Jiufen (九份) is a very popular place now, and many foreign visitors go there to enjoy the special style of the old town. Jiufen means 9 things, because there were only 9 family lived in this mountainous area before gold mine was found. If someone went to the town to buy something, he would buy 9 things at the same time.
Keelung mountain is just in front of Jiufen, but many visitors missed the nearby hiking trail. The entrance of the hiking trail is near the parking lot of Jiufen, and is 150 m away from the entrance of Jiufen old street.
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| Keelung Mt |
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| The trail entrance on the main road. |
There are several lookout points on the trail, and you can see the full view of Jiufen and Jingaushi(金瓜石). Because of annual strong wind from the north, the mountains are usually covered with silvergrass, and it wound be very hot on the trail under the sun. Wearing a hat is needed for the sun and wind.
Soon after hiking, two roads will diverge in the silvergrass, and you can choose any one to travel, because the two roads will meet together again. The main trail (685 m) is steep with thousand of steps, and the branch one (1395 m) is less steep but longer. It may take you 40 mins to go up and 30 mins to go down. It is rather easy to finish the trail and you can see the gorgeous view of both the mountains and the sea. I recommend you to eat a bowl of sliced ice in Jiufen after hiking, and that wound be a wonderful experience.
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| The main trail and the branch. |
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| Steep main trail |
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| My kids walking on the steep main trail. |
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| The view on the trail |
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| The view on the trail |
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| The view of Jinguashi and Jiufen |
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| Beatiful silvergrass |
Mountain climbing may change history. These mountains near Jiufen, including the Keelung island, were formed about 1 millions years ago by undersea volcanic eruption, therefore some metals, such as gold , silver and copper were brought to the earth surface.
In 1626-1642, the Spanish people built a castle in Keelung, but they were defeated by the Dutch. The Dutch in southern Taiwan were then defeated by Koxinga in 1662. The Dutch occupied Keelung again in 1664, but they leaved Keelung in 1667 because they found nothing good here. Because they did not climb these mountains , they didn't find the gold. The gold mine was found in 1890, and it was once the biggest gold mine in Asia. There is still gold in the deep of Jiufen and Jinguashi.
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| The whole view of Keelung Mt. I took this picture on the top of Teapot Mt near Jinguashi. |
Simple info:
Keelung Mt peak (elev 558 m)
Entrance (elev 328 m) , near Jiufen parking lot, 150m away form the entrance of Jiufen old street.
Main trail (658 m)
Branch trail (1395 m)
40 mins go up , 30 mins go down
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