Ruifang District Office, New Taipei City 20141018

Ruifang District () is a suburban

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

in eastern

New Taipei City New Taipei City is a special municipality located in northern Taiwan. The city is home to an estimated population of 3,974,683 as of 2022, making it the most populous city of Taiwan, and also the second largest special municipality by area, be ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

History

During Japanese rule, Ruifang was called , and was administered as part of of

Taihoku Prefecture Taihoku Prefecture (台北州; ''Taihoku-shū'') was an administrative division of Taiwan created in 1920, during Japanese rule. The prefecture consisted of modern-day Keelung, New Taipei City, Taipei and Yilan County. Its government office, ...

. Mining was an important industry in Ruifang (then known as ''Sui-hong'') in the early 20th century.

Gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

was mined in Kyūfun and

Kinkaseki Jinguashi (Chinkuashih; ) is a town in Ruifang District, New Taipei City, Taiwan, notable for its historic gold and copper mines. It was also known as Kinkaseki in Japanese and was under Taihoku Prefecture during Japanese rule. From 1942 to 19 ...

while

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...

was mined in ''Kau-tong'' ( 猴硐; ''Houtong''). After the handover of Taiwan from Japan to the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...

in 1945, Ruifang was organized as an

urban township An urban township is a designation of a unit of local government in several countries. United States The term is called ''urban township'' Michigan, Minnesota and Ohio and urban town in Wisconsin. Generally, an urban township is afforded more loca ...

Taipei County New Taipei City is a special municipality located in northern Taiwan. The city is home to an estimated population of 3,974,683 as of 2022, making it the most populous city of Taiwan, and also the second largest special municipality by area, be ...

. The mining sites became popular tourist destinations after 1990. On 25 December 2010, Taipei County was upgraded into a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

named New Taipei City and Ruifang became a district of the municipality. In March 2012, it was named one of the ''Top 10 Small Tourist Towns'' by the

Tourism Bureau The Tourism Bureau, MOTC () is the government agency under the Ministry of Transportation and Communications of Taiwan (Republic of China) responsible for the administration of domestic and international tourism policy making, execution and dev ...

Administrative divisions

There are thirty-four urban villages in the district which are divided between four election districts: *Election District One **Longtan (), Longxing (), Longzhen (), Longan (), Longshan (), Longchuan (), Zhaofeng (), Xinfeng (), Tunghe (), Ganping (), Houtong (), Guangfu (), Gongqiao (), Shuoren () *Election District Two **Jiqing (), Jian (), Shangtian (), Jieyu () *Election District Three **Fuzhu (), Chongwen (), Jishan (), Songde (), Yongqing (), Xinshan (), Tongshan (), Shishan (), Guashan () *Election District Four **Bitou (), Lianxin (), Liandong (), Nanya (), Haibin (), Ruibin (), Shenao ()

Education

New Taipei Municipal Jui-Fang Industrial High School New Taipei Municipal Jui-Fang Industrial High School is a professional school located in New Taipei City of Taiwan. The industrial high school's address is at No.60, Ruifang St., Ruifang District Ruifang District () is a suburban district ...

Tourist attractions

Bitou Cape The Bitou Cape () is a cape in Ruifang District, New Taipei, Taiwan. Name The name ''Bitou'' means the tip of the nose in Chinese language. Geology The cape is the northeasternmost cape of Taiwan. It is the sea-eroded type of land form, thus ...

Bitoujiao Lighthouse The Bitoujiao Lighthouse or Pitou Chiao Lighthouse () is a lighthouse at Bitou Cape in Ruifang District, New Taipei, Taiwan. History The lighthouse was originally built by the Japanese in 1897. In 1971, it was repaired due to damages caused by ...

Golden Waterfall The Golden Waterfall () is a waterfall located near a village named Jiufen in Ruifang District, New Taipei, Taiwan. Geology The waterfall runs off into what is called the Yin-Yang Sea, and because of the color of the water, it has long been assu ...

Houtong Cat Village The Houtong Cat Village or Houdong Cat Village () is a village in Ruifang District, New Taipei, Taiwan known for its cat population. Name Houtong was originally called ''Kau-tong'' () due to the existence of a cave inhabited by monkeys in the ea ...

Houtong Coal Mine Ecological Park The Houtong Coal Mine Ecological Park () is a former coal mine in Ruifang District, New Taipei, Taiwan. History The park used to be a coal mine in the region. The mine began operating in 1930 and was taken over by the Ruisan Mining Company in 1 ...

Jinguashi Jinguashi (Chinkuashih; ) is a town in Ruifang District, New Taipei City, Taiwan, notable for its historic gold and copper mines. It was also known as Kinkaseki in Japanese and was under Taihoku Prefecture during Japanese rule. From 1942 to ...

Jiufen Jiufen, also spelled Jioufen or Chiufen (), is a seaside mountain area in Ruifang District, New Taipei City, Taiwan. History During the first years of the Qing Dynasty, the isolated village housed nine families, thus the village would request "n ...

(

Shengping Theater The Shengping Theater () is a theater in Jiufen, Ruifang District Ruifang District () is a suburban district in eastern New Taipei City, Taiwan. History During Japanese rule, Ruifang was called , and was administered as part of of Tai ...

, Taiyang Gold Mine Office) * Jiufen Gold Mine Museum * Jiufen Kite Museum *

New Taipei City Gold Museum The New Taipei City Gold Museum (), formerly known as the Gold Ecological Park, is a museum of the gold mining industry in Ruifang District, New Taipei, Taiwan. History The museum was opened on 4 November 2004 by the Taipei County Government as ...

* Remains of the 13 Levels *

Shen'ao Fishing Port The Shen'ao Fishing Port () is a fishing harbor in Ruifang District, New Taipei, Taiwan. Name The port has been nicknamed ''Fan Zi Ao'' due to its shape representing the look of tribal leader. History The port used to have more than 20 fishing ...

* Yin Yang Sea

Transportation

Ruifang is served by the

Yilan Line The Yilan Line () is the northern section of the Eastern Line of the Taiwan Railways Administration in Taiwan. It has a length of 95 km. History This railroad was completed in 1924 as the Giran-sen during Imperial Japanese rule over Taiwan. ...

of Taiwan Railways. There are four stations in Ruifang Township, which are Ruifang Station,

Houtong Station Houtong () is a railway station on the Taiwan Railways Administration Yilan line located in Ruifang District, New Taipei, Taiwan. Houtong once sat on top of Taiwan's largest coal mine, but now visitors come to see the numerous cats living in the to ...

, Sijiaoting Station and Sandiaoling Station. Provincial Highway 62 passes Ruifang and provides a convenient connection to

Keelung City Keelung () or Jilong () (; Hokkien POJ: '), officially known as Keelung City, is a major port city situated in the northeastern part of Taiwan. The city is a part of the Taipei–Keelung metropolitan area, along with its neighbors, New Taipe ...

Notable natives

* Gau Ming-ho, mountaineer *

Wu Nien-jen Wu Nien-jen (; born ; 5 August 1952) is a Taiwanese screenwriter, Film director, director, and writer. He is one of the most prolific and highly regarded scriptwriters in Taiwan and a leading member of the New Taiwanese Cinema, although he has als ...

, scriptwriter, director and author

References

External links

* {{Districts in Taiwan Districts of New Taipei