Jiufen

About Jiufen

Jiufen, also spelled Jioufen or Chiufen, is a historic former gold mining town in Ruifang District, New Taipei City, Taiwan. It is notable for Jiufen Old Street, a narrow, winding alleyway with shops, teahouses, and restaurants that offers tourists a view of traditional Taiwanese life. It has a population of approximately 1,600 residents.

The nearest train station is Rueifang Station of TR Yilan Line, which is 15 minutes away by bus. Jiufen is served by buses and organized tours. The roads that lead there are mostly steep, curving, narrow, and possibly dangerous.

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. Later Káu-hūn-á would become the name of the village.

Despite the earliest reference to the production of gold in the island dating to 1430, and multiple rediscoveries by early inhabitants, visiting Japanese, Dutch occupiers, and Koxinga's retainers, awareness of the wealth of Taiwan's gold districts did not develop until the late Qing era. In 1890, workmen discovered flakes of gold while constructing the new Taipei...

Overview adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA. Photography via Wikimedia Commons.