Postcard Getaway

Chasing Lanterns and Waterfalls through Jiufen and Shifen

Written by Kaelie Piscitello

Jiufen and Shifen both emulate traditional mining villages and bring a unique history and culture to New Taipei. I visited Jiufen once in the fall, but it rained all day when I went. It felt difficult to navigate the streets and crowds because everyone wanted to hide under the same overhangs.

I returned in March, hoping for better weather with a friend from home, and the small mining mountain town transformed. I also missed Shifen and the Houtong Cat Village in the fall. So, my friend and I set out with an ambitious goal of hitting everything in one day.

All About New Taipei

One of my favorite aspects of living in Taipei is my proximity to the mountains and the country-like atmosphere of New Taipei. Because Taipei is in a basin, tourists and locals can easily take day trips to the mountains,

New Taipei has many diverse places to see and fun activities around it. People often think about New Taipei as a donut with Taipei as the donut hole inside because New Taipei looks around the circle-like mass of land or Taipei. New Taipei stretches into the mountains of Yangmingshan National Park up north and into the mountainous regions below.

Houtong Cat Village

My friend and I started our morning by going to Houtong Cat Village because the train stopped there on the way to Shifen. We took a direct local train there from Songshan. The train made the journey easy.

A fluffy tabby cat greeted us in Houtong by sunning itself on the ledge of the train station balcony. As my friend and I wandered the village, we stumbled across more furry friends, enjoying the sun or hiding from it during a break in the shade.

TIny Houtong had little to do besides see the cats and eat a quick bite at one of the local cat cafes. The village’s main attraction is the kitties, so we bought small packets of food and catnip to feed them from one of the many stalls scattered around.

I felt sad seeing some of the cats’ poor health. Some had chunks of their ears and eyes missing, while others had many scrapes. My friend and I concluded that the cats must fight with each other, leading to their current conditions. The village residents feed and take care of them, but they are vulnerable to the trials of the wilderness.

Shifen

After having our fill of kitties, my friend and I boarded the train to our next stop, Shifen. I knew Shifen had a waterfall and something where people could set off lanterns, but I did not think the village has much to do. I was happily mistaken.

Shifen is an adorable old street with lots of food stalls and souvenir shops for tourists to explore. They offer many traditional street foods, including stinky tofu, Taiwanese sausage, and my favorite: peanut ice cream rolls. 

My friend and I purchased a lantern first and spent time decorating it. Each lantern has four colors representing different aspects of a person’s life. We chose one with colors for health, wealth, careers, and family.

Then, we decorated each side with wishes about each category. When we set it off, the staff helped us take pictures and videos to commemorate the experience. They had it down to a science, and many great shots show us doing it.

Afterward, my friend and I walked about a half hour to the Golden Waterfall, which was further away than I expected, but I still enjoyed the walk. I could hear the rushing water before I saw the falls. The falls looked as beautiful as promised and much larger than I’d imagined. The bubbling water created a sense of calmness and tranquility for all posing in pictures.

Jiufen 

After seeing the waterfall, my friend and I finally traveled to Jiufen. The route seemed easy enough: We just had to take a bus from the train station, and it would bring us there. We made it to the correct station and hopped on the bus—just for it to drive in the wrong direction!

I’m terrible with directions, and I’m surprised that this did not happen to me in Taiwan sooner than it did. We got off at the next stop another 20 minutes later and Ubered to Jiufen, giving up on the bus.

We arrived in Jiufen after forty minutes, just in time for sunset. Even though we ran off course, my friend and I arrived at the time we wanted to. By the time we reached the Ah Mei Teahouse, the sky had turned bright oranges and pinks and begun to fade into a deep purple.

Despite the tea house’s famous reputation as the teahouse in the famous Studio Ghibli animation Spirited Away, the establishment had a short line that moved quickly. We also got lucky and arrived in time to claim the last window seat available. We enjoyed a relaxing tea ceremony with tea cookies and candied plums for snacks. We could still see the sun setting in the distance and make out the beautiful mountains and city below.

Before going home, we wandered the streets of Jiufen, took many pictures, and looked for a snack. We ordered fried dough sticks, and my friend also purchased a stunning personalized calligraphy brush with her name engraved on it.  After exploring, we caught the last bus back to Taipei and ventured off in the correct direction this time.