Shiding District is a secret mountain paradise in New Taipei City, in northern Taiwan (新北市石碇區). Lots of people simply pass through here without knowing much about what there is to see. In this guide I will show you some of the secret historical and nature destinations in this amazing place.
Historical Background: The name Shiding comes from boats transporting goods from the area that used to use large rocks (shi 石) in the river as anchors (ding 碇). The Shiding administrative area (石碇堡) was created during the Qing Dynasty and extended from Keelung to Wenshan District. The area around Shiding Old Street was the first area to be developed by Han Chinese in Shiding. In the early days during the Qing Dynasty, the Han Chinese settlers here mainly grew tea and leeks. During the Qing Dynasty, Shiding was an important stop along the Danlan Old Trail (淡蘭古道 which means the road between Tamsui and Yilan), which was split into three paths, and Shiding was on the Southern Path. The Southern Path winded from Mengjia Old Street to Liuzhangli, then to Shengkeng, and onto Shiding which was a major tea producer at the time. From Shiding, the road then went to Pinglin and then Yilan. The Southern path was the quickest way to Yilan. During the Japanese Era until the 1980s, the major industry in the area was coal mining, As the coal mining industry winded down in the 1980s and 90s in Taiwan due to lower worldwide coal prices, the economy in Shiding suffered and many people left. The multi story buildings near Shiding Old street are a testament to the economic prosperity of the coal mining era. Currently Shiding is sparsely populated with the main economic activity including tea farming and agriculture.
See below for a map of the sites we will cover in this blog:
In this blog we will cover the following places:
See below for our drone footage of Shiding:
Let's get started!
Jingmei River Old Ferry Dock 景美溪舊碼頭 
The western edge of Shiding begins along the Jingmei River. This river was an important means of transport along the Danlan Old Trail, to bring tea and other goods from Yilan, Pinglin, and Shiding to Tamsui. In the olden times, there was a ferry dock here which is long gone, but there are some steps that lead down to the river, which has become a popular fishing spot. Check out our drone video of this area here: youtu.be/Oa3KSINktGI.
Danlan Old Trail 淡蘭古道 
As explained above, the Danlan Old Trail (淡蘭古道 which means the road between Tamsui and Yilan), which was split into three paths, and Shiding was on the Southern Path. The Southern Path winded from Mengjia Old Street to Liuzhangli, then to Shengkeng, and onto Shiding which was a major tea producer at the time...(read more).
Hours: 24/7 Price: Free How to get there: By Car: Go east on National Freeway 5, then get off at the Shiding interchange. Continue east until you reach the suspension bridge. By Scooter: From Taipei, take highway 106 east from Shenkeng toward Shiding, pass through Shiding Bao Tunnel, and soon you will come to the suspension bridge. By Bus: From Taipei City Call MRT station, you can take bus 912 to Shiding High School, after that you will have to switch to bus 666, then get of at Shuangxikou Station (雙溪口站). Xingde Cihui Temple 行徳慈惠堂 
If you take a slight detour up the hill before you reach Shiding Old Street, you can reach Xingde Cihui Temple, which is dedicated to Huye (虎爺) the tiger God. From here you can see great views of the area and National Freeway 5. There are also some excellent hiking trails in the area...(read more).
Hours: 24/7 Price: Free How to get there: By Car: Go east on National Freeway 5, then get off at the Shiding interchange. Continue east until you reach the suspension bridge. After that, take the first bridge to your right up the mountain and up to the temple. The road is a little steep so you might want to park at the bottom. By Scooter: From Taipei, take highway 106 east from Shenkeng toward Shiding, pass through Shiding Bao Tunnel, and soon you will come to the suspension bridge. After that, take the first bridge to your right up the mountain and up to the temple. By Bus: From Taipei City Call MRT station, you can take bus 912 to Shiding High School, after that you will have to switch to bus 666, then get of at Shuangxikou Station (雙溪口站). Shiding Old Street 石碇老街 
Shiding Old Street (aka Shiding East Street) is a small street in the busiest part of the mountainous Shiding District in New Taipei. There are some great restaurants here, an old mining town feel, great views of old multi story houses towering over the rivers, and beautiful surrounding mountains. Also, there are some great hiking trails and scenery nearby...(read more).
Price: Free Hours: About 8 AM to 5 PM. How to get there: By Car: Go east on National Freeway 5, then get off at the Shiding interchange. Continue east until you reach Shiding Old Street. By Scooter: From Taipei, take highway 106 east from Shenkeng toward Shiding, pass through Shiding Bao Tunnel, and soon you will come to Shiding Old Street. By Bus: From Taipei City Call MRT station, you can take bus 912 to Shiding High School, after that you will have to switch to bus 666 which will take you all the way to the old street (total about 40 minutes). Huangdidian Trail 皇帝殿登山步道 
The Huangdidian Trail (aka Huangdi Temple Trail) is a magnificent mountain hike in Shiding District of New Taipei. The trail features ladder climbs, rope climbs, and rock climbs with the aid of ropes, and the top has a vertical drop on either side. There are also great views of Taipei and the surrounding area...(read more).
Hours: 24/7 Price: Free Length: 4.5 KM, 300 meters of elevation gain About three hours total Difficulty: Moderate, there are some rope climbs and ladder climbs up sheer rock face, and sheer drop-off on either side with little protection from falls in some places. Also the trail can be quite steep in some places. How to get there: By Bus: Take Bus 912 from Taipei City Hall, then switch buses at Wanfu Bridge. Take Bus 666 to Huangdi Temple station, and the trail head is about a 15 minute walk up the hill. By Car/Scooter: Take highway 106 past Shiding Old Street, then turn left on a small road Marked "Huangdidian." There is a temple with a bunch of yellow lanterns in front of it. The Wormhole 蚯蚓坑 
The worm hole is a slot canyon in Shiding a little over ahundred meters long, with a waterfall on the other side of it. It was a popular spot for canyoning, until it was closed for swimming by the Taipei City government in 2019. Hopefully it will open again someday, but for now it is off limits.
Shiding Yuguiling Cliff 石碇玉桂嶺大峭壁 
Throughout the mountains of Shiding and Pingxi are quite a few sheer cliffs and rock walls, formed from sedimentary rock being thrust upward by tectonic forces. Many of these places are not well known and hard to get to, but they are beautiful features in Taiwan's mountainous terrain. One of the largest of such rock walls is the Yuguiling Rock Wall in Shiding, which is the largest sandstone cliff in Northern Taiwan...(read more).
Price: Free Hours: 24/7 How to get there: By Car/Scooter: Take highway 106 east through Shiding until you reach the large U shaped bridge before Yongding Village. Do not get on the bridge, and take a right under the bridge up the mountain valley. Keep going straight until you reach the rock walls. By Bus: Take bus 795 from Shiding until you reach Tengliaokeng (藤寮坑) station. From there it is about 4 KM or one hour walk to get to the cliffs, not ideal! Pudu Changsheng Bridge 普渡長生橋 
Pudu Changsheng Bridge is known as the most beautiful bridge in northern Taiwan. It is an old stone bridge that was built in 1953 to connect two small villages in the mountains of Shiding District. Now it is a popular spot for hikers and photographers.
Hours: 24/7 Price: Free How to get there: By Car Scooter: Take highway 106 east through Shiding until you reach the large U shaped bridge before Yongding Village. Do not get on the bridge, and take a right under the bridge up the mountain valley. Keep going straight until you reach Yuguiling Road, and turn left. Keep going until you see the bridge on your right side after about 500 meters. By Bus: Take bus 795 from Shiding until you reach Tengliaokeng 藤寮坑 station. From there it is about 4 KM or one hour to get to the bridge, not ideal. Thousand Island Lake 千島湖 
Thousand Island Lake (Officially Feitsui Reservoir 翡翠水庫 or Emerald Lake) is a reservoir in New Taipei that sits in Shiding District. It is a popular place to visit because the reservoir winding through the mountain valleys looks like many islands from a distance. It also has the largest concrete dam in Taiwan...(read more)
Hours: 24/7 Price: Free How to get there: Car/Scooter: Take provincial highway 9 east toward Pinglin. Take a right down the mountain right before Taipei Garden Cemetery. There are a few restaurants and lookouts along this road. Bus: Take Sindian Bus GR12 east to Shisangu Station. From there you can walk about half an hour down to the lookout.
Erge Park 二格公園
Erge Park is one of the few public parks in Shiding District, which is mostly mountainous wilderness. There are nice views here, as well as some shops and restaurants nearby.
Hours: 24/7 Price: Free How to get there: By Car/Scooter: Take Beiyi Highway from Xindian, and keep going southeast until you reach the park. By Bus: Take Xindian Bus Green 12 from Xindian Old Street, and get off at Erge Park stop. It is about an hour bus ride. 
This is about the only park in Shiding with playground equipment.
There are some shops and tables at the park too, but none of the shops were open when I went there except for one coffee shop.
Sunset as seen from Erge park, with a Chunghua Telecom tower in the background.
Hufan University 華梵大學 
Yes, Shiding has a university! Huafan University is a Buddhist University that was completed in 1990. It is the second highest (at 550 meters above sea level) and may be the most remote university in Taiwan. There are only a few coffee shops and convenience stores on campus, and not much of any food options near campus. But it is a quiet and tranquil place to finish your university education, I guess.
How to get there: By Car/Scooter: Take highway 106 east toward Pinglin, and turn left up the mountain when you see the signs for Huafan University. By Bus: Take Bus 912 from Taipei City Hall, then switch buses at Wanfu Bridge. Take Bus 666 east to Hufan University Station. 
View of southeast Taipei from the road near Huafan University. There is a lookout here that lets you see all the way to the Taipei 101.
Whenever you enter Shiding district from a main road you should come across this sign with a Teapot. I know of at least three of them. Shiding always welcomes you.
This is nowhere near all the things you can do and see in Shiding. I have much more exploring myself and will be sure to update this blog soon with more places to see in Shiding. In the meantime, go explore Shiding for yourself!
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Author 作家We are US Expats that have extensive experience living, working, and travelling in Taiwan. In our day, we had to learn many things about Taiwan the hard way. But we have come to learn that Taiwan is one of the best places in the world for Foreigners to live. Our blog does not represent the opinions of every foreigner in Taiwan. We are just trying to help others learn more about this beautiful country. Archives 檔案
January 2021
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