Pingxi Valley Sites: In and Around Shifen Village, Beyond the Sky Lanterns (十分)
The main waterfall at Shifen
Shifen is well-known for sky lantern launching on the old street and also for its main waterfall. But there are a few lesser known cool sites and curiosities in and around the village. Just before reaching Shifen from the Muzha road there's a fairly well-hidden natural site off to the right. The Shifen bat cave contains no bats but it is an impressive hollow. It was used for shelter during World War 2 bombing raids. This excellent article charts out the directions to the cave though prepare to get a little lost. Myself and my friend also could not locate the second cave which does have bats living inside.
The Shifen main street is dissected by the Pingxi branch line tracks and is crowded even on weekdays (the photo below is from a Wednesday evening).
On my first visit, while new to Taiwan, I asked my Taiwanese friends if a train still came through here. They assured me it did not as it would be too dangerous. Five minutes later a packed diesel train rumbled slowly through! Visitors launch sky lanterns from the tracks after painting wishes on them. The lanterns don't burn up in the sky and fall as garbage in the forests around the valley.
Recently I tested a new lantern design which burns up completely and leaves no residue. I was happy to see they worked well and I hope these catch on as a slightly more eco-friendly version. I was a little sad to see nowhere selling them as I walked through the main street a week ago. On your way through the village check out the nearby Jingan suspension bridge. This was built in 1947 to transport coal from mines above Nanshan Village. There isn't really anything on the other side of the bridge and I'm unaware of the location of any old mines up here.
I forgot to take a picture of the bridge so here’s a scenic little temple near the waterfalls
A lane above the old street holds the remains of the Longxing Movie Theater. The interior has been completely stripped and parts of the balcony look quite flimsy. I first saw this place written about here, when it was something of a dumping ground for everything from fake flowers to old videogame kiosks. I don't know what the future holds for this old theater as I haven't seen anything recent written about it.
The movie theater hall
Old ticket windows
Near the town is a large coal sorting facility ruin. The tracks that brought coal down here still exist along with some other coal washing facilities a little way further uphill.
The mine that used this facility is now the Taiwan Coal Mine Museum. This was the last mine in the Pingxi Valley to close, finally stopping production in 1997. The outbuildings have been developed with some informative displays and mock-ups but sadly it's mostly in Chinese. The original old mine train takes tourists on short rides in converted coal trucks. It's still driven by the same woman who drove it during the mining days.
A lot of bats live here
One of the more famous attractions in Shifen is the waterfall a short walk south of the village. It's one of the widest falls in Taiwan though it's not especially high. The small park around it is free to enter and has some good viewing platforms. While the top of the waterfall has been augmented to give it a more classic look the site still looks quite natural. Unfortunately there is no swimming in the vast pool at the base.
On a low water day you can see some of the artificial augmentation
This “Little Niagara” as the slightly ambitious nickname goes isn't the only waterfall in the area. An easy river walk starting at the bridge next to the visitor center will take you to Yanjingdong Falls. Here the water spills over a lip of a hollow creating a fine curtain on some days. Sadly when I visited the water level was too low for this so I was treated to a rather limp looking dribble. The name roughly translates as glasses or spectacles though I don't really see the resemblance. Take a look at the pictures here for how it looks in the right conditions.
A small river near the highway overpass looks like it'll be an easy river trace. Apparently there are some small waterfalls up there. This will be updated come summer.
Quite a way out of town are the ruins of the Yeren Gu (Savage Valley) Park. The name apparently refers to a rock in the valley that resembles an indigenous person. I'm pretty sure that name wouldn't fly in these more sensitive times. After a typhoon destroyed a lot of the facilities this already isolated park was left to revert back to nature. Sadly, as it's still private, access to a few waterfalls on the grounds is not possible. The main entrance in the large car park is guarded by both humans and dogs. Given what I know about the local terrain this is another potential river trace for next summer however I do know there is a dam at some point. I'll see how far I get.
The ticket office and an arched building are the only intact remnants of the park.
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