Shuinandong

The picturesquely decaying ruins of Shuinandong Smelter (today commonly referred to as the Remains of the 13 Levels) can be found facing the Pacific Ocean beside coastal Provincial Highway No. 2, and is served by bus No. 856 (Taiwan Tourist Shuttle service’s Gold Fulong Shuttle Bus route; www.taiwantrip.com.tw ) from close to Ruifang Railway Station.

Built by a Japanese mining company in the 1930s, the complex originally sprawled over a total of eighteen levels, with raw materials entering the top floor via a cableway and gradually moving downhill as they were tested, crushed, and mixed into a slurry from which the precious metals (mostly gold and copper) could be extracted.

Much of the site was damaged by World War Two bombing, leading to an extensive round of repairs and upgrades, including the installation of the three gargantuan fume-extracting flues still visible on the hillsides above the plant. After its eventual closure in 1987, the facility became a favorite haunt of urban explorers and bands looking for a dramatic spot to record a music video, but these days it’s best viewed from the observation platform in the highway-side car park (formerly the location of the facility’s copper precipitation pools).

You’ll find another of Ruifang’s top attractions a short two-minute drive (or fifteen-minute walk) from the smelter – the Golden Waterfall. Considering the region’s gold-mining history, you would be forgiven for thinking that the moniker hints at gold deposits being found in the stream, but that’s not exactly the case. Instead, it refers to the brilliant yellow-orange cast left on the streambed by minerals leaching from the local bedrock – but since one of those is arsenic, you’d best refrain from taking a dip.

ENGLISH AND CHINESE

A Gan Yi Taro Ball 阿柑姨芋圓

Baoshishan Trail 報時山登山步道

Dahua Station 大華車站

Gold Museum 黃金博物館

Golden Waterfall 黃金瀑布

Hegu Waterfall 合谷瀑布

Houtong 侯硐

Jinguashi (Aqueduct) 金瓜石 ( 黃金水圳橋 )

Jiufen (Old Street) 九份 ( 老街 )

Taiwan POW Memorial and Peace Park 國際終戰和平紀念園區

Motian Waterfall 摩天瀑布

Mt. Keelung 基隆山

Pingxi Branch Line 平溪支線

Pipadong Waterfall 枇杷洞瀑布

Qitang Old Street 祈堂老街

Quanji Temple 勸濟堂

Remains of the 13 Levels 水湳洞十三層遺址

Ruifang District 瑞芳區

Sandiaoling Station 三貂嶺車站

Sandiaoling Eco-Friendly Tunnel 三貂嶺生態友善隧道

Sandiaoling Waterfall Trail 三貂嶺瀑布步道

Shengping Theater 昇平戲院

Shuinandong (Smelter) 水湳洞 ( 選煉廠遺址 )

Teapot Mountain 無耳茶壺山