Chiufen, once a prosperous gold-mining town, it might today have been little more than a ghost town if Hou Hsiao-Hsien, Taiwan's pre-eminent film director, had not filmed the popular Taiwan movie "City of Sadness" there. The film re-establishes Chiufen's fortunes and made it one of Taiwan's favourite memory lane travel destinations. Today, the chief attraction of Chiufen is its narrow streets lined with all kinds of shops selling tea and teapots, souvenirs, snacks, etc.