The earliest record of gold production in the Chinkuashih-Chiufen area dates back 400 years. However, the real rush for gold did not begin until 1889. In that year, workers constructing the Patu iron bridge discovered grains of gold in the river, thereby opening the curtain on Chinkuashih and Chiufen's glorious gold mining history. It was only in 1971 that the last mines were closed because the value of production was no longer meeting costs. In the more than three-quarters of a century in between, Chiufen and Chinkuashih became cities that never slept, where song could be heard constantly; this place was an adventurers' paradise.

Adventurers' paradise

Today, you can visit many places in Chinkuashih and Chiufen left behind by the gold mining era. There is the perfectly preserved 300-ping Prince Hotel, and you can climb up to the Golden Shinto Shrine, both built in the Japanese colonial era. You can also be lowered by rope into Mt. Pen Shaft #5, one of the most important mines, and imagine the darkened faces of the miners as they pushed carts in and out of the dark pits.

From the mountain cities of Chin-kuashih and Chiufen, surrounded by layers of verdant ridges, in the distance you can make out "Handleless Teapot Mountain," Mt. Keelung, and Little Chinkuashih Mountain with its exposed mineral veins. Closer at hand there are tracks for mining carts, trails, and equipment left behind from the gold mining operations. All of these inspire a mood of constant reflection and nostalgia.

But the reason why the Chin-kuashih-Chiufen area can be considered a world heritage asset, argues Monica C. Kuo, president of the Chinese Institute of Landscape Architects in Taiwan, is that its historic impact extended far and wide. From a historical perspective, the gold produced in Chinkuashih and Chiufen profoundly influenced the economic and colonial history of Asia in the first half of the last century.

In terms of sheer volume, gold mining in Chinkuashih and Chiufen reached its peak in the Japanese colonial era. In 1914, 1600 kilos of gold were extracted in Chinkuashih, while in 1938, 1700 kilos were extracted in Chiufen.

The late Lin Heng-tao, chairman of the Taiwan Provincial Documents Commission, has described how the mining industry developed. The basic Japanese policy toward Taiwan was to create "an industrial Japan and an agricultural Taiwan." Taiwanese were not permitted to organize companies, and it was even less possible for them to borrow money from banks to invest in industry or commerce.

However, after World War I began, Japan began to develop gold and coal mining on a large-scale in Taiwan, for two main reasons. First, Japan at that point had the second-largest naval fleet in the world, requiring huge amounts of coal. In addition, Japan had to import most of its strategic materials, and in those days international trade was still gold-based, requiring gold to purchase products from abroad.

In just a few years, Chinkua-shih, Chiufen, and neighboring Jueifang had produced startling amounts of gold and coal. As a result there arose a number of Taiwanese entrepreneurs, such as mining magnate Yen Yun-nian, who are now legendary figures of the colonial era.

Geological park

Half a century later, the former boom towns of Chinkuashih and Chiufen had fallen silent. It was only in the 1990s that the abandoned space of Chiufen began once again to be put to use. Artists and writers moved there in large numbers, creating a humanities-based second spring for the town.

While the historical and cultural significance of the Chinkuashih area should not be ignored, Wang Shin of the National Taiwan University Department of Geography says there is more to Chinkuashih than that. Wang, who is striving to have the area listed as a world heritage site, believes that the land and geology of Chinkuashih, whose uniqueness created gold mining in Taiwan, are even more deserving of our recognition.

How were the gold mines of Chinkuashih formed? Why were they at the head of the pack in Taiwan and indeed even in all of East Asia?

The Chinkuashih area has a unique, long, and complex history of geological activity. Tahan College associate professor Yu Ping-sheng, who has extensively studied the local geology, tells us that the sedimentary rock which forms the area accumulated on the ocean floor 25 million years ago. As a result of tectonic and oceanic activity, a series of volcanic mountains formed. The volcanic rock was mainly composed of andesite, laced with other minerals such as biotite. As molten volcanic rock became igneous rock, at the same time the Chinkuashih area was subjected to fault activity on both north-south and east-west axes.

Meanwhile, the hot igneous rock combined with the heated underground water combined to form hydrothermal fluids, which, as result of the prevailing high temperature and high pressure, included large amounts of dissolved metals. After these fluids percolated upward through faults, as temperature and pressure declined, the metal ions percolated into cracks and into fissures in the surrounding rock. In the places where accumulations reached a certain volume, gold veins took shape.

Bringing prosperity back

After the gold veins of the took shape, they were raised upward as the land surface rose. Within the last million years, erosion effects have gradually exposed the gold to the surface, and gold particles from shallow veins have been washed into rivers. It was possible to run across gold in the Keelung River, which is how it was discovered in the first place.

The types of gold deposit in the Chinkuashih area can roughly be divided into three types: pure gold, gold mixed with copper, and surface gold. The causes of the vein formations, the gold content, and the distribution of veins are different in each type. As Wang Shin argues, the Chinkuashih-Chiufen area deserves to be recognized as a world heritage site based on the uniqueness of the veins and the rich variety of minerals. Even now it is being considered for designation as a "geological park."

The action-packed past of the Chinkuashih-Chiufen mining area has left us with breathtaking history, a history extravagantly tinted with gold.

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(left) In the 1990s, many artists moved to the fading town of Chiufen, helping to bring back something of the glory days of yesteryear. The town is now a favored spot for wedding photos.

(right) Near Shuinantung on the Northeast Coastal Highway, the old Japanese-era metal refinery was built right into the mountain face. The remains bring one back to the days when mining was big business in Taiwan.