines. The weather didn't help either as it was overcast the whole time. Ah Gan's Taro Balls is supposed to have a great mountain/ocean view but all we got was a grey view like this .

We took Uber to and from Jiufen which cost us ~NT900 ($30) each way. The ride itself was about an hour one-way but on the way back, we had to wait 20+ minutes for the car to arrive as Uber was not as readily available in Jiufen as in Taipei. We looked into other options as well such as local train/bus or group tours . Overall, we think Uber is the best transport option considering both convenience and value (especially if you have two or more travelers in your group).

Go to Jiufen on a non-holiday non-weekend day with sunny weather to avoid big crowds and have a good view. Consider staying overnight too if possible ... the night scene with all the lantern lights is supposed to be very pretty and there are less crowds at night.

If you speak Chinese, you can book a private 10-hour Jiufen tour provided by a Chinese operator for the same price (~$150) of a group tour provided by a western operator (such as the ones you can find on Tripadvisor).

Taipei New Year Trip
by
Hoptale traveler profile
×
© Hoptale
  • About
  • Covid-19
  • Destinations
  • Terms
  • Support
  • Get the app