Longdong Bay (and Bitou Cape...Not)

Further along the cliff you can see the swimming hole below, and peeking out beyond that is Bitou Cape

So, yesterday we took a day trip to Longdong (龍洞), an area with beautiful natural scenery, striking blue water, good hiking, diving and snorkeling (I'm not sure how good the diving really is, but it seems to be popular). Our plan had been to follow the route on page 112 of Taipei Day Trips 1, and hike along the coast from Longdong to Bitou Cape (鼻頭角), but we enjoyed lingering at the natural swimming hole at Longdong that we never did make it to Bitou.

If you want to do both in one day, you can, but leave super early, don't get off the bus at the Amazing Hall (the big ugly white building) as we did, get off at the stop before it, just after the tunnel. Otherwise you have to walk back up about 500 meters. It's easy, but the pavement is hot and the exhaust fumes from trucks barreling by are disgusting. Also, don't linger too long at Longdong. Consider driving if you are really hell bent on one day trip to see the entire northeast coast - buses are infrequent. Alternatively, you could turn this into two or more decent day trips. 

One thing I love about living in Taiwan that is markedly better than life in China is that there are more and better opportunities to swim in the ocean, or just to swim naturally (i.e., not in a pool). Although I am not terribly impressed by many of Taiwan's beaches (overcrowded, oversupervised, but hey, at least they're generally clean and safe), I do appreciate that the opportunity is there. I have been to beaches in China, and...well...no. Generally not my bag.

But from Taipei, you can catch a bus from Danshui or catch a train to Ruifang and be at any number of swimmable spots in a fairly short time. If you're not that interested in Taiwan's mostly lackluster sand beaches - at least the beaches on the main island (the outlying islands are another story: Penghu is fantastic and I am excited about going to Orchid Island next week!) - and you really just want a dip in the ocean and don't mind rocks, Longdong is a great alternative. 

To get there, you can take a bus from Fulong that will take you all the way to Cape Bitou and beyond, but I recommend the route we took yesterday: the 9:35am train to Ruifang, breakfast in Ruifang and then the tourist bus to Longdong (exit the train station, turn left at the main road, and walk past the police station, almost to the elevated highway, to the bus stop. It gets crowded on weekends, you can't miss it). It'll take you over Jiufen and Jinguashi and down again before dropping you off at Longdong. Again, get off right after the tunnel, not at the big white building called "龍洞四季灣" (also labeled "Amazing Hall" in English - it's a chain). If you make it there, you've gone too far. This drops you at the trailhead to the coastal path over some stunning cliffs - if you just want to swim, you can skip this part and get off one stop early, in Longdong village.

The path starts just after the tunnel (on the left if you're coming from Ruifang), and bathrooms and vending machine drinks are available. Follow the clearly marked trail and do be sure to stop at the viewpoints - they're gorgeous. There is a trail leading down, and I suppose one could swim down there towards the start of the path, but we saw nobody doing so. There may be a current or it may be otherwise unsafe.

So inviting, but not sure if it's safe

From one of the vantage points (the top picture), you can see all the way to a safe swimming hole. A trail leading down will take you there via Longdong village. Exit the trail and turn right towards the ocean. Keep right, and enter the rocky area via a path that widens, then narrows before widening again and taking you to the coast.

Of course, by "rocky path" I mean, basically, a horizontal rock scramble. There is no real path. Taipei Day Trips 1 makes it sound easy: it is not. It is definitely possible and safe (although watch out for sprained ankles), but it's not a walk in the park. It's also hot - the rocks are hot and there's no shade. Wear sunscreen.

Taipei Day Trips 1 says there's some "supervised swimming". There is swimming, but it's not supervised. When you get there, there are several points at which you can jump safely into the water, and one spot where you can lower yourself in gently if you're afraid of jumping.

The water is crystal blue and clean, and tiny tropical fish swim around you as you swim or tread water.  Bring snorkeling gear if you'd like to get a closer look. You can swim to the far island (pictured below) and climb up via ropes - it's safe to jump from the top -  or beach yourself on a lower rock and enjoy the sun.

I stole this photo from my friend  - hope that's OK, Joseph!

Two things to watch out for: I did get stung by a jellyfish - painful but only temporarily so, and obviously I'm not dead - but be careful. There's also a current - it's not strong, and it's not fast, but it's there. If you're not a strong swimmer you may find yourself carried along a bit by the current.

It's safe to stand on the rocks in the shallow areas, but the rocks above water have barnacles on them, and generally speaking river tracing/snorkeling shoes would be a good thing to wear if you have them.

If you don't linger you can then hike around Bitou and catch a bus back to Keelung, Ruifang, Jinguashi or Jiufen. Heading up to Jiufen at sunset is a lovely ride, and you can eat or drink tea there. Alternately, you can head all the way to Keelung and go to the night market - the bus will drop you off nearby. If you have a car, there are several other great spots to stop and enjoy before the sun goes down. If not, be careful of time.

One final note - bus stops are spaced out weirdly: one bus stop doesn't necessarily cover all available buses. For example, the Keelung tourist bus stops a little further up the highway from Longdong than two other buses, and generally won't pick you up if you're at the wrong stop. This is idiotic, and the government really ought to do something about it. For now, though, check the times and wait at the appropriate stop to the best of your ability.

Xiaotzukeng Old Trail

As anyone who's studied Taipei County on a map knows, the Pingxi coal mining area (now a popular tourist spot with a small-gauge railroad) and the gorgeous Pacific views of Jiufen may seem worlds apart, but are actually surprisingly close. This is not a huge revelation, as they're both quickly and easily accessible from Ruifang, a small town in northern Taipei County. The only thing separating them is a mountain ridge. Specifically, this mountain ridge:

...which is accessible from the first stop on the Pingxi Rail Line - Houdong. Houdong also has a quaintly dilapidated atmosphere, friendly locals and a very small (VERY SMALL) town square with local eats. This is more or less the town square:

Feeling undercaffeinated, we headed towards a sign saying "Houdong Coffee" which was conveniently in the same direction as our destination, Xiaotzukeng Old Trail. We got there to find the place empty, but some guy came out of his house next door saying "you want coffee?" and proceeded to run up the road to a woman tending sweet potatoes to tell her that she had customers. While we waited some other locals sauntered by, and asked the wife of the guy who ran off what we were doing there. "Oh they want some coffee," she said, looking up from her own sweet potatoes. "Coffee? Is Old Chen's coffee machine fixed?" "Seems so."

The owner came back, took off her gloves, and led us inside. "Actually, I think the coffee machine is still broken," she said. "Cocoa?" It was caffeinated, so sure. It tasted pretty good iced. We sat in the "coffee shop" (a living room with an extra table and a broken coffee machine in the corner) and chatted with the family. Old Chen's son came in and chatted with us in English, giving us free hand-roasted coffee to apologize for not having a working machine. "We just have this machine so whenever some people come by who want coffee, we make them some. It's not a real coffeeshop," he said. (We figured).

"Where are you going," Chen Taitai asked us.

"Xiaotzukeng Old Trail to Jiufen."

"Jiufen? That's way too far! You can't do that!"

"Really, how far is it? We thought it was just 2-3 hours."

"Exactly! It's about 3 hours to Jiufen. That's too far!"

Some other guy wandered in. "You got coffee?" he asked Chen Taitai.

"Nope, machine's broken."

"Oh. Where are those foreigners going?"

"They're nuts. They're going to Jiufen. Walking."

"What? That's too far! That's like 2 hours! You can't do that!"

But, indeed, we did do that. Xiaotzukeng Trail starts at the far edge of town to the left of the train station, just past the elementary school, and is fairly well-marked as trails go. I wrote about it here when it appeared as a feature in the China Post. It's a reasonably well-maintained (well...) old trail that leads from Houdong to the abandoned (and really cool) mountain village of Xiaozukeng before climbing over a ridge and down to Jiufen.

Ignore what the article says about a gentle climb - it's fairly gentle and on a surfaced road for the first 20 minutes or so, but quickly turns into a stair-climbing extravaganza and then pitches quickly up the mountain - fortunately there are a few good break spots along the way.

Even on a sunny Sunday, we only ran into a few small pairs and groups of hikers, and one solo climber in a massive mosquito hat.

The animal life on the way up is fantastic, at least for all things bug:

...yes, that spider is every bit as ginormous as you think it is. Roughly my handspan. I feel bad for the little red guy.

We also saw black and white speckled lizards with bright blue tails (stunning), a horde of grasshoppers and lots of butterflies, which I couldn't seem to photograph fast enough to get a good shot. The Pingxi area is known for butterflies so this was not a surprise.

Partway up the trail you run into a beautifully ruined old village, which feels like something out of Middle Earth (Brendan's words):

...before climbing to a shrine (there are a few on the way with a gorgeous view of the way we came:

I usually don't take photos of idols, but I am consistently reassured by Taiwanese that it's actually OK - because I'm not so sure that's true. But this time I felt I may as well give it a shot.

After the abandoned village and the shrine, the trail stops being stairs and turns into a slippery, rock-strewn uphill heave-ho with lots of things in the way. As we climbed, some music all the way from Houdong town - someone playing a large bamboo flute - ricocheted off the walls of the mountain crag we were heading through and floated up to us until we crossed over to the other side of the ridge. If that had happened in China, it would have probably been due to the government placing speakers several yards from the trail and playing 'traditional music', but in Taiwan things like that are authentic - it made the whole experience that much more charming.

My friend and I were a bit behind Brendan as we clamored over the rocks and stumps. When I saw him go over a hill where the trail seemed to end, I knew that Jiufen was supposed to be on the other side but I was surprised by Brendan's whoop of excitement. Coming into view instantly, with no hint about what was ahead, just as you take your last step over the lip of the wooded ridge, was this:

(Yes, that's the Pacific behind Keelung Mountain there).

"We won this mountain!" he said as I made my way over, shouting down to our friend not to take a break, just rest when she got there. I hummed the song that plays when Super Mario rescues the princess and the characters all start dancing.

The way it just appeared like that, with a full-in-the-face ocean breeze, was mind-blowing - 110% worth the scramble up from Houdong.

...a few things we saw on the way down to Jiufen - 1250 meters of downward pain on very uncomfortable stairs:

Then we took a well-deserved crash at a teashop in Jiufen, drinking cold things and eating sugary things, before buying a bunch of random stuff we wanted (brown sugar cake, aboriginal millet wine, you know...stuff).

Pingxi Peaks

I've long been a fan of the hiking on offer in Pingxi (that's the small-gauge railroad area that used to be big on coal mining), and surprised that not many other foreigners seem to venture out to the peaks there. They're small peaks when you compare to what you can climb in central Taiwan, but in terms of beauty and in some cases, the sheer vertical drop of them more than makes up for their stunted height.

I see lots of tourists on the railroad and in the towns - leading one to wonder why the towns don't have better food, although Jingtong has one decent coffeeshop with a singularly awful name - but few ever think to go hiking there. I have students who didn't even know you could go hiking there, and don't know the names of any of the mountains there, either.

Good coffee, but I guess they don't realize what they are implying about the flavor of their coffee.

As for foreigners, a lot of great hiking in Pingxi was covered in Taipei Day Trips I and II - I do wonder why fewer people check it out. Even Lonely Planet (the old, crappy edition) covers some options there. We've been on several trails in that area and never once seen another foreign hiker. What's more, the locals seem to be in-town locals, not domestic tourists.

Below is a short run-down of my three favorite hikes in the Pingxi area - two in Jingtong and one in Pingxi itself, which is next to yet another beautiful hike that I haven't tried yet.

1.) Shulongjian

The summit of Shulongjian

Shulongjian (also known as "Little Fuji" for its conical shape, reminiscent of Mount Fuji in Japan) is visible from various points in Jingtong. After our hike, as storms began rolling in from Muzha, we watched the clouds grazing the peaks from our guesthouse on the edge of town. There are two routes to the top - one via a back-end trail and the other up lots of stairs as is usual in Taiwan. Only the stair route is well-marked and well-known. The other route, though much more challenging, has a troupe of monkeys that hang out in the early morning and late afternoon not far from the top.

Another bonus of this mountain are the abundant and beautiful butterflies, mostly yellow and black or light purple and black, though I saw two bright blue ones and at least one that I believe was a monarch.

Another bonus is that you can see Taipei 101 from the top - that's effin' cool considering how far away it is. You can also watch storms rolling in from Muzha, which is what we did until it got too close for comfort.





To get to the stair route, follow the Pingxi-Muzha road away from Jingtong town in the direction of Muzha. The entrance is near a small shed-like building, leading through a small parking area and to a flight of stone steps. The steps pass through a village before beginning their ascent.

To get to the other route, find a local to help you.

2.) Stone Bamboo Mountain

Stone Bamboo Mountain - we think

OK, full disclosure: we never actually made it all the way up this one. We started too late in the day, hadn't packed enough water and were feeling vaguely ill...and were not sure why. The view over it is beautiful, though. While Lonely Planet claims it's visible from Jingtong, we couldn't see it when we arrived.

The trail to Stone Bamboo (we do know how to get to it, we got pretty far) starts off the same as the trail to Shulongjian, but after awhile you come to a T-junction and have to head in the opposite direction. This trail is not stairs all the way; there are entire sections of actual trail. Made of dirt. That you have to hike up, instead of step up! Wow. After the first bout of "real hiking" there is another T-junction - on the right is the trail to Stone Bamboo mountain, which heads downhill for awhile. To the left is a short trail that ends at a cell phone tower, near which you'll find a good place to break for lunch.

If you want to climb both peaks but don't want to do it on the same day, there is one guesthouse we know of in Jingtong run by the Wang family. It's outside town, follow the road past the old Japanese teahouse restaurant and turn right, the guesthouse is on the left. It's next to the site of the first mine (coal or gold, I forget) opened by the Japanese. Their two black Formosan dogs, Da Wang and Xiao Wang, are very friendly. They have two rooms and are not cheap at $1600 kuai a night (the rooms are quite nice though), which includes free Taiwanese breakfast on the patio.

3.) Dutiful Son Mountain (Xiaozishan, which I'm too lazy to key into my bopomofo keyboard)

Joseph at the rocky precipice near the final climb to Xiaozishan's peak

Xiaozishan is a beauty - and the craziest part of that beauty is that nobody seems to know it's there except for the Taipei Day Trips guy, and one old guy in Pingxi who likes to take pictures of it.

It's not a hard climb, easily done in half a day or less. The top is a jagged pinnacle of rock - literally a pinnacle - like something out of a Road Runner cartoon - accessible only because of a system of carved steps, metal handles and ropes. Most of it was put in by one of Chiang Kai-shek's old bodyguards as a hobby. There are two ways up - one will probably kill you and the other probably won't. Just in case it does, however, there are lots of statues of Guanyin and other deities to make sure your mangled corpse is watched over by the right folks and your soul goes to the right place:

Just in case you die, the gods are right there, ready to help a brutha out.

The other plus is the gorgeous view of other jagged, stunted, pinnacled and cut-up peaks in the area, framing the skyline. It's especially compelling on a misty day, though I wouldn't attempt this in the rain (we did, but we're dumb).

To get there, take the bus or train to Pingxi. From Pingxi town, go to the Pingxi-Muzha road and turn left (across the street from the creek). There is a sign for Ruifang and just after that, a small bit of stone steps next to a tiny waterfall. Walk up this to a giant temple with a friendly, fat white cat and a monk who loves to feed people sweet potatoes, and after that hang a left. You'll find yourself in a clearing with several trail options. To the left is Xiaozishan. To the left is Cimushan (Loving Mother Mountain).

Earlier on (towards Muzha) there is another entryway if you are driving, turn right just before Pingxi town and you'll find yourself at a convenient trailhead where five trails converge.

4.) Loving Mother Mountain (Cimushan)

That one's next. Trailhead is right next to the one for Dutiful Son.

Hiking Tidbits

An interesting article in the China Post outlines a walk along the Xiao Tzukeng trail near Ruifang and Jiufen. As a huge fan of Taipei county's "Old Trails", this one is definitely now on my list of places to visit. I'm not a fan of climbing steps as opposed to hiking - preferably on a dirt trail, close to nature, with some monkeys at the end - but it still sounds like a lovely trip.

Gold Mining Country: Xiao Tzukeng Old Trail


Two things immediately stood out as I followed Xiao Tzukeng Old Trail near the Taipei County town of

Ruifang one beautiful early morning recently. The first was the beauty of the mountain scenery rising high above my head, which is rugged and precipitous, yet covered in a dense canopy of trees and undergrowth.

It's hardly surprising that this is an outstandingly beautiful slice of countryside: the upper Keelung River valley is possibly my favorite part of Taipei County. More unexpected is the high quality of the wide, expertly cut steps that carry the trail up to the heights, quite unlike the usual uneven, narrow and slippery slabs of rock that negotiate the steepest stretches of most historic trails I've followed.

It's not until exploring further up the mountainside, as we start to decipher the information boards placed alongside the trail at intervals, that we learn why the trail here was built with so such care, and it's a surprising discovery. Xiao Tzukeng Old Trail connects the lowlands of the Keelung River valley just north of the village of Houtung (侯硐) with the tiny, long abandoned settlement of Xiao Tzukeng, a tiny place perched high in the mountains (unreachable by any road), built to house the families of miners hoping to make their fortune at the gold mines above Jiufen, which is just a short climb over the ridge behind.

Recently upgraded and signposted, Xiao Tzukeng Old Trail (小粗坑古道) is a gentle walk, yet one that's peppered with fascinating relics from an exciting period of Taiwan's history -- the Jiufen gold rush. A few minutes after leaving the road, the first of many stone buildings, now nothing but a picturesque ruin enveloped in the jungle, stands beside the track.

In another minute or two, the track becomes a trail, crosses the rocky stream twice in quick succession, and reaches the bottom of a grand staircase of wide, well-hewn steps that lead all the way up the mountainside to the abandoned village and beyond.

The width and careful construction of these steps really is quite surprising to anyone who has walked more than a couple of Taiwan's hundreds of "old trails," so it's obvious that the villagers here were far wealthier than the farmers, villagers and fishermen who laid many of the other trails across the mountains throughout Taiwan.

About half-an-hour from the trailhead, the path climbs onto a large, stone platform rising high above the stream that flows at its foot. A quick look at our trusty hiking book revealed that a waterwheel was apparently once fixed here, and that gold-bearing rock brought from the mines was crushed and washed at this place. Or at least maybe it could be after wet weather -- the streambed was bone dry on our visit.

A long, wide staircase now climbs for about twenty minutes from the bank of the stream to the edge of the abandoned village of Xiao Tzukeng, a wonderfully atmospheric place, with a handful of half-ruined stone buildings lining the path, half hidden by the thick foliage of the encroaching jungle.

A trail on the left leads past the ruins of the village's old elementary school (which had a single classroom and just one teacher, so that only first and second grade kids could be taught here), and on up more steps past a picturesque small Earth God shrine to a wooden platform atop the nearest summit, providing a good view of Ruifang and the Keelung River Valley.

It's hard to imagine a bustling community of over 200 people once lived here, but another helpful info-board informed us that Xiao Tzukeng was once quite a lively place. A stage once stood in the playground of the school, and the village even had its own ensemble of Chinese Beiguan musicians!

Continuing onwards and upwards, after diverting around the grounds of the only house in town that's still inhabited (apparently by a couple of monks), a short but narrow, overgrown and difficult trail leaves the steps on the right and contours the precipitous hillside, reaching (after about five minutes' scramble) the foot of the small but very pretty Yingssu ("silver silk") Waterfall (銀絲瀑布), a hidden little place that's worth the trouble of getting there even when it's dry (as is often the case!).

The steps (a bit dilapidated in places now) climb steeply for another hot twenty minutes to reach a large and dignified stone shrine, protected by an unsightly concrete roof. This is the Temple to the Mountain Gods, a place at which miners en route to the mines at Jiufen would request permission before extracting rock from the mountainside, in the hope that the assent of the gods would ensure their safety while underground. The shrine is big enough to enter. Inside, in a niche at the back, sits a small stone figure, a replacement for the original statue (covered in gold leaf) that once sat here.

Jiufen (and, of course, its crowds) is now just a short climb, over the ridge.