Jiufen “is a mountain area in the Ruifang District of New Taipei City near Keelung, Taiwan.”

Transportation:  

According to WikiTravel: 

From Taipei, take the Jiufen bus no. 1062 (bus company is Keelung Bus) from the Adventist Hospital bus stop on Bade Road, east of the intersection with Fuxing Road. Alternatively, take the same bus from Songshan station or Zhongxiao Fuxing MRT station Exit #1. Cost: 102 NT$ (make sure to have the exact change or an easycard.) The journey takes a little more than 1 hour. There are great views of the valleys below on the left hand side of the bus as it ascends to Jiufen.

Directions from Zhongxiao Fuxing MRT (Feb 2014 update): Take MRT exit #1, as you are come out of the station make a U-turn, the SOGO mall (big red letters) will now be on your right hand side and the elevated railway line will be in front of you. Walk a minute and take the first left then after a few meters you will see the 1062 bus stop, it is clearly marked. There may be some touts claiming the bus is not running and to take their taxi, ignore them of course!

Cost: Free to enter!

Facilities:  There is a restroom near the drop off area of the buses.  Its packed (especially for the ladies) so be prepared.

Note: After weeks of rain in Taipei their was a clear day, we decided to take advantage of it.  We got to Jiufen only to be terribly unprepared for rain.  It is on the side of the mountain so that was our failure haha.  Be prepared for quickly changing weather, crowds of people, and expensive tourist items.  I recommend going only to say you’ve hit a major tourist spot, and the fact that it has historical significance.  This place is a super tourist spot, I’d avoid buying much of anything from here as it tends to be a tad bit more expensive and most things here you can get anywhere else.  If you go on the weekend it will be packed, as all the people from Taipei tend to go up there.  If you get motion sickness easily then the ride up will be rough, many twists and turns in the bus.  I went twice, and frankly I didn’t really enjoy either time (Rain or Shine…).

Worth Counter:  3/5 Go in your free time.