New Taipei City, Taiwan
Jiufen
Taiwan’s lantern-lit mountain town, and how to visit it well.
What is Jiufen?
Jiufen is a former gold-mining town stacked up a steep ridge in Ruifang District, New Taipei City, on the northeast coast of Taiwan. It began as a small village, then boomed after gold was struck nearby in 1890 and grew through the Japanese colonial era. When the mines closed, it nearly emptied out.
Its second life came from the screen. Hou Hsiao-hsien filmed his 1989 classic A City of Sadness in these lanes, and visitors followed. Many people now arrive expecting the world of Spirited Away. The director Hayao Miyazaki has said Jiufen was not the inspiration, but the red lanterns and stacked teahouses still feel the part.
The heart of it is Jiufen Old Street: a knot of narrow stepped lanes crammed with teahouses, taro-ball stalls and souvenir shops, opening onto views of the East China Sea. The ridge sits in cloud for much of the year, so the town is often wet and misty, which is part of its mood. Today it is the single most popular day trip from Taipei, about an hour away.
About The Jiufen Guide
This is a guide to exactly one place. We do not cover all of Taiwan, and that is the point. We are a small group of Taiwan-based writers who keep going back to this one hillside town, in clear weather and in heavy rain, on quiet weekday mornings and at its worst weekend crush.
Everything here is built to plan a real visit: the exact buses and trains from Taipei, what each thing costs in New Taiwan dollars, when the crowds hit, when the lanterns come on, and which corners are worth your time. No sponsored fluff. When something is overrated or better skipped, we say so.
~1 hr
from Taipei by bus or train
6 pm
lanterns switch on
~200
rainy days a year
2 to 4 hrs
to explore the town
The complete guide, part by part
Planning a visit to Jiufen? These eight guides cover the whole trip, from the first bus to the last lantern, so you can build an itinerary that works.
Getting to Jiufen from Taipei
Bus 1062, the train to Ruifang, taxis and tours, with times and fares for each.
Jiufen Old Street
What to see along the lanes: temples, the Shengping Theatre and the best viewpoints.
How to do Jiufen right
The town rewards timing more than anything else. A few habits separate a good visit from a frustrating one.
- Beat the buses. Tour coaches from Taipei pour in from mid-morning. Arrive before 10 am or after 4 pm and the same lanes feel half as crowded.
- Stay for 6 pm. The red lanterns switch on around dusk, the day-trippers head back, and the Old Street turns cinematic. This is the photo everyone comes for.
- Pack a rain layer. The ridge sits in cloud and sees rain on roughly 200 days a year, often when Taipei is dry. Autumn, October to December, is the driest stretch.
- Go midweek. Weekends, public holidays and Lunar New Year are shoulder-to-shoulder on the narrow steps.
- Budget for tea. A tea set at the century-old A-Mei Tea House runs about NT$350 per person and buys you the balcony view. A bowl of taro balls is around NT$100.
- Consider staying late. The town is calmest after the last buses leave. If you want that, see where to stay in Jiufen.
The single biggest mistake is showing up at noon. Catch the first morning buses or stay into the evening, and you are basically in a different town.
Nathan Pell, Northern Taiwan day-trip writer
Who writes The Jiufen Guide
Nathan Pell
Northern Taiwan day-trip writer. Has run the Taipei to Jiufen route in every season since 2015 and maps the transit so you do not have to.
Joanne Liao
Teahouse and heritage writer. Grew up visiting family near Keelung and covers Jiufen’s teahouses, history and film legacy.
Daniel Reeves
Food and travel photographer. Chases street food and blue-hour light through the Old Street’s lanes.
Start with the trip everyone asks about
Getting from Taipei to Jiufen is the first thing to sort out. We break down every option.