Jiufen

Jiufen used to flourish in its gold rush days, and revived itself with tourism, instead of becoming a ghost town. A famous Taiwanese movie, Feiqing Chengshi (A City of Sadness), was filmed here. The imaginary town in the Japanese movie, Spirited Away, was inspired by this town. These two films have helped the town attract Japanese tourists as well as domestic ones.
When we visited Jiufen, its streets were full of tourists. We increased the number by more than hundred. Japanese words other than our own reached our ears. It sounded like many Japanese tourists were there.
Jiufen's narrow, crooked and steep streets reminded me of the scenes when I visited antique posting stations and temple towns in Japan. The streets were sandwiched between souvenir shops, small eating houses, and some other mysterious storefronts. As we sauntered along the streets, various smells swirled around us; a sugary scent from the Chinese sweets shop, and the strong odor of stinky tofu among others.
The last street abruptly opened, and the lookout at the end commanded a bay and its port town, Jilong, far down the hills. The misty rain heightened a rather exotic mood.
Returning from the lookout gave our students shopping opportunities. Some raided a calligraphy shop to ask to draw their names and favorite phrases in snake-like letters. A couple of students looked for lucky-charm stones. Many others were having a look in various souvenir shops.
Jiufen was sufficiently an attraction.

In Japan, some mimic post-World-War-II Showa streets have been built to attract domestic Japanese tourism. They give baby boomers nostalgia.
There is a reason why Jiufen evokes nostalgia for some Japanese tourists.
The Meiji Restoration Government in Japan launched an expedition to Taiwan in April 1874. In May, the Qing Dynasty in China began to send in troops to the island. The government of Japan realized the Japanese Imperial Regime was still not ready to fight for a supremacy over the East Asia with the Qing Dynasty, and decided to withdraw its forces by the end of the year.
The First Sino-Japanese War broke out between the Qing Dynasty and the Meiji Loyalist Government in 1894, over control of Korea. Following its defeat, China ceded Taiwan to Japan in the Treaty of Shimonoseki, signed on April 17, 1895.
In 1893, gold had been discovered in the Jiufen area. The resulting gold rush made the town prosperous during the Japanese rule. Many present features of Jiufen reflect the era under Japanese colonization, with many Japanese inns surviving to this day.

Domestic Japanese tourists are also attracted to ethnic towns and restaurants in Japan. We have come to have a couple of mimic China towns both in Tokyo and Osaka, along with traditional genuine China towns in Yokohama, Kobe, and Nagasaki. Both kinds of China towns attract tourists because of their exotic atmosphere.
Jiufen streets look exotic, authentically Chinese, to us. As the town is in Taiwan, it is not surprising that the town bears a Chinese ambiance, despite the controversy over whether the island is a part of the Republic of China, the People’s Republic of China, or an independent country. The controversy caused the 228 Incident, or also known as the 228 Massacre, on February 28, 1947. In 1989, Hou Hsiao-hsien's film touched on the incident, and became a big hit. Jiufen, where the film was set, revived thanks to the film's popularity. The nostalgic scenery of Jiufen charmed many Taiwanese people into visiting the town. The tourist boom even increased retro-Chinese style cafes, tea houses, and souvenir stores.

Jiufen gives us both exotic and retro feelings.