It has been more than 10 years since I last visited Jiufen 九份, which is located at the northern area of Taiwan. I recalled that Jiufen Old Street was very crowded. More than 10 years later, as I visited this place again, it was still super crowded with tourists. Yes, you can find a community of Singaporeans there! Anyway, since it was the first time that our elderly parents visited Taiwan, so we thought that they would be interested to visit this old street.
One of the must-buy would be sakura shrimps! Very tasty! It can be served with rice, or just as snacks! I regretted that I bought only one packet.
Although it was winter, many visitors would still get this peanut ice-cream roll (NT40 per piece) from 阿珠雪在燒花生捲冰淇淋.
We saw a long queue at taro balls stall called 賴阿婆芋圓. Having a warm green bean soup with chewy taro balls (NT50 per bowl) was great in the cold weather. Our children love this!
I was very curious about this snack, so I bought one piece from 阿蘭草仔粿. It was actually glutinous rice cake.
The neatly arranged grilled sea snails at 海之味 caught my attention! It was so thoughtful of the stall owner to remove the sea snail from the shell, and cut it into smaller pieces before serving.
There were many other food that went into our tummy, for example, Taiwanese sausage, grilled mushroom, and so on. However, they disappeared in a split second (you can tell how hungry we were), so I could not manage to take photos of those food!
Other than food, there are many shops selling hand crafts, souvenirs, tea leaves and more.
Tips for Bringing Children to Jiufen:
As I mentioned, Jiufen Old Street is super crowded. And because it is located on a slope, it is quite challenging to bring a pram or stroller there. In addition, there are scooters appearing from no where, so please hold your children's hands!
Another point to take note if you are taking a bus - try to get a seat for the children and elderly in your group if possible. As the bus goes up the winding road, it can be quite dangerous for the children to stand.
How to Get from Taipei to Jiufen by Public Transport:
Method 1:
Take railway from Taipei Main Station to Ruifang Station (瑞芳). The fastest train (a.k.a. the most expensive type) Tze-Chiang Limited Express (自強號) would take 35 minutes, while the cheaper type of train Local Train (區間車) would take 50+ minutes. At Ruifang Station, walk towards the left for a few minutes along the main street outside the station until you see a bus stop. Take bus 827, 856, 788 or 1062. Alight at Jiufen Old Street, just follow the crowd and walk up the slope.
Method 2:
Take Taipei MRT to Zhongxiao Fuxing (忠孝復興) Station, from Exit 2, take bus 1061 outside Sogo.
To get from Jiufen Old Street back to Taipei, walk further up the slope to the bus stop where you can either take bus to Ruifang Station and then take railway, or you can take bus 1062 directly to Taipei at Zhongxiao Fuxing MRT station.
Our Taiwan Travelogue 2017:
- Taiwan Family Travel 8D7N Free & Easy Itinerary (December 2017)
- 10 Tips for Planning a Trip to Taiwan with Children + Elderly Parents
- How to Get from Taipei台北 to Taichung台中
- Accommodation in Taichung: 53 Hotel 寶島53行館
- Accommodation in Taipei 台北: York Design Hotel
- Taipei 台北 – Shilin Night Market 士林夜市
- Taipei 台北 – Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall 中正紀念堂
- Taipei 台北 – Kao Chi @ Yong Kang Street 永康街高記
- Jiufen 九份
- Changhua 彰化 – Changhua Roundhouse
- Taichung 台中 – 玩One Pizza (DIY pizza buffet with indoor play area)
- Taichung 台中 – Taichung Second Market 台中第二市場
- Taichung 台中 – Miyahara 宮原眼科 & Fourth Credit Union 第四信用合作社
- Taichung 台中 – Fengjia Night Market 逢甲夜市
- Taichung 台中 – Rainbow Village 彩虹眷村
- Taichung 台中 – A Liang Mushroom 阿亮香菇園 and Master of Mushrooms Restaurant 菇神
- Taichung 台中 – Lavender Cottage 薰衣草森林
- Taichung 台中 – Chung-She Flower Garden 中社觀光花市
- Taichung 台中 – Gaomei Wetlands 高美濕地
- Nantou 南投 – Cingjing Farm Green Green Grassland 清境農場青青草原
- Nantou 南投 – Puli 埔里 – Guangxing Paper Mill 廣興紙寮, King Garden 元首館
Our Taiwan Travelogue 2015:
- Taiwan with Children 7D6N Free & Easy Itinerary and Accommodation (December 2015)
- 8 Tips for Planning a Trip to Taiwan with Children
- Taiwan Child-friendly Accommodations with Slides
- Free Gifts for Travellers @ Taiwan Visitors Association(Singapore Office)
- Shifen 十分 – Sky Lantern
- Yilan 宜蘭 – Child-friendly Accommodation with Slide自然捲北歐風格旅店
- Yilan 宜蘭 – Jimmy Square, Free Factory Tour, Themed Restaurants, Hot Spring
- Miaoli 苗栗 – Flying Cow Ranch 飛牛牧場
- Miaoli 苗栗 – Strawberry farm, Railway Museum, High Speed Rail
- Taipei 台北– Rilakkuma Cafe 拉拉熊咖啡廳
- Taipei 台北– BabyBoss 職業體驗任意城
- Taipei 台北– Raohe Street Night Market 饒河街觀光夜市
- Download our printable Taiwan 7D6N Free & Easy Itinerary
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Hi,
ReplyDeleteReally enjoyed reading your blog. Wondering if you can comment on how your elderly parents enjoyed Jiufen, whether they found it difficult climbing the stairs or were they able to keep entertained at the lower levels. Thanks in advance. Thinking about bringing my elderly mom to Jiufen but not sure if it is a good idea.
monica
Hi Monica, we took a bus up to Jiufen Old Street, our elderly parents were able to walk up and down the slope. We didn’t climb many stair so it was still manageable. But Jiufen is very crowded, you may check with your mom whether she is comfortable with a huge crowd.
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