An unassuming 13 kilometer, single-track mountain railway running through Northern Taiwan, the Pingxi Line is an ideal day trip for anyone with a love of picturesque scenery, slow living or cats.

Starting just an hour from Taipei in the town of Ruifang, the Pingxi Line allows a glimpse into the island’s rural coal mining industry as well as the quiet beauty of Taiwan’s mountain villages. The mines themselves were abandoned in the late 20^th century but the train line lives on, helping to build the small local economy through laid-back tourism and market eats. The train doesn’t just stop at Pingxi however, and there are so many sights to see along the way….

Houtong Cat Village (侯硐貓村)

Flickr: Chiang Jacques

As well as being the first stop from Ruifang, Houtong is also my most favorite destination on the line, due to my love of stray animals and Studio Ghibli movies. Forget about fleas for the visit and focus on the blessedness of having a riverside village of cats, where feline residents outnumber humans. A village built during the Japanese occupation, and once the country’s largest producer of coal, Houtong is now is frozen in time with hundreds of cats dozing on tin roofs set into the verdant mountainside. As well as enjoying cute cafés and buying cat souvenirs, the village offers a ride through its preserved mining facilities and a museum dedicated to mining life.

Sandiaoling (三貂嶺) / Dahua (大華)

Flickr: Ken Marshall

Kept quiet compared to the well-known Shifen waterfall nearby, Sandiaoling waterfalls offers the ultimate spot for hiking lovers to seek solace from the lantern-releasing crowds. Home to not one but three waterfalls (Hegu, Motian and Pipadong), it’s hard to believe most visitors overlook this location but I’m thankful they do. To enjoy the light trek to the waterfalls, alight at Sandiaoling and walk towards Dahua to find the Lion’s Mouth (狮子嘴) – this is a sign that you’re heading in the right direction! Expert hikers can continue on to Lion’s mouth itself, but those just in need of a cool down should keep to the Sandiaoling trail, roughly 30 minutes to Hegu or a 3-hour detour to visit all three waterfalls.

Shifen (十分)

Flickr: Hayden Liu

Shifen, home to an awesome 40-meter waterfall (大瀑布) – widely considered Taiwan’s most scenic – is also an area of historic importance. As well as once being a coal transporting hub, Shifen also has unique architecture; the old street itself is built into a hill with train-tracks running overhead. Now the market area serves up cheap and delicious local snacks and gifts from shops and wooden houses built during the 1930s and the Japanese occupation era.

Wanggu (望古) / Linjiao (嶺腳)

Flickr: Ken Marshall

The lesser visited stations of Wanggu (望古) and Linjiao (嶺腳) should also warrant a visit if time allows, not only to soak up the chill mountain-side culture but also to experience the friendliest of friendly Hokkien locals. Another chill waterfall can be found in Wanggu, and while not quite as awe-inspiring as Shifen falls, the peace and quiet of the forest and the joy of finding an empty waterfall cannot be beaten!

Pingxi (平溪)

Flickr: Chao-Wei Juan

Pingxi (平溪) itself is the penultimate destination on the Pingxi railway and is the go-to place for releasing sky lanterns with messages hand-painted on the side. Vendors line alleyways and the famed Old Street runs over with countless tea and snacks, including taro rice balls, chicken rolls and grilled river shrimp.

Jingtong (菁桐)

Flickr: Waychen_C

The final destination on the Pingxi railway is Jingtong (菁桐) and it’s recommended to stop off here to enjoy a traditional miner’s lunchbox of braised pork rice before strolling back along the tracks to Pingxi, just 20 minutes away on the uneven yet picturesque ground.

Planning your trip on the Pingxi railway

Flickr: Benko

Take a northbound train (excluding Keelung-bound trains) from Taipei Main Station towards Ruifang. While many travellers get on the bus to Jiufen from here, instead you should stay on the platform and purchase a One Day ticket for the Pingxi Line (平溪線) costing around NT$52. Bizarrely cheap and allowing you to travel on the train as many times as you like throughout the day. You’ll know which train to take when it arrives in the station; it’s a slow, loud and gloriously retro affair of rusted browns and oranges.

It’s highly recommended to do this journey on a weekday if possible as the train’s few carriages are stretched to capacity on weekends and it can be difficult to find a seat among locals and their children! Regardless of the day you’re travelling, you should also be sure to have the day’s train schedule to hand in order to avoid having to wait an hour for the next train or, worse, getting stranded after missing the last train. As a rough guide, the train usually runs from 8am to 6pm.

The Sky Lantern Festival  (元宵節, Yuanxiaojie) is a famous event in Pingxi’s calendar, celebrating the first full moon of the lunar new year, sometime in mid-February. You can release a lantern any time of the year – and many people do – but at Pingxi the Sky Lantern Festival is the highlight of the year, releasing thousands of lanterns and fireworks on the tracks amid night market vendors. Outside of the festival, lanterns are available to buy and are relatively well-priced, as with most things in Taiwan, at a modest NT$150-200!