Welcome to Pingxi

Located in Pingxi Township, the Lingjiao Waterfall is less than a five-minute walk from Lingjiao Station. It is the second largest waterfall in Pingxi, only next to Shifen Waterfall. With eleven meters in height and forty meters in width, this waterfall is of a drape shape. As you enter this mini train station, you will see an activity center on its side.

Walking along the rail tracks, a signboard reading “Lingjiao Grotto Waterfall” is erected there, and visitors can enter through an unmanned small gate. When the volume of the waterfall rises, it looks like a spectacular white curtain.

However, it is forbidden to come near the waterfall or play in this area because of the vortexes formed in the waters. For the sake of safety, the waterfall is closed to the public, but tourists can admire this majestic curtain-like waterfall at a distance.

The name of Xiaozishan was passed down from Qing Dynasty, when a son of filial piety swore to take revenge for his father’s death by a tiger’s attack in the mountains. He completed his task and then died there. Xiaozi means “a son of filial piety” in Chinese.

Xiaozishan is 360 meters a.s.l., and known for its precipitous, steep slope, thus also called “Little Yellow Mountain”, showing how dangerously steep the slope is! The entrance of this mountain is by the City Highway 106, opposite to Pingxi Junior High School.

It takes approximately two hours to complete the winding mountainous trail. Of the entire route, the most dangerous part would be a section noted for its nearly vertical bluff and hanging-in-the-air steel ladder positioned to help hikers get to the top.
It requires courage and strength to scale the mountain.

When you reach the top, you can overlook the views around the mountain and enjoy the unbelievably panorama of the valley of the Keelung River.

Located at one of the main roads in Pingxi, the Azhen Restaurant lures diners with its authentic local flavor advertised by a wooden signboard.
The restaurant offers a wide variety of Chinese dishes, especially stir-fried dishes with local produce.
The experienced lady of the restaurant is a chef of speed, who can serve a house of diners within minutes. Diner may want to order some lighter dishes in hot summer.

The aroma of sausages and chicken filets can be smelt at a distance, which makes tourists’ mouth water. The flavored sausages are so special and tasty; not to mention the lady owner would remember everyone who has visited before.

This makes customers feel warm and welcome. The authentic local between-meal delicacy has been around for over three decades. Tourists may stroll around and enjoy the local scenery while having another bite of sausage.

No visitor can easily forget the enthusiastic owner, a friendly price and such as yummy ice cream.
You will enjoy watching the owner making the peanut ice cream rolls step by step: first putting a layer of thin spring roll skin, followed by ground peanut sugar, and a ball of taro ice cream, and lastly, another layer of peanut sugar and a few coriander leaves.
Now you have this generously big ice cream roll in front of you, why wait? Have a huge bite right away and “gulp it down” before ice cream melts.

Nothing beats the joy of enjoying cool tofu pudding under scorching sun. Pingxi Mountain Spring Tofu Pudding uses the water of mountain spring to make tofu pudding without any preservatives.
This shop also uses homemade crushed ice to make the tofu pudding even healthier. The “sugar syrup,” a base for this tofu pudding, is made by adding granulated sugar.
This, in combination with the tofu pudding made from soybean, is really cool and refreshing, and its flavor will linger for a long time.

The Pingxi Post Office was set up in 1941 (the 16th year of Showa period), when the pig-iron, upright post box of nearly a man’s height was also erected in front of the post office during the period of Japanese rule.
This type of post box was rather common in the 1960s, but with the subsequent urban development, they were slowly replaced by space-efficiently new post boxes.
Because of its location on the higher slope, this quaint post box has been fortunately preserved till today, and is considered the oldest post box in Taiwan. Take your pen and write a memorable postcard to someone, who would be very happy to receive it from this special post box.

Widely known for its coal mines, Pingxi was a target for air raids in World War II. Locals then decided to build a bomb shelter near the Guanyinyan so they could hide in safety when air-raid sirens were heard.
This bomb shelter was made up of five caves, which can house over a hundred people. Continuing to walk along the path, you will see the air-raid bell pavilion on the mountaintop above the shelter.
In the past, once the bell rung, residents in the neighborhood would quickly run to the bomb shelter for hiding. Now in a peaceful time, the bomb shelter has become a secret site of adventure for tourists instead of a shelter for safety.

Amid the old street lined with vendors and shops that feature sky lanterns, Hongchang Fabric Store where printed cloth is stacked stands out to draw visitors’ attention. Most of the merchandize sold in this shop are printed cotton fabric and textiles.
The owner is responsible for gentlemen’s attires, while his missus, Lin Kao Meiyun for ladies’ clothes. Five decades ago, this store sold mainly fabrics and customized Chinese and Western dresses and suits.

When Pingxi was transformed into a tourism town over the past years, Hongchang Fabric Store started to make attires of others styles. Currently it offers Japanese attires aside from Chinese and Western clothes. The first cloth-made sky lantern was also created in this store. Years later, the owner’s son opened a workshop called Meiyun Arts Workshop in his Mom’s name, in which there are traditional sky lanterns made of xuan paper available, and customers can also buy sky lanterns made of printed cloth, which adds creativity into traditional items.

Whether you want to buy sky lanterns or clothes, auntie Meiyun would greet you warmly.

Situated in Lingjiao Village, Pingxi Dist., Pingxi Station was known as “Shidiyi,” a main station along the Pingxi subline. Later, considering the station’s location at the upstream of the Keelung River, where the water flows slowly, the station was renamed “Pingxi” (In Chinese, “ping” means slow and smooth, “xi” means a stream).
This station, perched at the hilltop, is located right between Pingxi and Lingjiao, overseeing the beautiful view of the Keelung River. The nostalgic air of the station and its neighboring narrow streets resemble famous Jiufen Old Street. The Pingxi Station draws tourists from far and wide with its natural beauty and cultural characteristics.

Shifen Scenic Area covers a wide area, from Ruifang to Shiding, Shuangxi and Shifenliao in its north, which belongs to the waterfall and valley type in the scenic areas of Taiwan.
Shifen Waterfall, the largest cascade waterfall in Taiwan, is also known as “Niagara Falls of Taiwan”.

Compared to the magnificent Niagara Falls, Shifen Waterfall’s mere 20 meters’ drop gives visitors an entirely different feel.
The pool below the waterfall is very deep and the often-dense water vapor refracts the sunlight to form a gorgeous rainbow spanning the waters, giving the pool the beautiful name of “Rainbow Pool”.
Such a serene and relaxing site always makes visitors linger and reluctant to leave.

Shifen Waterfall Trail built next to the Keelung River is a winding path lined with flowers and grasses as well as densely growing subtropical plants of various kinds.
Along the trail towards Shifen Waterfall, visitors can pause for a while at Siguangtan Suspension Bridge to admire the unique potholes.
Xiaoyanjing Waterfall is another must-visit spot along the trail, which is tiny, pretty, and whimsical, looking like a pair of spectacles.

The box is in the shape of Pingxin’s symbol, a sky lantern, which holds Grandma Su’s decades’ persistence.
The most special item is the crispy green onion biscuit, which goes nicely with a cup of refreshing tea.
Each bite allows you to taste the aroma of green onion. After a long stroll in Shifen Old Street, why not try some special local delicacies?

Due to the rise of the coal industry in the 1910s, Shifen Station was built to transport coal. Although the importance of the coal industry declined later on, tourism emerged because of the station’s proximity to well-known attractions such as Shifen Waterfall and Shifen Old Street.
The most sought-after souvenir is the ticket of “Shifen-Xingfu”(meaning “very happy” in Chinese). Many visitors fell in love when admiring the pouring waterfall and the ticket became the best token of their love.

Those who frequent Shifen Station would have noticed a shack made of iron sheets by the rail tracks, which is the more-than-century-old Banyan Shade Rice Noodle Soup.
Unlike general finer rice noodles, this shop uses thicker noodles, which give a sweet and nostalgic taste when going with some shallots and chopped green onion.
If your craving is not satisfied after a bowl of rice noodle soup, you may order spicy stinky tofu; this peculiar combination of nostalgic food items will be definitely something different.

Are you dazed by the scorching sun? It's time to have a nostalgic bowl of taro balls and tofu pudding.
All ingredients are handmade by the owner, which include signature taro balls and sweet potato balls, both al denta and filling.
The quaintly decorated shop is a good choice to escape from the summer heat and admire antiques, which will be a nice experience.