Top things to do at Shifen: Visit Shifen Waterfall and release sky latern at the railway track

Day 5

On Day 5, we would be leaving Hualien and return to Taipei. It was with a heavy heart that we had to this beautiful place, especially our minsu Fanlin House (汎水凌山花园民宿), which frankly speaking had not spent much time exploring the surrounding areas. We had our breakfast specially prepared by the staff, before we headed out to the garden to have a last round of photo taking of the surrounding.

Fanlin House

Our breakfast

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Yilan Cake Factory (宜蘭餅發明館)

We hopped onto the coach with our luggage and started the long journey back to Taipei, following the same Suhua Highway (蘇花公路) that we took on Day 3 of tour. Around noon time, we had reached the township of Su'ao (蘇澳) in Yilan County (宜蘭縣). We made a stop at the famous Yilan Cake Factory (宜蘭餅發明館).

Yilan Cake Factory

Upon entering the big complex, the left hand side is an exhibition showcasing the various wooden cake moulds that they used, as well as the history of the shop and how its owner managed to make his business a success with its renowned biscuits and cakes. At the rear side is where visitors can see through the glass window to witness how the biscuits and cakes are made in the factory. On the right hand side is where the retail is. The most popular product here is the Ox-Tongue biscuit (牛舌餅). It is a very thin biscuit that is rolled into a shape that looks like the tongue of a cow, and comes with various flavours. Other than that, they also sell many different types of pastries, biscuits and cakes.

The retail section (Source: Photo from guide.easytravel)

The group of us had a frenzy shopping spree and bought a lot of biscuits and cakes, mainly to bring back home for our family and friends.

Yilan Fu Ge Shi Yao Chicken (宜蘭 福哥石窯雞)

After the shopping, we went further north to the township of Jiaoxi (礁溪) to have our late lunch at Fu Ge Shi Yao Chicken (福哥石窯雞).

Fu Ge Shi Yao Chicken

Their specialty is the whole chicken roasted in an earthen jar, which the meat is juicy and the skin crispy. Another popular dish is the Xi Lu Rou (西魯肉), which is a broth of a mixture of cabbage, carrot, mushroom, meat and fried egg.

The roasted chicken (Source: Photo from shrimp2.pixnet)

Xi Lu Rou (Source: Photo from blog.xuite)

Along with the above dishes, we ordered other dishes like vegetable, pork and fried omelette etc.

Shifen (十分)

After the fulfilling lunch, we were back on our coach to the next destination Shifen (十分), located in the Pingxi (平溪) district of New Taipei City. Shifen is renowned for 2 things, the Shifen Waterfall (十分大瀑布) and the Sky Lantern (天燈). The Shifen Waterfall, located along the Keelung River, is 20 m tall and 40 m wide and is in a shape of a horseshoe, which resembles a smaller version of the Niagara Falls in North America.

Shifen Waterfall (Source: Photo from taiwanswaterfalls)

Unfortunately when we reached there, we learnt that the entrance to the waterfall is closed for maintenance, which was really a disappointment for us. What we could do was only to stroll along the suspension bridge and the railway track.

Suspension bridge towards the waterfall

River upstream of the waterfall

Railway and suspension bridge

After the walk, we went back to our coach and made a very short ride to the Shifen Old Street (十分老街). Over here is the place where people will light and release the sky lantern to the sky (which symbolise sending your wishes to the sky and to be heard by the heaven). The railway track runs through here and the two slides lined with shops mainly selling local snacks, souvenirs and the sky lanterns.

Railway track running across Shifen Old Street

Tourists with their sky lantern

We were brought to one of the shop to buy the sky lantern. We could either custom made one ourselves (to be guided by the stall owner) or simply buy the ready made lanterns. We decided to buy the ready made since none of us were skilled in making lanterns. We were given the markers and started to write our wishes on 4 sides of the lantern. Once we were done, the stall owner led us to the railway track and helped us light the lantern. The rest of us held the 4 sides of the lantern and pose to take photos. Once the stall owner says ready, we released the lantern together and off it rise to the sky. As the sky turned dark, we could see the sky lighted by numerous sky lanterns. Some tourists also started to play with the fireworks. We had great fun and was an eye opener for everyone of us.

Lanterns rising to the sky

Fireworks

Mei Guan Yuan (美觀園)

We continued our journey through the mountainous area of Pingxi, then the busy streets of Taipei City before we finally reached our hotel, East Dragon Hotel (東龍大飯店) at Ximending (西門町). We checked in to our rooms, dropped our luggage and then quickly assembled again for dinner. We walked through the buzzing streets of Ximending and reach our dinner destination, Mei Guan Yuan (美觀園). This shop has a long history since opening in 1946 and it sells Japanese and Taiwanese fusion cuisine.

Mei Guan Yuan (Source: Photo from ipeen)

The group of us ordered a variety of food, such as salmon sashimi, sushi rolls, teriyaki chicken, grilled unagi and omelette fried rice etc. After the meal, some of us were tired and decided to go back to the hotel first, while the rest continued to roam around the vibrant streets of Ximending.

Follow the links below to the other days of my Taiwan tour:

Day 1: Taipei (Tamsui, Ximending Hot Pot)

Day 2: Keelung (Tianhou Temple @ Peace Island, Zhong Zheng Park, Ershawan Fortification, Bisha Fishing Port, Nanya Rock Formation, Bitou Cape, Miaokou Night Market, Cashbox Party World)

Day 3: Hualien (Jinan Temple, Nan Fang Ao Fishing Harbour, Qingshui Cliff, Qixintan Beach, Hang Rou, Mochi, Fanlin House Minsu)

Day 4: Hualien (Taroko National Park Visitor Centre, Shakadang Trail, Leader Village Taroko, Buluowan Visitor Centre, Tianxiang, Eternal Spring Shrine, Dajili Restaurant, Rainbow Night Market)

Day 5: Taipei (Yilan Cake Factory, Fu Ge Shi Yao Chicken, Shifen & Sky Lantern, Mei Guan Yuan @ Ximending)

Day 6: Wulai (Neidong National Forest Recreation Area, Wulai Old Street, Sun Moon Light Hot Spring, Ding Tai Fung @ Taipei 101, Chia Te Bakery)

Day 7: Taipei (Hsing Tian Gong, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall, Taipei 101, Wufenpu, Shi Da Night Market)

Day 8 & 9: Taipei (Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall, Shin Yeh Restaurant, National Palace Museum, Shilin Night Market)