Taiwan 2011 - Jiufen

O.M.G! Found some interesting facts about this almost-forgotten town via wikipedia...

1) During the first years of the Qing Dynasty, the village here housed nine families, thus the village would request "nine portions" every time shipments arrived from town. Later Jiufen ("Nine portions" in Chinese) would become the name of the village.

2) Juifen went into decline and for a while the town was mostly forgotten due to the decline in gold mining activity after World War II.

3) Until the 90's, Jiufen revived and experienced a tourist boom when Hou Hsiao-hsien's (侯孝贤) film, A City of Sadness (悲情城市), became a big hit in the theaters.

4) Jiufen also became popular in 2001, when its downtown was used as a model in the anime movie Spirited Away (千と千尋の神隠し).


W.O.W... I'm holding my jaw while composing this entry. Never knew this town has such history. Although I was real sick that time and was having fever, visiting Juifen made my Taiwan trip worthwhile, a town you should see before you die. No exaggeration.


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#2 Rainy & gloomy day...


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#7 Nice postcards!


#8 I collected them all~~


#9 If you ever stop by Jiufen, remember to check out this ghost masks museum (泥人吳面具館). Super cool & super scary @.@


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#11 A.R.G.H... I have goose bumps already.


#12 My sis & my fake smile.


#13 The genius behind all these extraordinary ghost/face masks.


#14 "That's me," He said humorously.

He's a real funny & friendly man. We all started with a casual conversation like "where are you all come from", "how do you like Taiwan" and etc, until I asked him where does the inspiration come from... He told me he sees G.H.O.S.T.S (it's plural k)!!!

I was like... O.K.A.Y, get me out of here. So I didn't get to see every single masks exhibits in the museum because I got a really bad stomach cramp. Was too scared I think. Don't judge, go witness it yourself.


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#24 I chickened out, rather took cheesy pic outside of the museum instead.


#25 Sis took one too~~


#26 Chean joined us eventually...

Ok, now go somewhere else. Somewhere less intense.


#27 九份秘密基地


#28 LOL...


#29 Pro or not? ^_____^V


#30 Cooking or acting?


#31 Lunch time?!


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#33 The best wife on earth. I sew, I cook and I do laundry too.


#34 Chean isn't a good actor... 俾点戏我!!!


#35 See... I did better~~


#36 W.A.H!!! Okok, I lose :( I can totally imagine that 20 years later.


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＃39 革命尚未成功，同志们仍需努力！


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＃41 Fun Place~~


#42 Getting dessert at 阿柑姨芋圓 (I think that's a tongue twister, try saying it more than 10 times and you'll find out why)


#43 So refreshing!


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#45 Eating while enjoying the FOC scenic view...


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#48 Aww... Jiufen, you are simply too cute ❤❤



Hugs & kisses from M'sia,
Bev