Sky Lantern Town of Shifen, along the Ping Hsi Branch Railway Line of Taiwan

March, 2013

Considered myself more acquainted with Taipei metro and railway system as the days passed by, I decided to spend another day outside the city and explore the nearby rural town of Shifen.

Along with teenagers, school kids and families on summer vacation who were waiting patiently at Ruifang station, I was excited to ride the famous Ping Hsi Branch Railway Line. There is very limited information available on the web about this particular train line but with whatever information there is, it always promises one thing – a ride along a scenic rural side of Taiwan with waterfalls, farmlands, bridges and houses along the track.

With a total length of 12.9 kilometers and said to be originally built for coal transportation, the six station town along Ping His Branch Railway offers variety of tourist attraction but united by one common theme- sky lanterns and the Lantern Festival.

The town of Shifen is the 3rd stop along the railway and must be the most famous one apart from the Ping Hsi station itself, since everyone on-board the train has decided to stop over.

The sky lantern shops besides the track and the few tourist who are preparing their lanterns, writing wishes and prayers are the first thing you will notice at the town of Shifen. Mid-day is not the ideal time to fly sky lanterns and only few can be seen up in the air together with blinding sun rays.

A “peaceful bridge” connects the station area to the non-touristy side of the town. While to reach from one side of the station to another, you have to cross the track.

Apart from the shops and the houses along the train tracks, what I like the most is my walk inside the residential neighbourhood as I made my way towards Shifen Falls.

The walk from Shifen station towards the waterfall takes about 15 to 20 minutes but walking on a summer noon it feels like forever, though the scenic view of the hanging bridge, the passing Ping Hsi Branch train and the Keelung River compensates for the uncomfortable, sticky sweaty feeling.

Ideally, it is shorter to walk from Dahua station to the waterfalls than Shifen, but you have to break the rules and take the risk of walking along the tracks.

The Shifen Waterfalls is said to be Taiwan’s greatest screen curtain style waterfall, with some even declaring it as Taiwan’s “mini” Niagara Falls.
An entrance fee of 50 TWD is required to enter the waterfalls area and several patios are available for picnic,that is if you are able to secure a spot.

After a half day spent at Shifen, I decided to head back to Taipei but made a brief stop at the town of Ruifang. Nothing special going on but I like the vibe of simplicity and people walking around just going about their daily lives.

This type of chicken cuisine is quite famous in Taiwan and widely available on all markets I been to so far, do you know what it is?

On-board the train back to Taipei, I keep on thinking how nice it must be to backpack along the six stations of Ping Hsi railway but not sure about the availability of hostels or dorms.

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