A former gold-mining settlement on Taiwan's northeast coast, one valley over from famous Jiufen. Under Japanese rule it was one of Asia's richest gold and copper mines; today its terraced ruins, shrine stairways and mining relics form the Gold Museum ecomuseum district, with a fraction of Jiufen's crowds.

How do I get to Jinguashi from Taipei?

Train from Taipei to Ruifang (40-50 min), then bus 788 or 827/826 up the mountain (15-20 min, stopping at Jiufen on the way). Direct buses (965, 1062) also run from Taipei metro stations. As a day trip allow a full day for Jinguashi + Jiufen; the last buses down run into the evening.

Is the Teapot Mountain hike hard?

It's short but honest: from the trailhead above the Gold Museum, stone steps climb about an hour to the teapot-shaped crag, with the Pacific, the Yin-Yang Sea and the whole mining coast below. The final scramble into the 'teapot' itself is optional and hands-on. Weather turns fast, the northeast coast brews mist; bring a layer.

Jinguashi or Jiufen, or both?

Both, in this order: Jinguashi by day (museum, hike, shrine, waterfall), then Jiufen at dusk when the lanterns light and the tour groups thin. Staying overnight in Jiufen completes the trick, its famous stairs are yours by 20:30.

JinguashiTAIWAN · THE GOLD COAST Book a stay

The crag of Teapot Mountain above Jinguashi

THE INDEPENDENT GUIDE TO JINGUASHI · NEW TAIPEI, TAIWAN

The gold mountain above the two-colored sea

Q: What is the Yin-Yang Sea?

The bay below Jinguashi where mineral-rich runoff from the old mines keeps the water permanently two-colored, ochre-gold meeting deep blue in a sharp line. Best seen from the coast road viewpoints or the Teapot Mountain trail, with the thirteen-level remains of the Shuinandong smelter cascading above it.

One ridge from Jiufen's lantern crowds, Jinguashi keeps the real story: Asia's richest gold mine turned open-air museum, a teapot-shaped peak over the Pacific, a waterfall running ochre with minerals, and a sea permanently split in two colors. This is the quiet half of Taiwan's gold coast, and the better one.

TAIPEI ~1.5 H · TEAPOT MTN HIKE ~1 H UP · PAIR WITH JIUFEN AT DUSK

Totoro0601, CC BY-SA 3.0

01The sights

A mine that became a mountain museum

Jinguashi's relics aren't fenced off, they're the landscape. The Gold Museum district strings together mine tunnels, Japanese-era dormitories and rail tracks; above them, trails climb to shrine ruins and the teapot crag; below, the minerals keep painting waterfall and sea.

MUSEUM CLOSED MONDAYS (TYPICALLY) · TOUCH THE 220 KG GOLD BRICK · WEAR REAL SHOES FOR THE TRAILS

Teapot Mountain rising above the green ridges

~1 H UP

THE HIKE

Teapot Mountain

Stone steps to the teapot-shaped crag, the Pacific filling half the view and the mining coast the other. The final scramble through the "spout" is optional, hands-on and worth it.

2-3 H

THE ECOMUSEUM

Gold Museum district

Walk into the Benshan Fifth Tunnel with helmet on, then try to lift the 220 kg gold brick, everyone does, nobody can.

THE CHEMISTRY

Golden Waterfall

Mineral runoff gilds every ledge of this roadside cascade, no filter involved, just pyrite and iron doing their slow work.

The two-colored Yin-Yang Sea below Shuinandong

THE PHENOMENON

The Yin-Yang Sea

Ochre meets deep blue in a hard line offshore, the bay's permanent two-tone signature, best from the coast-road viewpoints.

THE RUIN

Ōgon Shrine

Two torii and a flight of mossy steps are all that remain of the mine's Shinto shrine, fifteen minutes up, a century back.

02Getting there & pairing with Jiufen

Day for the mine, dusk for the lanterns

Jinguashi and Jiufen share a mountain and a bus line but not a rhythm: Jiufen peaks mid-afternoon, Jinguashi never really crowds. The winning order, museum and hike by day, Jiufen's lantern stairs at dusk, is detailed in our day-trip guide.

FROM TAIPEI

Train + bus

TPE → RUIFANG 40-50 MIN · BUS 15-20 MIN

Train to Ruifang, then bus 788/825/827 up the mountain. Direct buses 965 and 1062 also run from the city. EasyCard covers everything.

THE ORDER

Jinguashi first

MUSEUM AM · HIKE MIDDAY · JIUFEN 17:00

Do the quiet valley while the coaches besiege Jiufen; arrive at the lantern stairs as the groups leave. The mountain rewards contrarians.

THE WEATHER

Mist is part of it

NE MONSOON OCT-MAR · LAYERS ALWAYS

The northeast coast catches every front: hot sun and sideways mist can share an afternoon. The gloom photographs beautifully, Jiufen's lanterns exist because of it.

03The weight of the gold

A hard history, told honestly

Jinguashi's gold built fortunes and took lives. The Japanese-era mine ran on harsh labour, and during WWII the adjacent Kinkaseki camp held Allied prisoners of war who worked the copper tunnels in brutal conditions, a memorial above the valley honours them. The museum district tells these stories plainly; visiting them is part of understanding the beautiful ruins.

The mines closed in the 1980s; the mountain's second life as an ecomuseum began in 2004. What you walk through is not a theme park, it is a community's memory, kept open.

The Jinguashi valley and its scattered relics

THE VALLEY

Terraces of memory

Dormitories, crumbled smelters, rails to nowhere: the valley reads like a stone archive, and the interpretation boards read like its index.

THE RAILS

The ore line

Carts once rolled gold ore down these tracks to the smelters at Shuinandong, follow them on foot for the coast views.

Evening view over the valley from near the shrine

THE HOUR

Last light on the ridges

Stay for the hour when the valley goes amber and Keelung's ships blink offshore, then ride two stops to Jiufen's lanterns.

04Where to stay

Sleep above the lanterns or back in the city

Jiufen's guesthouses put the famous stairways outside your door at 06:30, empty. Taipei keeps the full city toolkit and makes the mountain an easy day return. Either way, book Jiufen weekends early, Taiwanese travellers love it too.

ON THE MOUNTAIN

Jiufen

Teahouse views, lantern evenings, dawn stairs to yourself

THE CITY BASE

Taipei

Full city, easy day trip by train + bus

05Journal

GUIDE · OCT 2026

Jinguashi & Jiufen in one day, without the crowds

Museum, teapot, waterfall, lanterns: the contrarian timetable that beats the coaches at every stop.

COMING SOON

The Kinkaseki story

The POW camp in the beautiful valley: what happened here, and how to visit the memorial with respect.

COMING SOON

The Shuinandong coast on foot

Thirteen-level ruins, the Yin-Yang viewpoints and the ore-cart paths down to the sea.

06Frequently asked questions

What is Jinguashi?

A former gold-mining settlement turned ecomuseum district, one valley from Jiufen, the quiet half of Taiwan's gold coast.

How do I get there from Taipei?

Train to Ruifang (40-50 min) + bus up the mountain (15-20 min, via Jiufen), or direct buses 965/1062. EasyCard works throughout.

Is Teapot Mountain hard?

About an hour of stone steps; the final scramble into the crag is optional. Weather shifts fast, carry a layer.

What is the Yin-Yang Sea?

The permanently two-colored bay below the old mines, mineral runoff keeps ochre and blue meeting in a sharp offshore line.

Jinguashi or Jiufen?

Both: Jinguashi by day, Jiufen at dusk when the lanterns light and the groups leave. Overnighting in Jiufen earns you its stairs at dawn.

Is one day enough?

Yes for the classics (museum, hike, waterfall, Jiufen evening). Add a night for the Shuinandong coast walks and a mist-free second chance at the views.

Gold below, lanterns above, mist on schedule

Find a place to stay

Outlookxp, CC BY-SA 4.0