Taiwan- Chung Cheng Park, Keelung Market, Jinguashi Gold Ecological Park

The next day
Our driver Mr Xun brought us to the Chung Cheng Park 中正公園
You can see the whole Keelung City (the harbor, sea, ships, mountain) at the observation deck

Guan Yin Statue

The Guan Yin statue is the landmark of Chung Cheng Park
Inside the statue
There is a steep staircase which lead you to the top where you can enjoy the view of the city
I only managed to climb a few steps (it was very steep and scary)
Went to the cannon fort
Kept clicking the camera~

Taking a stroll
Listening to Mr Xun's stories
Enjoying the scenic view
I really like how the trees look like during winter

Saw so many doggies walking in the park
Some slept on the grass for sunbathing!
What a lazy afternoon~

Then
Mr Xun took us to Keelung Market and had our lunch
We tried a dish called Ding Bian Cuo 鼎邊趖
It has a similar texture to Hakka flat noodles 
Often served in a seafood and vegetable soup
It is a favorite among the Taiwanese
We also had braised pork rice滷肉飯
So so delicious!

More to go
We also tried Taiwanese Oyster Omelette  蚵仔煎

Waiting for the food

It did not taste that good
It was sticky (too much flour I guess)
The hawker was bad tempered too
But our mood was not ruined yet
Gotta try out all the nice food at the market
Next one
Tian Bu La 甜不辣
That was tasty!

This is basically how the stalls at the Keelung Market look like
Small and crowded with people
The hawker will cook the food in front of you while you sit on the long metal stool

Ohhhh wait~
Saw my favourite!
The Tanghulu 糖葫蘆
There were different fruits for you to choose from (strawberries, cherry tomatoes and etc)
Strawberry Tanghulu was the most expensive 

I'm a happy kid

After lunch

We went to Jinguashi Gold Ecological Park

Jinguashi was once a properous mining town during the Japanese occupation era

During World War 2, it was also the campsite for Prisoners-of-war where they were made to labour under harsh conditions

First

We went to Four Joined of Japanese-style Residence 

We had a chance to see the interior of the residence after watching a short history video

No flash photography was allowed while inside the residence

Let the pictures tell you the story~

Four Joined of Japanese-style Residence

The air-raid shelter

On a guided tour

Next

Went to the Jinguashi Crowned Prince Chalet

Walk walk walk~

A cat!

Mr Xun borrowed this Japanese style umbrella for us to take picture

Taking a picture outside the chalet

After that

Went to Benshan No.5 Tunnel

Where you can learn more about the activities of a miner

Had to pay NTD50 to walk through the tunnel

Had to wear this blue color thingy before helmet was given

All well-prepared to enter

Before entering the tunnel

That's basically how it looks like inside the tunnel

Then

Went to Gold Museum

The highlight is the 220kg pure gold ingot at the second floor where you get to see and touch it

This machine measured my weight and showed the size of the gold which was equal to my weight

The largest gold ingot! 

Had a chance to touch it

The market price of the gold

We wanted to go to the Jinguashi Shinto Shrine

However

We had to walk up a flight of stairs

Which required about 15-20 minutes (that was what others told us)

Eventually we gave up 

We left Jinguashi Gold Ecological Park after seeing most of the attractions

Mr Xun drove us to few more attractions before arriving at our minsu (Windsor Vanilla Garden) at Jiufen 

Next post will talk about Yin Yang Sea, Gold Waterfall, Nanya Rock Formation, Windsor Vanilla Garden, and Jiufen!