Jiufen 九份, Taiwan

This is part of the fun Taiwan travel series. View the full itinerary here.

Jiufen is a cluster of houses and shops perched on tn the hillsides of Jinguashi. It is well known for the maze of shophouses along flights of steps that lead from the top of the hill to the bottom. You could buy souvenirs here, taste the famous Taro balls, have Chinese tea in one of the teahouses, and take in the beautiful scenery while doing it all.

It was a rainy day when we visited Jiufen. As a matter of fact, I have heard that it often rains in Jiufen.

If you happen to be traveling on your own, it is advisable to prepare raincoats or umbrellas when going there.

For those going there by bus, do not get off at the police station as you will have a strenuous hike uphill. Get off when you see 7-11.

There's a shop selling pineapple cakes and sun cakes opposite 7-11. I was told it was popular among Singaporeans. The prices are fairly reasonable, too, at TW 250 for 10 pcs.

As we walked down the flight of stairs, this caught my eye:

It's a (Taro ball) dessert stall! There are scores of shops selling the same thing. So we settled for this one - there were some seats with a view at the back of the shop.

Although we didn't get to try the actual 'Ah Po' Taro ball dessert, this tasted quite nice to me. We get to choose from ginger, red bean, original and green tea flavor. 

 There's a lot of variety. Even dorayaki (Japanese red bean pancakes)

Not forgetting the various seafood snacks, and mochi wrapped in pancakes.

We passed by the famous Ah Mei teahouse on the way down. It looks beautiful. I wish we had more time to explore.

 Some shops sell unique items like fortune cat figures.

Cats (and dogs) sure are popular.
Although Jiufen is now very tourist oriented and crowded, I still enjoyed my time there. There's a lot to see and do there!

How to go to Jiufen:
Getting there by public transport - From Taipei Main Station take a train to Ruifang. Go to the opposite bus station once you reach Ruifang, to board a bus to Jiufen.

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This is part of the fun Taiwan travel series. View the full itinerary here.