Chiufen, Taiwan

Chiufen is an old town in northern Taiwan. According to the senders of these cards, the town was famous for its gold mine. Now the mine is closed and Chiufen is a famous tourist spot with many old grocery shops and teahouses.


From vickietsai for the favorites tag.


From shui for a vacation RR group.

Two movies have been set there. One is a Taiwanese movie about Chiufen. The other is Hayao Miyazaki's "Spirited Away." I can definitely see the resemblance. Can you?

I may have to add this to my list of Ghibli pilgrimage sites. I've already been to the Ghibli museum in Mitaka; Seiseki-sakuragaoka, the inspiration-place for Whisper of the Heart; and the Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architecture Museum with the bathhouse from Spirited Away. I also still want to visit Yakushima, inspiration-place for Princess Mononoke. Have I forgotten any other locations? 

Tabebuia chrysantha (golden goddess), a 2009 definitive.

On the left is 2009 definitive of Calliandra emarginata (pink powderpuff). The other two are commemoratives from the 2010 Taipei International Floral Expo (which I posted about here), tulip and lily.