Taiwan Old Street & New Year Shopping Street Guide

Located in New Taipei City (Taipei County), Chiufen village used to be the center of gold mining. This small village is located within hills, next to the mountains, and facing the ocean. Due to its special location, Chiufen village is well known for its foggy weather condition which creates a romantic atmosphere. The name Chiufen comes from a legend where nine families used to live in this village. Before the development of Chiufen, there was a lack of transportation which made trips to the market inconvenient. Therefore, whenever one family goes grocery shopping at the market, they would be divided what they have bought into nine pieces for each of the families. “Chiufen” literally means “nine pieces” in Mandarin, and this is how the village name came from. Today, Chiufen features an old street that is full of local snack vendors and special accessory stores. Various foods such as “Yu Yuan” (taro balls), fried meat balls, steamed taro cakes, and herbal rice cakes, are the Chiufen’s specialties. In addition, Chinese teahouses in this area are also very popular for both local and foreign tourists. Chiufen have beautiful sceneries so many tourist came to drink tea during night to appreciate the night view.

Another feature here is the Gold Ecological Museum. The museum presents the history of mining gold, and the physical characteristic of gold. It also features mining tunneling experience, environmental education, and an ecological park. Nearby attractions of the museum include Benshan Fifth Tunnel, Crown Prince Chalet, Geology Park, Gold Temple, Mount Teapot, POW Camp, and Gold Waterfall.