I made my way to Ruifang after leaving Taoyuan International Airport where I would stay a night. I was starving by the time I reached Ruifang. After checking in, the staff at the accommodation suggested that I have my meal in Ruifang so I wasn't 'pressured' to eat in Jiufen where I wanted to go in the evening. It was a great suggestion because I found Jiufen still too crowded for my liking and roaming around looking for food when starving won't be ideal. It ended with me didn't get any food in Jiufen. 

Ruifang is a convenient base to visit formerly gold mining towns like Jiufen and Pingxi. It is also convenient to get to from the airport via Taipei Main Station. I decided to make this my base for the night, instead of overnighting at Jiufen to avoid having to backtrack to Ruifang the next day. There are lockers within Ruifang Station but I left my luggage at the accommodation as it was only a very short walk. 

My first stop in Ruifang after checking in was Ruifang Food Court. There were a good variety of food to choose from but I knew what I wanted - Rou geng (translated on menu as pork thick soup) at Fengwei Meat Soup (豐味肉羹). I ordered noodles in pork thick soup aka rou geng noodles. So hearty and tasty. 

Before leaving the food court, I picked up a pepper bun from Lin's Fuzhou pepper bun (瑞芳林記福州胡椒餅).

I had more food at Ruifang the next morning before I left for my day trip to Shifen, Pingxi and Jingtong. I had my eye set on Ah Hsia’s stall for Dragon-and-Phoenix leg(阿霞龍鳳腿). The Dragon-and-Phonenix leg's filling is made of fish paste, pork leg meat, cabbage, onion, carrot, etc., and then wrapped in lard net and fried.

It was pouring with rain when I got to the stall which is along the road towards Ruifang Food Court. There was only 1 person in front of me in the queue. The stall owner offered his umbrella for me to use while waiting even though I was in my rain jacket. 

I needed more food and walked-in to one of the food stalls and got myself a bowl of rougeng rice vermicelli (肉羹麵線). 

Founded during the Qing Dynasty, this small town was a relatively isolated village until the discovery of gold during the Japanese occupation in 1893. Thereafter it quickly developed due to a gold rush. Many buildings in the town remain unchanged to this day, reflecting the Japanese influence on both architecture and culture on the island. After the war, gold mining activities declined, and the town today exists mainly as a tourist destination and celebrating Taiwanese history and culture.

To get to Jiufen by bus from Ruifang, turn left after exiting the train station (i.e. train station behind you) and walk around 200 metres down Mingdeng Road. Next to the police station (the opposite side of Ruifang station) is a bus station named Local Residents Plaza 區民廣場. There are a few buses that go toward Jiufen like 1062 or 788. 

I thought by getting to Jiufen after 6 PM, there would be a smaller crowd. Plus it has been raining on/off throughout the day so it was a foggy evening too. Well, I don't know for sure if there were less people compared to other timings but it was definitely still buzzing with humans. These photos were at at a less busy areas and of course, the one with A-Mei Teahouse wasn't at pedestrian level.  

Side note: Labour Day