Shifen Waterfall Park Audio Guide

Shifen Waterfall Park: what does the audio guide cover?

1. 01

   Welcome to Shifen Waterfall Park

   Welcome to Shifen Waterfall Park, in Pingxi District, New Taipei City, in the hills of northeastern Taiwan. Here the upper Keelung River, the largest and longest river in northern Taiwan, drops over a rocky ledge in one wide sheet of white water. The falls are about 20 metres high and 40 metres wide, which makes them the broadest waterfall in Taiwan. When the water hits the deep pool below, it throws up mist that often drifts around the falls like a veil. The park sits right beside Shifen Old Street, so you can go from the sound of trains to the roar of water in a short walk. Over the next few minutes we will look at why the falls look the way they do, how a coal railway brought visitors to this valley, and what to watch for along the bridges and paths nearby. Let's start with the water itself.

2. 02

   A Curtain of Water and the Niagara Comparison

   Look at the shape of the falls first. The water pours over the ledge like a broad curtain, and it plunges into a large, deep pool. The mist it raises often hides part of the falls, and on bright days a rainbow can show up in the spray. That is one reason the spot is sometimes called the Rainbow Pool. The nickname you will hear is Taiwan's Niagara Falls, and there is a geological reason behind it. The bedrock on both sides of the falls slopes against the direction the water flows. Geologists call this an anticline structure. It makes Shifen a ledge, or cascade, type waterfall, built the same way as the famous falls in North America. The resemblance is in the structure and the wide panorama. This one is much smaller, about 20 metres high, and it has a character all its own.

3. 03

   A River That Carved a Ravine

   The falls are one chapter in a longer story. A tributary of the Keelung River has cut a steep ravine into the hills here. Faults and different rock formations have given the river many waterfalls, running north from Houtong through Sandiaoling and on to Shifenliao and Pingxi. The river's erosion also left odd faulted terrain and strange rocks around the park, and Shifen Waterfall is the most famous feature among them. If you walk across the Siguangtan Bridge from the Shifen Visitor Center, you can see potholes worn into the rock by the river. You can also see the Yanjingdong waterfall, whose name means Eyeglass Cave. The name Shifen is also worth knowing. It comes from the 10 original families who developed this part of Pingxi. The valley's story is as much about people settling it as about water cutting through it.

4. 04

   The Coal Railway and the Old Street

   Now listen for the trains, because the Pingxi Line is a big part of what makes Shifen feel the way it does. The branch line runs 12.9 kilometers through the Keelung River Valley, from Sandiaoling to Jingtong. It was built in 1918 to carry coal. In 1992 it was given a new life as a tourism route, and Shifen is one of its stops. On Shifen Old Street the track runs right between the houses, so the train seems to pass the front door of the shops. You can watch it arrive and leave from both sides, and the street offers local delicacies and handmade crafts. For a good view of a train in the landscape, cross the Guanpu Suspension Bridge, at the meeting of the Keelung River and Youtongliao Creek.

5. 05

   Before You Head Off

   Before you move on, take one more slow look at the falls and notice how the whole river seems to spread out before it drops. Then listen for the next train, because the water and the railway share this valley. And if you still have time, ask yourself what the line would have looked like when it carried coal.