Pingxi

Pingxi means ‘smooth streams’ in Chinese. It is because the upstream of the creak flowing here is steep and strong and it becomes flat and gentle here. It is the middle stop of the Pingxi train line. It was developed in Japanese occupation period and there are still many old Japanese style houses around the neighborhood. In the old days, this stop used to be very busy for it was a transit stop to exchange trains and people took the chance to buy or sell things. A lot of miners also lived here and it attracted other business to merge in. After the coal mining business went down, this place also faced depression. Not until the beginning of 21 century when our government promoted tourism, it gradually became alive again. Except for the famous sky lanterns releasing activity at night, there are also many old shops and restaurants worth visiting, like the sausage grilling shops, traditional noodle shops, and almond tea shops. A lot of movies also chose this place as one of their scenes, like the famous Taiwanese movie ‘You Are the Apple of My Eye’ by Giddens Ko. If you are into hiking, there are also many trails for your family to go to. These trails will take you to even better views of this beautiful little mountain town.