This weekend we made a trip up north to a very small town called "Jiufen." We found the town in our tour book sometime back but neglected going because of our larger and more zealous trip to Green Island. But after getting a taste for some of what the more "out of the way" places had to offer we started asking around about this Jiufen place. To our surprise and delight a friend raved to us about how beautiful the town was and that it truly was worth a trip.
So after a quick and chaotic first week back of teaching, Katie and I were up early on Saturday to catch the fast train to Taipei. We switched trains without trouble and made our way north to the town of Reufang. We could already tell it was going to be beautiful as we caught glimpses of the jagged coastline and tall misty peaks straight out of a Chinese painting. From the train we hailed a taxi and made our way toward our destination.
So...why Jiufen? The town is famous for its location, being built into the jagged north coastline, its tea (many famous teahouses line the streets), and its preservation of a simpler way of life. All this to say...it is a picture of the way life used to be before Taiwan became infused with the Modernization steriod.
The road was narrow and green. Katie and I laughed as our taxi driver made some close call passes of slower cars (buses usually and that should have been a hint) and after a few minutes we were let off on a small street in the middle of perhaps the prettiest town we have ever seen in Taiwan. It is built directly into the coast (Katie said it reminded her of the Amalfi Coastline in Italy), with a view of a huge bay, jagged rocks, blue/green water, a large volcanic island...and then I was almost hit by a bus.
Then another bus came...and another bus...Katie and I tried to get off the road (it was barely two lanes) but there was no sidewalk. The sun was intense, so we began to sweat buckets as we walked quickly up the steep hill looking for a place to sit and get our bearings. This was no easy task. Taxis honked and raced past us down the hill to bring more people up from the train, buses whirrled by, billowing exhuast into our faces...then after a rather startling beeping sound, their doors would open producing large numbers of Taiwanese tourists. The road was so small in fact that Katie and I had to push our way through the lines of people, dodge cars, buses, taxis, and scooters (with several near misses) for quite a few minutes before we managed to climb the hill.
With a sigh we found that the hotel we were looking for was at the very bottom of the hill we had just climbed and therefore we needed to wade through the mess of exhaust, people and cars again (all caught at that single choke point).
Long story short, we found lodging at a rather peculiar spot called, "The Jiufen Kite Muesem," dropped off our very heavy bags and made our way toward the street of famous tea houses. We settled for one quickly and found ourselves seated on a patio, drinking phenominal lemon tea mixed with lemonade looking over the gorgeous coast.
We sat for a while and began to consider what we had just witnessed. This town was beautiful. We were perched up next to a quite steep, dramatic mountain with stunning views. The streets were beautiful...some were only steps, others were cobblestones winding their way through the small houses toward the top of the hill. But then there were the crowds...and the buses. It occurred to us that there is a difference in the way we perceive "vacation" and the way Taiwanese do. We like space, quiet, and simplicity. The Taiwanese seek the same things, only they like to bring everyone they know along with them.They love tour buses. In fact, I feel like that statement might not paint a strong enough picture of the Taiwanese affinity toward mass transit vehicles. This tiny town was never without several buses roaring up its roads during the day. The town had two main streets, perhaps a kilometer long...and there were always buses stopping and going. Each busload brought on more people...more people to enjoy the peace, quiet and simplicity of the place. At the heart of this there is a cultural motivation that makes sense: In Taiwan, relationships and especially family are of penultimate importance. A vacation means going to be with the ones you love. So...a day trip to Juifen will include everybody...everybody.
Another point we noticed was what we saw as a clash of asthetic choices. Here is an example:
This is another view from our hotel...
..and that is the parking lot marring the otherwise beautiful view.So these points aside, we did enjoy Jiufen. We left the teahouse and found ourselves wandering through a cobblestone street that was just one massive market. During the day it was crammed with people...almost to the point in some sections that Katie and I had to hold hands or we would be separated by the shifting bodies.
The market was a cacophany of sounds, smells and sights that made us laugh or gag at every turn. We loved wandering through that market...in fact after all was said and done we went there three different times!
Wanna eat a slimy, see-through raw meat filled with nuts, powder and red beans? Yeah we don't know what that is either...but they look worse in person.
Here it is at night when all the buses left...
Yes that is Katie with a sword...and she is awesome.
This was a local artist we met who did calligraphy and Chinese painting with her fingers. We bought one of her pieces and she gave us two more! Three pieces of original art for $9.00 US!
Once we made our way through the market we went back down the meandering steps of the famous tea house road. The most famous tea house here is named "City of Sadness":
"City of Sadness" is also the name of a very famous Taiwanese movie shot here in Juifen some years ago. The movie was a celebration of the simple life and the simple love for tea. It was one of the main reasons the city became a tourist destination.Another feature of the town beyond the shopping and eating was the large mountain jutting out just to the north.
There was a trail leading up the mountain dotted with pagodas and we saw that once you made your way to the top you could see the ocean from both sides. After some hiking through the town we began to make our way up the mountain in the hopes that we could catch the sunset. The "trail" was actually a series of stairs that was...very unforgiving...
This was a very, very small part...
Still going...Needless to say it was a tough climb. Sadly, the clouds began to move in before we could reach the top so we did not take any pictures of the other coast line. But here are some shots that we took:
We noted that the hillside above the town was dominated by graves that actually looked quite interesting from above. These were all at the top of the hill--which is prime real estate. This is a quick example of how much value is placed on ancestors...even when they die they are set above the rest.
We scrambled down the hill in the dark and came across another interesting aesthetic choice: Cafe Bus!
Is that a van on the side of the road (note the red line "sidewalk")? Yes it is...in fact it is a dirty, broken down, rusted van with flat tires turned into a cafe. Turning a bus into a cafe? Cool idea...at least wash it and maybe use a bus instead of a rusty van...or just give the van a fresh coat of non-puke colored paint. We are just throwing out ideas here.Like every town in Taiwan this one was dotted with beautiful and unique temples. When we first arrived in town this temple was the only place we could find to stop and rest:
Here are a couple of the inside...
The temples in Jiufen only added to its charm. They stick out from the rest of the town adding a distinctly Taiwanese feel to its horizon.
Our sleep in the Kite Museum was quite comfortable and we woke up feeling refreshed. We considered taking another stab at the mountain, but there were still lingering clouds and to be honest our legs hurt. So we hailed a cab and made our way back toward Taipei, not quite ready to head home yet...
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