Jiufen is a Taiwanese village nestled in the mountains and overlooks the northern Pacific Ocean. The village boasts multiple Japanese style buildings and is often said to be the visual inspiration for the movie Spirited Away. While standing in the narrow streets, red paper lantern shining overhead, it is easy to imagine that you have been transported to a magical place.
There is plenty to do in and around the village. Getting there from Taipei is easy. Using our Easycard, we took a bus from the Songshan station, the ride was only a few hours. The first stop was near the Gold Museum. Near the entrance of the Gold Museum are some historic Japanese style buildings. In the early twentieth century, a member of the royal family planned on visiting Taiwan, and the houses were built in preparation for their arrival. The buildings are quite lovely and I enjoyed walking around the grounds and seeing authentic Japanese architecture. If you spend time in Taiwan, you will notice that wood is rarely used as a building material. The Japanese buildings were built primarily with wood and I found it a refreshing change from the steel, concrete, and tile.
We decided to not visit the museum, as my attention span in museums is very short and I would rather spend time outdoors. Instead, we walked around the gardens and enjoyed the view of the village in the valley and the ocean in the distance. After we had our fill of the gardens we hopped on the bus for a short ride to Old Jiufen where the night market happens.
On the bus, we drove by Keelung Mountain and I noticed the entrance to a hiking trail just a few hundred yards from the bus stop. The trail didn’t look too difficult, and there were some adorable little gazebos interspersed along with it. The top of the mountain was sure to have fantastic views! However, trail composed completely of steps in 90-degree weather becomes difficult quickly. But we kept going and eventually made it to the top. At one point an elderly Taiwanese person with canes passed us going down the trail, there was no way we were going to give up after that.
By the time we made it to the top, clouds had rolled in and we were standing in the mild of one, completely obstructing the view. But as we rested, the wind carried it away and the village below could be seen. The panoramic view of the village, lush green mountains, and the ocean were definitely worth the wait. On the way down we passed a group of hikers having tea. One of the hikers had brought with them a teapot and a small stove. Tea and mountains are the perfect combinations. One day I want to copy them and drink hot tea in the middle of a hike.
Once back down in the village, we made our way to the night market. While walking through the crowded streets, we snacked on local street food. Sausage on a stick with cloves of fresh garlic, samples of mysterious dried fruit, and popsicles took the edge off our hunger. I love getting lost in villages with tiny stone streets, not knowing what will be around the next corner, and being surprised with public verandas with gorgeous views. After watching the sunset over the bay, we went in search of dinner.
One of my personal life philosophies is – always eat outside if it is an option. Dinner was a hodgepodge of meat, veggies, and rice. But it was delicious because it was eaten on a balcony on a mountainside. One lesson that I took away from the meal, is that overstepped lavender tea is not pleasant.
After dinner, we went in search of a teahouse with a rooftop tea room. We settled on the Jioufen Teahouse (Jiufen and Jioufen are interchangeable). At the teahouse, one is served tea and small sweet treats. In this case, there were dried plums, pressed green cakes with a sweet center, brown sugar mochi, and various kinds of sesame candy. But the experience is really all about the tea. The server gave detailed instructions on how to properly experience the tea.
The setup included a gigantic kettle of hot water, which is kept warm by sitting on a small fire in an earthenware pot of the floor beside the table, a bamboo water box, small teapot to brew the tea, a second teapot to serve the tea, cups, and saucers, and a bowl of oolong tea.
Each pot of tea could be steeped five times and there was enough tea for 4 pots. I acted as the tea preparer and enjoyed the dance of timing each steep and keeping all three cups supplied with oolong. There was plenty of tea and we had our fill before the bowl of the loose leaf was empty. I tucked the extra in my backpack and brought it home at the end of the night.
maryghawley 