Jinshan Old Street

Although Jinshan Old Street is just a three hundred-meter-long narrow street, it is always packed with tourists from all over the world. The area near the street used to be call Jinbaoli (金包里) and was originally the settlement of the Taiwanese aboriginal tribe Jinbaolishe (金包里社). Later it was completely settled by immigrants from China such that today you won’t see any trace of aboriginal culture. When you reach the end of the street, you will see the Guangan Temple (廣安宮）where the god Tan Goan-kong (開漳聖王) is worshiped. This section of the temple was built to commemorate his protection of Chinese immigrants safely crossing the Taiwan Strait. Next to Guangan Temple resides the esteemed restaurant, Jinshan Duck Meat (金山鴨肉). This restaurant is usually so busy that it gives the whole street the atmosphere of a banquet. Indeed, as a result of its popularity, the owners have rented many locations along the street, meaning that the whole length can sometimes appear to be people carrying plates of duck meat shuffling between the various stores. In addition to duck meat, Ayu Food (阿玉蔴粩), Hot Toffee Sweet Potato (拔絲地瓜) and Snow Leopard Ice City (雪豹冰城) are all famous stalls. Juming Museum (朱銘美術館) and Dharma Drum Mountain (法鼓山), which is a Buddhist holy place in northern Taiwan, are not far away from Jinshan Old Street, so you can visit these sites in the same day as well.