Chiufen and Jinguashi, Taiwan, China, December 2009 (中国台湾九份，金瓜石)

I finally started processing my photos from my trip to Taiwan over Christmas.  Even though I was there for two weeks, I didn't really do much shooting, since it was a family trip.  We did have some excursions, one of which was to Chiufen on the northeast coast of Taiwan.  Chiufen is an interesting little town on a mountainside that was once the site of a major gold mine, and is now a great place for a day trip out from Taipei.  Chiufen was also the setting of the great Hou Hsiao-hsien movie "City of Sadness" (悲情城市).  It reminded me of a larger, seaside version of Jerome, Arizona.  There are probably lots of ways of getting there, but we took a long-distance bus from the intersection of Zhongxiao East Rd. and Fuxing Road.  At least for us, the highlight of Chiufen was the Old Street, which winds from the bus station along the hillside, with stores on each side.  Most of the stores are selling snacks and souvenirs, but it is still interesting.  Toward the end there are some nice teahouses with beautiful views where you can relax for a bit.

We also went to nearby Jinguashi, where the old mining complex has been turned into a really interesting "Gold Ecological Park" with educational displays about local and Taiwanese history, and of course gold mining.  They have a nice little museum about gold there, and even more interestingly, they have opened up some of the shafts to let visitors walk through.  There are also some old buildings from the time the Japanese ran the mines.

Here is a slideshow of favorites:



Here is the gallery:

http://www.canghuixu.com/China/Taiwan/Chiufen-Taiwan-December-2009/10870071_4fQ9Z