The name Jiufen came about through the story of the history of the city. Legend has it that prior to the construction of land roads there were just nine families in Jiufen. All goods were carried via ship and a custom was created that nine copies of the same item were bought at each instance; hence the name, Jiufen.
Jiufen is situated within the hillocks to the northeast of Taiwan and lies next to a mountain which faces the sea. The village was an isolated area up until gold was discovered near the village in 1890 attracting around 4,000 families of prospectors. The village was once Asias gold city and was known as little Hong Kong or little Shanghai. The resulting gold rush hastened the village's development into a town, and reached its peak during the Japanese rule. This influence is seen even today reflected by many of the Japanese inns that have survived the test of time.
However the hype over the city diminished together with its gold. Jiufen in the modern world regained some of its lost glory through several movies that were shot in the village winning international acclaim. The film called City of Sadness secured first prize at the Venice Film Festival. Jiufen also became popular in 2001 when its downtown model was used as in the movie Spirited Away.
Jiufen Old Street is the wealthiest shopping district and runs through the majority of the extent of the village. Bustling with people the shops along these streets sell famous country yam dishes and other local dishes. Amongst other activities that provide a lot of fun is fishing at night under the stars which is quite popular. At present, Jiufen is a renowned tourist attraction in Taiwan drawing many tourists from Taipei during the weekends.
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