Jiufen: The Overhyped Tourist Trap You Should DEFINITELY Skip (Unless You Love Crowds 😉)
-
Just back from there, and I thought I’d give everyone a heads up!
Travel Tips (Heads Up!):
- To get to Jiufen from here (allegedly one of the inspirations for "Spirited Away") by taking the bus, it costs TWD100 per person on the No. 1062 bus.
- And! They only accept cash!
Make sure not to just rely on your card when you go out; you may find yourself in an awkward situation.
The last stop of my Taipei trip was quite a letdown!
🤪- It’s this place that has gone viral among users on Xiaohongshu (a popular social app in China, akin to Instagram,) which is said to be the setting of "Spirited Away", a famous anime film.
- Frankly, I feel unsure about whoever first claimed that; it looks like a rather poor imitation, implying it feels too fake.
Personal opinion:
- The place is highly commercialized with little resemblance to the natural scenery featured in the movie. Moreover, it seems pretty far away from the city.
- If you’re used to truly magnificent landscapes such as grand mountains or vast rivers, the scenery there might just seem unremarkable to you.
- My suggestion would be to take some pictures to check out the location and then move on, without expecting too much.
-
If you're used to grand mountains and vast rivers, why would you even consider visiting a small island?
-
Sometimes, after overindulging, it's good to change things up, maybe even lose a little weight. If you're used to certain things, try adapting to what you previously weren't comfortable with and see if you can get used to it. It's all about learning to be more well-rounded.
-
It looked like that long before the movie came out, so calling it a knockoff is a bit odd.
-
I'm not saying it's a knockoff. I'm referring to whoever said it resembles Spirited Away.
-
The biggest contribution you all could make to Jiufen is not coming at all!
-
Haha, exactly!
-
Jiufen is best visited at night. If you're not afraid of the dark, wait for the tourists to leave; it's much more comfortable to walk around then.
-
Makes sense.
-
Jiufen looked like this long before Spirited Away was released, and the claim it's a filming location is just a rumor. Travel is subjective; tastes differ. As long as it fulfills your own imagination, that's what matters.
-
Good point.
-
It depends on how you experience it. 🥰 As someone from northern Taiwan, I still go for an overnight stay from time to time. It's such a tranquil mountain town.
-
Jiufen is beautiful and existed for decades before Spirited Away. How can anyone call it a knockoff? Stop spreading false rumors.
-
That's true.
-
Jiufen changed a long time ago. It wasn't so crowded back then.
-
Back in my day, there was hardly anyone there. I worked summer jobs at a motor factory in Jiufen, and there was only one beef noodle shop on the street. So, we had to rely on minibuses selling lunch boxes or get someone to deliver them from Ruifang. Neighbors who moved from Ruifang to Jiufen were even teased for choosing to live in such a remote place for no good reason.
-
We've been to Jiufen and Shifen twice and quite liked it. Those accustomed to grand mountains and rivers might want to explore all of China first before venturing abroad.
-
Well, I'm actually the opposite. I plan to travel abroad as much as I can first. As long as I'm able, I'll keep exploring. When I can't travel anymore, then I'll come back to China.
-
Isn't your picture actually quite nice? At least I can feel the atmosphere from it.
-
People's eyes are sharp and bright. With a thousand people come a thousand perspectives; what one sees as beautiful, is beautiful to them.