Taiwan Trip 2010 - Shifen

One of the common and interesting places to go when visiting Taiwan is Jiufen (九份). In fact, most of the time, it means Jiufen old street whereby visitors will walk through with many stalls selling different products and accessories.

There is also another interesting place but less commonly considered especially if you are in a tour group. The place is called Shifen (十份). It is located along the Pinxi (平溪）sub-railway trail. Three activities to consider in Shifen: release sky-lantern (天灯）, natural waterfall （十份瀑布）and the small town itself. Though a small town, it is a place with characters: peaceful, simple and naturally beautiful.

The buildings and shops are arranged along the railway track. All activities also happen along the railway track. It's a pretty unique experience. Nobody will dominate it but gracefully co-exist with each other. No fast food chain, no Starbucks and no shopping centre. Just a few coffee shop selling drinks and local food. Simple lifestyle. In addition, the place is clean. No odd smell.

Most visitors will likely to engage in releasing the sky-lantern here. NT$100 each (about S$4.50). you write and draw your best wishes on it before releasing it. Great feeling to see one lantern raising one after another.

Photos will tell you much more about it :-)
Besides Shifen, you can also release sky lantern at the Pinxi station, 2 stations away from Shifen. Accordingly to news reporting, it was very very crowded on the 15th day of the Chinese New Year as many people will travel to Pinxi to release sky lanterns as part of the celebration. I am sure thousands of sky lanterns would have scattered and brightened the sky with marvelous view.

Along the way, we ran into two couples taking their wedding photo around the area. It is, indeed, a very nice and unique place to be considered for it.

Though the signage shows that it takes 22 minutes to walk from the train station to the waterfall, it will likely to take 30 minutes or more per way. It can be quite a challenging walk out in the nature, sweaty. However, the waterfall is worth a view. :-) The only "complaint" that I have is  the need to pay for an entrance fee to see it as it is managed by a private organization.

The visit to Shifen give me a pretty refreshing view of Taiwan as it has much more to offer than just shopping, night markets, street food etc. How to go toShifen ? Take a train from Taipei Main Station to Rueifang (瑞芳）station. Buy a unlimited day ride along the Pinxi line. Shifen is just one of the few stations along the Pinxi line. You can also visit the other stations along the way. The most important thing to look out for is the arriving time of the train as it will be at least an hour of waiting if u miss it. Ha...ha...ha...