Taipei 2014: JiuFen + JinGuaShi

Jiufen 九份 became really famous because of the movie “The City of Sadness” 悲情城市. I would say it's one of the must-go places if you have time in Taipei. It's outside the city center, but I'm always attracted to cute little streets with history and good food.

We took the train to RuiFang 瑞芳 station, then the bus to JiuFen 九份.

JiuFen Old Street

I simply cannot resist food...

Since this area used to be coal and gold mining areas, they have limited edition merchandise like these coal/gold shaped chocolate bits. Great for souvenirs.

Ah Gan Yi Yu Yuan 阿柑姨芋圓 is an old store that sells Taro Balls, little taro-flavored doughs with red bean and sweet soup. This was a must-go and must-eat for my local friends there. The taro balls are chewy and taro taste is strong, just how I like it. When you walk through the store to find seating at the sea-facing balcony, you can see workers making the taro balls (no photos allowed sadly).

Here comes the famous set of stairs where Amei Tea House 阿妹茶樓 is located. There is an art to tea steeping, and it's a great place to rest and have some nice refreshments after being out in the sun. We ordered cold tea because the weather was too hot, but we did see the many steps to hot tea drinking at the table near us. What was most exciting to me was the fact that the architecture of the building is similar to the Bath House in Spirited Away. Miyazaki fans anyone?

Amei Tea House

JinGuaShi 金瓜石 used to be a gold mining area. You can experience gold-extracting and you get to keep the gold sand! We honestly just went there for the gold extracting experience, but there are also museums to visit and a trail to walk through for some knowledge and exercise.

Extracting Gold

 Happy traveling！