Jiufen Old Street

The main commercial alley of Jiufen, crowded with food stalls and souvenir shops

Jiufen Old Street is the main commercial lane running through the centre of the old town, narrow enough that two people with bags struggle to pass. It is lined with food stalls selling the town's speciality snacks — taro balls (芋圓, yù yuán) in red bean soup, fish ball soup, peanut ice cream rolled in spring roll skin and coriander — and souvenir shops selling lanterns, pottery, and products using gold leaf from the local mines.

The crowd is the challenge and, perversely, the experience. On a busy weekend afternoon, the lane becomes a single slow shuffle. On a rainy weekday morning, the vendors are still set up and the lane is walkable at normal speed. The red lanterns strung overhead are more impressive after dark; the food is the same at any hour.

things to do sight
A story
Old Street follows the route of what was once Jiufen's main commercial thoroughfare during the gold rush era. The shops that line it today sell mostly taro balls, fish balls, peanut ice cream rolls, and souvenir lanterns. During peak periods — Saturday afternoons and public holidays — the crowd is slow enough to stop. The sweet smell of taro and the red light from the lantern shops are particular to this place and to nothing else in Taiwan.