New Taipei City

No reviews yetCity Taipei, Taiwan

Gold Museum Jinguashi, New Taipei City, Taipei, Taiwan

Shifen Waterfall, New Taipei City, Taipei, Taiwan

About New Taipei City

Wrapped around Taipei like a horseshoe, New Taipei City is Taiwan's most populous municipality, home to about four million people, and it holds much of what visitors picture when they think of northern Taiwan: gold-rush lanes in the hills, sky lanterns drifting over a railway line, and wild rock formations on the coast. The former Taipei County became a special municipality and took its current name in 2010.

Its history runs from the Ketagalan people through Spanish and Dutch outposts at Tamsui to Qing merchants and the Japanese era, when gold mining transformed Jiufen and Jinguashi. The Lin Family Mansion and Garden in Banqiao, the red-walled Fort San Domingo and the temple and arcades of Sanxia recall those layers.

The districts are spread out but well linked by metro, train and bus, so most sights make easy day trips from central Taipei. Combine the northeast coast with Jiufen and Pingxi, spend a sunset in Tamsui, and save time for the ceramics shops of Yingge and the hot springs of Wulai.

Best seasonOctober to April for cooler, drier hiking weather; the Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival falls around the Lantern Festival in late winter.

Ideal stayThree to four days of day trips: northeast coast and Jiufen, Pingxi, Tamsui, and Yingge with Sanxia.

ArrivingTaoyuan International Airport serves the region; the Taipei Metro reaches Tamsui, Banqiao and Xindian, and trains run to Ruifang and the Pingxi Line.

Exploring New Taipei City: 12 Must-See Spots

Neighborhoods 3

Jiufen Old Street

This hillside town boomed after gold was found nearby in the 1890s, and its steep lanes and stairways are now lined with teahouses...

Shifen Old Street

In this small Pingxi village, shops line both sides of a working railway, and visitors paint wishes on paper sky lanterns before r...

Tamsui Old Street

At the mouth of the Tamsui River, this lively waterfront street mixes old shophouses, temples and snack stalls selling fish balls,...

Museums 2

Gold Museum Jinguashi

Spread across the old mining settlement of Jinguashi, this museum park preserves Japanese-era offices, dormitories and a wooden pr...

Yingge Ceramics Museum

Yingge has been a center of Taiwanese pottery for generations, and this museum tells that story through traditional kilns, industr...

Nature 4

Shifen Waterfall

Often called the Niagara of Taiwan, this broad horseshoe-shaped cascade on the Keelung River is around 20 meters high and some 40...

Yehliu Geopark

On a slender cape on the northeast coast, wind and waves have carved the sandstone into hoodoo stones, candle rocks and honeycomb...

Wulai Hot Springs

In the forested mountains south of Taipei, the Atayal village of Wulai is known for clear hot springs, a lively old street of indi...

Bitan Scenic Area

Where the Xindian River widens beneath steep green cliffs, Bitan offers a suspension bridge, swan-shaped pedal boats and a riversi...

History 2

Fort San Domingo

First built by the Spanish in 1628 and rebuilt by the Dutch in 1644, this fort on a hill above the Tamsui River later served as th...

Lin Family Mansion and Garden

Built from the 1840s by the wealthy Lin Ben Yuan family, this compound in Banqiao is the most complete traditional Chinese garden...

Temples and Shrines 1

Sanxia Zushi Temple

Dedicated to the deity Qingshui Zushi, this temple has been rebuilt since 1947 under the direction of painter Li Mei-shu, who drew...

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