First time when I visited Jiufen, in 2020, it was enjoyable. I happened to visit it recently with family and found it overrated. It has the old charm at night, with lanterns and good tea and an inspiration for spirited away.
However, to actually reach there and enjoy all that takes too much effort and is not worth it. The old street is just way overcrowded. Maintenance is poor, resulting in bad street surface at most points, which makes it unsuitable for the elderly or strollers.
Lanterns - for all the hype, very poorly maintained. Many are broken, fitted with loose dangerous wiring. Fire hazards.
Horrendous public toilets - you would think the government would spend money on construction and maintenance of public toilets, but no. The ones at the start of old street are just terrible. If you walk in some of the smaller alley steps, there is the smell of sewage.
Most of the shops were not enjoyable for me this time - it’s the same touristy stuff in every shop. If you’d close down all shops and just keep 1 mementos shop, 1 tea place, one art shop, it’d still be the same.
Anyways, I feel Jiufen has a charm that you can’t enjoy, unless you go there when its really and off-peak times. But it shouldn’t be that way. Tourists should be able to enjoy and have a good time on weekends. Maybe some sort of entry system will help?
New Taipei City | Jiufen