Ruifang Old Street 瑞芳老街

Ruifang Old Street is a long old street extending out of Ruifang Train Station. Ruifang Station sits on the terminus to the Pingxi Railway, and provides direct bus service to Jiufen and Jinguashi, making it a must stop (literally) destination for tourists travelling to nearby tourist destinations. 
The food on Ruifang Old Street is plentiful and delicious, and you will not regret a brief pit stop here. 

Background:
During the Qing Dynasty (before there was a railroad), the Keelung River was the main means of transport from Ruifang to Taipei and the rest of Taiwan. Later, gold and copper mines were founded in Ruifang and the surrounding areas of Jiufen and Jinguashi, and the railroad was finished in 1924 during the Japanese occupation, connecting Taipei to Eastern Taiwan. A Railway line was also made into Pingxi to connect to more mining operations.
Markets and stalls on Ruifang Old Street probably started with the completion of Ruifang Train Station on the Yilan line in 1924. 

Hours:
All day until about 9 PM, but some stalls will be open later than that. 

How to get there:
By Train: Take TRA to Ruifang Station.
By Car/Scooter: Take provincial highway 5 out of Taipei, then turn right onto Provincial Highway 2 after Qidu (七堵）until you reach Ruifang. 

Map:
Please see below:

Our Journey:

I have been to Ruifang Old Street twice, once by train and once by scooter. The scooter trip took me through the mountains between Shifen and Houtong (seen above) and it was beautiful. 

Passing by, I also found that much of Ruifang is also a large industrial district. Who knew?

The old street starts at the back of Ruifang Train Station. 

A map and explanation of some historical buildings and the history of Ruifang in Chinese. 

One of the many restored period shops dating back to the early 1900s, during the Japanese occupation of Taiwan. At that time, Ruifang was an important stopping point and shipping location from gold mines and coal mines in the area. 

Beef noodle soup shop. 

A very old and unrestored house, now used as scooter parking. 

View down an alleyway on the old street. 

A taxi driver about to buy some fried chicken from a roadside stall. 

Old-style noodle shop. 

Another noodle shop right next door. 

Even though the actual old street is at the back side of the train station, the best food I think is on the front side. 

From what I saw there is actually a higher concentration of food stalls on the front side of the station. 

Tea, crepes, and sandwiches being sold on the side of the road. 

The Taiwanese staple, stinky tofu.

Taiwan's #1 most flavorful fried chicken: Zhfa (炸發).

People lining up for Longfengtui （龍鳳腿), apparently 3 generations have sold their delicious sausages. 

The best part of Ruifang Old Street in my opinion is the Food Court (美食廣場） at the very end of the street. 

Right at the door is a great steamed bun place, that sells them for 45 NT, 5 NT cheaper than those at Raohe Street.  

I tried to take a photo but it was already down my throat before I could think about it. 

A view of the many stalls in the food court. 

Fried chicken and drink stalls in the food court. 

A help yourself buffet Zizhucan inside the food court, named Lien Chuang (連莊). You add whatever meat and vegetables you want, and they charge you by the pound. 

We eneded up eating at the Zizhucan which was Delicious. 

Also, a Canadian man runs a pizza shop in there called Maple Leaf Bistro （楓葉屋), but I did not see him on that day.

Apart from the old street, Ruifang has a nice riverfront (the Keelung River runs right through the town), but that's about it as far as I could see.

Abandoned house being taken over by nature near the old street. 

​There are a number of good hikes around Ruifang, such as Wufenshan (五分山) as seen above. For our full blog on Wufenshan, clickhere.

Thanks for reading. For our full guide to the Pingxi Railway, click here. 

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