The Best Photo Spots in Jiufen: Where and When to Shoot
The best photo spots in Jiufen all sit within a few minutes of each other, and the signature one is the stone stairway beside the A-Mei Tea House at blue hour. Jiufen, a former gold-mining town in Ruifang District, New Taipei City, is built for photographs: red lanterns, stacked teahouses, mist, and a view down to the sea. This guide shows you exactly where to stand, when the light is best, and how to get the famous shots even when the lanes are busy.
Where are the best photo spots in Jiufen?
The standout is the Shuqi Road stairway looking up at the A-Mei Tea House. After that come the Shengping Theatre frame, the sea-and-rooftops viewpoints, and the lantern-strung lanes of Jishan Street.
Jiufen’s photo spots cluster around two narrow streets that cross like a T. Jishan Street is the covered market lane, and Shuqi Road is the steep stone stairway that drops away from it. Almost every iconic Jiufen image you have seen was taken on or near these two lanes, which makes the town easy to shoot well in a single evening if you know where to point the camera.
The A-Mei Tea House staircase: Jiufen’s signature shot
The classic Jiufen photo is taken from the Shuqi Road steps, looking up at the red-lantern facade of the A-Mei Tea House. Shoot it at dusk when the lanterns glow against a deep blue sky.
This is the frame that fills postcards and feeds. The century-old A-Mei Tea House stacks its red lanterns up several storeys, and from the stairway below they line up into a wall of warm light. There are really two shots on these steps: looking up at the lantern facade, and turning the other way to shoot down the lantern-lined stairway as it drops toward the sea. Many visitors know it as the Spirited Away staircase, though Studio Ghibli’s Hayao Miyazaki has denied any direct link, a myth we untangle in our guide to Jiufen’s tea houses. To see what the whole town looks like once the lamps are lit, pair this with our guide to Jiufen at night.
- Arrive by 5pm. Claim a spot on the lower Shuqi Road steps before the dusk crowd builds.
- Shoot upward. Stand a few steps below the teahouse and frame the lanterns rising into the sky above the rooftops.
- Wait for the lanterns. They switch on around 6pm, and the magic window is the 20 to 30 minutes after that.
- Steady the camera. Light is low, so brace against the railing or a wall, or rest your phone on a step to avoid blur.
- Shoot both ways. One looking up at the lantern facade, one looking down the steps toward the bay.
Expert tip from Daniel Reeves, our food and travel photographer: “Everyone fights for the dead-centre stairway shot, then leaves the second the lanterns are on. Stay another fifteen minutes. As the sky goes from blue to black the crowd thins, and that narrow window of deep-blue sky behind warm lanterns is the photo people actually remember.”
Daniel Reeves
When is the best time to photograph Jiufen?
Blue hour is best: the half hour after the lanterns light at about 6pm, when the sky still holds colour. Daytime suits the market lanes and the sea views, and early morning gives you empty streets.
Light, not just location, makes a Jiufen photo. At blue hour the glowing lanterns and the lingering sky balance each other, so nothing blows out and nothing falls to black. Daytime is for detail: steaming food stalls, the texture of the stone steps, and the rooftops dropping to the bay. Jiufen also rains often, but mist and wet stone photograph beautifully, so a grey day is rarely a wasted one. For the wider question of which day and season to choose, see the best time to visit Jiufen.
| Spot | What you get | Best time | Tip |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shuqi Road stairway (by A-Mei) | The lantern-lit signature shot | Blue hour, ~6 to 6:30pm | Stand a few steps below, shoot up |
| Shengping Theatre | Vintage facade and lantern frame | Dusk or after dark | Use the doorway as a frame |
| Sea-and-rooftops viewpoint | Teahouse roofs down to the bay | Late afternoon, golden light | Look for gaps near the top of Shuqi Road |
| Jishan Street lanes | Crowded market and food scenes | Daytime | Shoot over heads to catch hanging lanterns |
More Jiufen photo spots worth finding
Beyond the main stairway, a handful of quieter frames reward a short wander. None is more than a few minutes from the others.
- Shengping Theatre: the restored 1930s cinema on the Old Street makes a striking frame, especially with a lantern hanging in shot, covered in our Old Street guide.
- The sea-and-rooftops view: near the top of Shuqi Road, gaps between buildings open onto stacked teahouse roofs falling toward the East China Sea.
- A teahouse balcony: a window seat at A-Mei or a neighbouring teahouse frames the lanterns and the bay from above the crowd.
- The Jishan Street lanterns: the covered lane glows red after dark, best shot looking down its length as the lamps recede.
How do you photograph Jiufen without the crowds?
Shoot early in the morning or late in the evening on a weekday. The day-trip coaches arrive from about 10am and thin out after 8pm, so the quiet hours sit at the edges of the day.
The crowds are the one real obstacle to a clean Jiufen photo, and timing beats them more reliably than any trick. A few habits help.
- Go at the edges: before 10am or after 8pm, the stairway clears enough for a person-free frame.
- Shoot above the heads: raise the camera and angle up at the lanterns and rooftops to lose the foot traffic.
- Pick a weekday: weekends and holidays double the crush, so a Tuesday evening is worth planning around.
- Stay late: an overnight visit buys you the empty lanes at dawn, the single best time for a clear stairway.
One courtesy goes a long way: do not block the stairway while you set up. Shuqi Road is a working thoroughfare, and the teahouse guests above you are paying for the same view you are borrowing. Take your frame, then step aside.
Expert tip from Daniel Reeves, our food and travel photographer: “If a clean, empty stairway is the shot you came for, give up on the evening and come back at first light. I have stood on those steps at 7am with the lanterns still glowing and not a soul in frame. The day-trippers are all still in Taipei.”
Daniel Reeves
For opening details and the wider area around these viewpoints, the New Taipei City travel site and the Taiwan Tourism Administration are both useful references.
Common questions about Jiufen photo spots
What is the famous staircase in Jiufen?
It is the Shuqi Road stone stairway beside the A-Mei Tea House. Its tiers of red lanterns rising against the evening sky are the most photographed scene in town.
Is the Jiufen staircase from Spirited Away?
Not officially. The A-Mei Tea House is widely associated with Spirited Away, but Hayao Miyazaki has denied a direct link. We cover the full story in our tea house guide.
Can you take photos inside A-Mei Tea House?
Yes, if you are a paying guest. Buying a tea set earns you a balcony seat with a view over the lanterns and the bay, which is one of the best vantage points in Jiufen.
Do you need a tripod to photograph Jiufen?
No, and the lanes are usually too crowded to set one up. Brace against a railing or wall, or rest your camera on a step, and modern phones handle the low blue-hour light well.
Where is the best view of Jiufen?
Near the top of Shuqi Road, where gaps between the teahouses open onto rooftops tumbling down to the sea. A teahouse balcony gives the same view from a seat.
Written by Daniel Reeves, our food and travel photographer. Daniel has spent the better part of a decade shooting Jiufen’s lanes at blue hour and knows exactly where to stand for the light.