Day 5 in Taipei 2013 (VI) - Jinguashi (金瓜石)

Next, we went on to Jinguashi (金瓜石) to visit the Gold Ecological Park and the Crown Prince Chalet. Gold Ecological Park (黃金博物園區) has rich historical, cultural and natural resources.First, we visited the Four-Joined of Japanese style Residence (四連棟), built in the 1930s to house the Japanese mine technicians and their families. We watched a short film about the history of the residence and how it had been restored piece by piece. We could see most of the rooms in their original state and it was an eye-opener to see how Japanese lived in the pre and post WWII eras.    

Next, we visited the Crown Prince Chalet (太子賓館), an elegant Japanese palace style building built in 1922, which is opened to the public in 2004. The chalet was built during the Japanese colonial period in anticipation of a visit by the then crown prince (later Emperor Hirohito) but the then crown prince never did visit it. 

A koi pond in the grounds of the Crown Prince Chalet

Master bedroom at the Crown Prince Chalet

Guest room at the Crown Prince Chalet

We visited the Gold Ecological Museum or Museum of Gold (黃金博物館). The first floor exhibitions include a history tour of the mining regions of Jiufen and Jinguashi and its artifacts. We were surprised to learn that there was also a Japanese WWII camp at Jinguahsi and WWII Allied POWs were brought to work in the mines by the Japanese! That was an educational moment for both my daughters and I.
The main attraction on the second floor of the museum is the 220kg gold ingot which visitors are allowed to touch and get a feel the value of this 220kg ingot! Every visitor had a huge smile on their face when they touched the gold ingot. Wish I can bring it home haha. :)

Touching the 220kg gold ingot!

Unfortunately we didn't have time to visit the Benshan Fifth Tunnel as it closes at 5pm and it was already 4.30pm when we came round to it. Visitors can experience how the miners work in a underground environment and have a better understanding of the working conditions underground in the Benshan Fifth Tunnel (本山五坑). Maybe next time. We also didn't visit the Shinto Temple (金瓜石神社 or 山神社 or 黃金神社) as it was quite a distance to hike uphill and the kids (and me too) might not be able to walk that far haha. :P

Before departing for our final destination of the day - Jiufen (九份), we took some photos at the park, including Teapot Mountain (茶壺山) in the distance. 

The police station is housed in a Japanese style building

Teapot Mountain in the distance

The next post (and last post) for Day 5 in Taipei 2013 (10 June 2013) is on Jiufen (九份).