Cukengkou Hiking Trail Introduction
The CuKengkou Trail is located in the Shihjiao Pavilion area of Ruifang District. Enter from the first entrance after the Shihjiao Pavilion bus stop on Route 8 by turning right into CuKeng Road. The trail first reaches Changxing Temple, which dates back to the Qianlong era of the Qing Dynasty. Not far from the temple, there is an abandoned Sanrong Coal Mine located below a roadside cemetery. It is said that the owner of the Sanrong Coal Mine Company at that time was a woman, and locals call CuKengkou "Cha-Mo-Keng." Although there are several forks along the trail, signs are present to prevent getting lost. Upon reaching the end of the trail, don’t rush to turn back; if you walk about 3 to 5 minutes to the right along the main path, there is a viewing platform where you can overlook the Shihjiao Pavilion area and also catch a distant view of Wufen Mountain. Dazukeng has a nearly hundred-year history of gold mining. At its peak, the gold mining industry attracted a population of 3,000 and was known as one of the three regions in Taiwan with the highest consumption capacity, alongside Jinguashi and Jiufen, with numerous entertainment venues like casinos, hotels, and billiard halls, earning it the nickname "Little America." Films such as "Dust of Tsing Yi" and "City of Sadness" were filmed here, and the settlement depicted in the film "Duo Sang" refers to Dazukeng. The settlement features two abandoned classrooms, which were originally the "Dashan Branch School" of Hohoshan Elementary School, where director Wu Nien-jen completed his first four grades of elementary school.
