A Day Trip to Jiufen, Taiwan: Lantern-Lit Streets and Tea Houses

If you’re spending time in Taipei and looking for an easy escape from the city, Jiufen is one of the best day trips you can take. Perched on a mountainside overlooking Taiwan’s northeast coast, this former gold-mining town feels completely different from the busy streets and modern skyline of the capital.

With its narrow alleyways, steep staircases, traditional tea houses, and glowing red lanterns, Jiufen has a charm that draws visitors from around the world. We visited as part of a Klook day tour, and it ended up being one of the highlights of our time in Taiwan.

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Why We Chose a Klook Tour

Getting to Jiufen from Taipei is relatively easy. You can take a direct bus or combine a train ride with a local bus, but we decided to book a Klook tour and let someone else handle the transportation.

For us, it was worth it. We didn’t have to worry about train schedules, finding bus stops, or figuring out how to connect multiple destinations into one day. Instead, we simply met our group in Taipei and enjoyed the ride through the mountains. If you’re visiting Taiwan for the first time or prefer not to deal with transportation logistics, a Klook tour is an easy and convenient option.

Jiufen is about 22 miles (35 kilometers) from Taipei, and the trip usually takes around an hour depending on traffic.

First Impressions of Jiufen

The moment we arrived, I understood why so many people recommend visiting.

Jiufen is built directly into the side of a mountain, and every street seems to lead either up another staircase or around another corner with a beautiful view. The town feels layered, with shops, restaurants, tea houses, and homes stacked one above another on the hillside.

Unlike Taipei, where everything feels fast-paced and modern, Jiufen encourages you to slow down. There isn’t a checklist of major attractions to rush through. The experience is really about wandering, exploring, snacking, and enjoying the atmosphere.

Some of my favorite moments came from simply getting off the main street and seeing where a side alley led. One turn revealed an ocean view, another led to a hidden staircase, and another opened up to a quiet corner where locals seemed to be going about their day away from the tourist crowds.

Exploring Jiufen Old Street

The heart of the town is Jiufen Old Street, a lively stretch filled with food stalls, souvenir shops, bakeries, and tea houses.

There’s no entrance fee to visit Jiufen, so you can spend as much or as little time exploring as you like. We wandered in and out of shops, sampled snacks, and enjoyed people-watching while taking in the sights and sounds around us.

One thing we couldn’t resist was buying pineapple cakes to bring home. If you’ve spent any time researching Taiwan, you’ve probably heard of them already. They are one of the country’s most popular souvenirs, and Jiufen has plenty of shops selling beautifully packaged boxes that are easy to pack in a suitcase. We brought several boxes home and were glad we did.

Escaping the Heat at Shengping Theater

Taiwan can be hot and humid, especially during the warmer months, and by the middle of the afternoon we were more than ready for a break from the sun.

That break came in the form of Shengping Theater, one of the town’s historic landmarks. What started as a chance to cool off ended up becoming one of my favorite stops in Jiufen. The old theater offers a glimpse into the town’s past, back when the mining industry brought prosperity and entertainment to the area.

More importantly for us at that moment, it offered shade, air conditioning, and a place to slow down for a while. It was a welcome contrast to the crowded streets outside and gave us an opportunity to learn a little more about Jiufen’s history while escaping the afternoon heat.

Come Hungry

Like many places in Taiwan, Jiufen is as much about the food as it is about the scenery. Food vendors line the streets selling a variety of local specialties, and part of the fun is stopping whenever something looks interesting. Rather than sitting down for a traditional meal, we spent the afternoon sampling different snacks as we explored. Every few minutes there seemed to be another line of people waiting for a local favorite.

The combination of good food, mountain views, and historic surroundings makes it easy to spend several hours just wandering through town without any particular agenda.

Stay Until the Lanterns Come On

If there is one piece of advice I would give anyone visiting Jiufen, it is this: don’t leave too early. I suggest you arrive in the morning, spend a few hours exploring, and head back to Taipei shortly after lunch. While Jiufen is beautiful during the day, the atmosphere changes completely in the late afternoon.

As daylight begins to fade, the red lanterns that line the streets and tea houses slowly illuminate the town. The crowds start to shift, the harsh afternoon sunlight softens, and Jiufen becomes even more photogenic than it was earlier in the day.

The glowing lanterns against the mountain backdrop create the scene that most people associate with Jiufen, and it’s easy to see why. Staying until the lights come on was one of the best decisions we made. The town felt more atmospheric, more relaxed, and somehow even more charming than it had a few hours earlier.

Best Time to Visit

Jiufen can be visited year-round, but cooler months tend to make walking the steep streets much more comfortable. If possible, try to visit on a weekday when the crowds are a little lighter.

Arriving earlier in the day will help you avoid the biggest tour groups, but I still recommend lingering into the late afternoon. That combination gives you the best of both worlds: fewer crowds earlier in the day and the beautiful lantern-lit scenery later on.

Final Thoughts

Jiufen isn’t a place that needs an elaborate itinerary. In fact, I think it’s best experienced without one.

Spend the day wandering through old streets, sampling local food, ducking into small shops, and stopping whenever a view catches your eye. Pick up a box of pineapple cakes, take a break from the heat inside Shengping Theater, and give yourself enough time to see the lanterns come alive before heading back to Taipei.

For us, Jiufen was the perfect day trip. It offered beautiful scenery, a glimpse into Taiwan’s history, great food, and a slower pace than the city. By the time we left, with our souvenir pineapple cakes tucked away and the lanterns glowing behind us, it felt like we had experienced a completely different side of Taiwan.

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