Jiufen's Old Street & More: a Day Trip from Taipei -

BY JARED DILLINGHAM

TRAVEL GUIDE: VISIT JIUFEN, TAIWAN

You’ll love a day trip (or half-day trip) from Taipei to Jiufen. The town’s revitalized Old Street market is one of the most popular spots to visit in this part of Taiwan.

It’s easy to figure out how to get to Jiufen, and the whole trip will only cost a few dollars!

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Jiufen is in the mountains of Northern Taiwan, and one of the best day trips from Taipei.

Once an abandoned gold mining town, Jiufen’s narrow, winding alleys are now lined with restaurants, shops, and teahouses.

How to Get to Jiufen, Taiwan

I prefer trains over cars and buses, but to get to Jiufen from Taipei, you’ll have to take a combination.

The entire trip is about one hour, and no matter which mode of transport you choose, you’ll get to Jiufen for under $10!

Don’t let the distance or language barrier deter you. It’s really easy to make your way from the city up into the mountains of Northern Taiwan.

Taipei to Jiufen By Train

While you can’t take a train all the way from Taipei up to Jiufen, you *can ride most of the way there!

From Taipei’s Main Station, take one of the trains to Ruifang (pronounced ray-fung). Depending on whether it’s an express or a local train, it should take around 40 minutes.

From Ruifang’s train station, you’ll walk a couple of blocks to the bus station, at the Zushi Temple. Look for Bus 788 or 965. Either will take you on a 15 to 20 minute ride up to Jiufen.

Taipei to Jiufen by Bus

If you’re a bus person, you can take the bus all the way from Taipei’s Songshan Station (in the eastern part of the city) to Jiufen.

Look for Bus 1062. The ride will cost about 100 TWD, or $3.50 USD.

In less than an hour (or even 45 minutes, depending on how many stops the driver makes) you’ll find yourself at your destination: Jiufen Old Street.

Taipei to Jiufen by Taxi / Car / Uber

If you’re really wanting to avoid a bus, I still wouldn’t take an Uber or taxi all the way from Taipei.

I’d take the train to Ruifang, and then hop in one of the waiting taxis outside the train station. You can also call an Uber to drive you up to Jiufen from Ruifang.

The cost of the ride will be about 205 TWD, or around $7 USD for the 10-minute drive from Ruifang’s train station to Jiufen’s Old Street.

Uber is usually just a bit cheaper than a taxi, so I’d choose whichever is more convenient when you arrive!

Tours of Jiufen from Taipei

If you’re not into public transportation and don’t want to drive yourself, you can always take a tour from Taipei. These are some of the best options:

➡️ Click Here: Tour of Shifen & Jiufen from Taipei

➡️ Click Here: Private Tour of Shifen & Jiufen

➡️ Click Here: Private Tour of Shifen from Taipei

➡️ Click Here: Full Day Tour of Northern Taiwan

➡️ Click Here: Private Charter from Taipei

➡️ Click Here: Tour Shifen & Jiufen from Keelung Cruise Port

Jiufen Hotels & Rentals: Where to Stay

Jiufen makes a great day trip from Taipei. If you’re looking to enjoy more time in a quieter, rural area, the town has a few hotel and rental accommodations, too!

You can zoom in and out on this interactive map, and plug in dates to check out the hotels in and around Jiufen:

Jiufen’s Old Street Market

The red-lantern-lined alleys that make up Old Street in Jiufen are packed with visitors. The crowd moves slowly, as people gaze at the local cuisines and crafts.

The streets are mostly closed to vehicles, so aside from a few mopeds or motorbikes, Jiufen’s Old Street is pedestrian-only.

You’ll find every imaginable Taiwanese meal here: sticky buns, steamed buns, dried fish, fresh fish, noodles, and all kinds of pork and chicken options.

A lot of people were buying tea, coffee, and dried pineapple cake in Jiufen.

I’m not overly adventurous when it comes to food. I like trying new things, but I need to *know what it is I’m sampling … if that makes sense.

So, in Jiufen, I stuck with what I knew 😅

Braised pork and rice
Shrimp fried rice
Can of Taiwan Beer
The grand total: a whopping $5.90 (USD)

Things to do in Jiufen, Taiwan

Most of the ‘things to do’ here branch off from Jiufen’s Old Street. Still, I wanted to list them to provide a more complete picture of what you can expect on a visit!

Sip at the Tea Houses

Jiufen is known for its tea houses. The most famous, perhaps, is the Amei Tea House.

Once a blacksmith shop, it now boasts the “finest teas” curated by award-winning tea chefs.

The tea leaves are hand-picked by growers in the high-altitude mountains of Taiwan.

Have a Beer with a Mountaintop View

If tea isn’t your thing, you might enjoy a beer or coffee from one of the cliffside cafes and restaurants. Several of them have small patios with tables.

You can get cappuccinos for $4 and bottles of beer for $3:

Great prices anywhere…
Even better for a tourist hot spot…
Even BETTER for a tourist hot spot with an amazing view!

Visit the Temples

Jiufen is home to several temples, but the names and spellings vary wildly. They include:

Nine Fukuyama Palace
Jinquan Temple
Xiahai Temple
Qingyun Temple
Jinshan Buddhist Temple

Visit Taiwan’s Northern Coast

From Jiufen, you can see the coastal port of Keelung City down below. You can take the bus or an Uber / taxi to Keelung, or to Shen’ao’s fishing port area.

Keelung is an industrial city, built as a fishing port. Now it doubles as a major cargo intake port. Still you can find unique gems in the area, which make it worth visiting.

Keelung is home to a small but thriving Night Market (which opens in the afternoon, rather than the evening).

You can also take a ride to a row of brightly-painted restaurants along the port, and explore Heping Island and its fish market.

Alternatively, rather than heading to Keelung, you can take a taxi to Shen’ao’s port (also called Fanzio Park). It’s a $12 (USD) taxi ride from Jiufen down to the marina. You can check out all of the shrimp, fish, and squid boats in the harbor, and explore the interesting rock formations along the coastline.

I love sea glass (or beach glass, as my grandmother and I called it as we scoured the beaches of Long Island) and Shen’ao is full of it!

Shen’ao / Fanzio are also home to an Insta-famous rock formation known as “Elephant Trunk Rock.” While you can still go check it out, the rock itself is off-limits due to the dangers it posed to people climbing on it for photos.

Jiufen’s History

Crews building a railroad in the 1890s discovered gold flakes, and triggered a gold rush in the mountains around Jiufen. It led to the quick construction of the town and its infrastructure.

Gold mining diminished after World War II, and ended in the early 1970s.

Jiufen was mostly abandoned, and fell into ruin for nearly two decades.

The town was used as the backdrop for the movie “A City of Sadness” in 1989. The buzz and popularity surrounding the film sparked renewed interest in Jiufen, and led to its revival.

Savvy business owners setup shop(s) literally, and filled the Old Street’s empty storefronts and restaurants.

In 2001, Jiufen started seeing an influx of Japanese tourists, who believed the town was used in a popular Anime series.

Visit Jiufen from Shifen in Northern Taiwan

Jiufen and Shifen both make great half-day trips from Taipei, so it makes sense to combine them into a single one-day outing!

I’d head to Shifen first, hike to the waterfall, walk through the Old Street market, and then head to Jiufen midday.

From Shifen, you’ll head back to the Ruifang train station. At that point, you have the same options discussed above.

One option is to take an Uber or taxi from the train station (about 15 minutes and $7).

The second option is to walk to the bus station in Ruifang and jump on the 965 or 788 bus up the hill to Jiufen. It’s about 20 minutes on the bus, for $1 (USD).

Jiufen, Taiwan, FAQ’s

Let’s knock out some of the frequently asked questions people have about a day trip to Jiufen’s Old Street & other sites.

What’s the Weather Like in Jiufen?

Jiufen sits at a higher altitude, so the weather might be different from Taipei’s. Make sure to check the radar on your trip. While many of the alleys are covered, it’s still better to visit a place like Jiufen on a non-rainy day. Also, in general, July and August are really too hot and humid to enjoy yourself in Taiwan!

How Far is Jiufen from Taipei?

You can get to Jiufen in just over an hour from Taipei. The timing is about the same, whether you take the bus from Songshan Station, or use a combination of the train from Taipei Main Station and the bus from Ruifang up to Jiufen.

How Much Does it Cost to get from Taipei to Jiufen?

It’s hard to believe, but it’ll cost $10 or less to get from Taipei to Jiufen! The bus is the most economical option, at a grand total of about $3 (USD).

Is One Day Enough in Jiufen?

Sure, I’d say you can see much of what Jiufen has to offer in a day. If you had more time, you could take one of the hiking trails or explore other sites, but I think you could ride away feeling pretty good about your time spent after one day.

Wrap: How Long to Spend in Jiufen

That last FAQ leads me to my final thoughts on Jiufen!

Depending on what your plans are, Jiufen is a good day trip, or half day trip from Taipei.

Getting there earlier rather than later will help you avoid crowds in the Old Street / market area. While you could spend much longer in this part of Taiwan, really just a half-day is needed to walk the narrow streets, shop, eat, and enjoy the mountain views.