In the early days, the gold rush brought people with dreams of wealth and prosperity to Jiufen. They built houses across the hills and have been there for generations. After the heat had faded, a busy market developed in the old streets of Jiufen that offered popular tourist food like soft Taro balls, sweet and salty Taro and herbal cakes. Follow the red lanterns and stroll up the old street, you may find a shop you like just by chance, heat up a pot of tea and enjoy it at dusk while you listen to the intimate conversation between mountain and sea. Jiufen, transformed in Hou Xiaoxian’s movie “A City of Sadness” escaped with the Kamikakushi girl in Miyazaki Hayao’s drawings. As busy as it was, today Jiufen seems like a golden dream that sleeps soundly, never to really awaken, amidst the hustle and bustle and the cries of the street vendors in the market.