Pingxi Old Street Introduction
Pingxi Old Street has an ancient charm, with traditional houses built along the sloping hills and beside the railway. It is also the famous scene from the box office hit movie "You Are the Apple of My Eye," where the male and female leads release sky lanterns to make wishes. Most of the shops nearby are traditional grocery stores, hardware shops, and snack stalls, reflecting the simple daily life of local residents. The classic mountain town railway ride features the unique sound of the train passing over the towering railway bridge above the old street. This century-old coal mining town still retains its traditional long strip-style street houses and stores built in the Japanese colonial style, giving the street a touch of elegant Japanese ambiance. Attractions such as the Eight Immortals Cave at Guanyin Rock and the air raid shelter left over from the end of the Japanese colonial period, along with the Peace Bell, are great spots for adventurers. Pingxi Old Street is home to many popular local Taiwanese snacks, so be sure to buy and taste them, guaranteeing a sense of great value. On the 15th day of the Lunar New Year, the Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival is celebrated, which is said to have been invented by Zhuge Liang during the Three Kingdoms period, initially used to convey military messages. In the early years, the Pingxi area often encountered bandits, and sky lanterns served as signals to report safety. In the 1990s, the Pingxi area designated sky lanterns as a unique local folk activity, finding a new avenue for tourism as its population dwindled. Today, the New Taipei City Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival has become an important celebration during the Lantern Festival in Taiwan, known as "North Sky Lanterns, South Firecrackers," and has often made headlines in international media, becoming the most representative festival event of New Taipei City.
