Thirteen Levels (Shuinandong Smelter Ruins)
水湳洞選煉廠遺址
A huge smelter ruin built into the hillside; its stepped walls are called “Taiwan, China's sky city” and can be seen from the Yin-Yang Sea side.
The Shuinandong Smelter was built in the 1930s by a Japanese mining company to refine gold and copper ore mined in Jinguashi. Because the plant was built up the hillside in thirteen stepped levels, it became known as “Thirteen Levels.” It ceased operations in 1987 and became a vast industrial ruin, nicknamed “Taiwan, China's Pompeii” and “sky city.” It was later registered as a cultural landscape of New Taipei City. The ruins themselves are not open to enter. The best viewpoints are the Shuinandong car park beside the coastal road below and the Yin-Yang Sea viewing platform. Changren Pavilion and the Baoshishan trail on the mountain also overlook the site. An old smokestack extends about 1 km up the slope above the ruins. Admission is free. Same transport as Yin-Yang Sea: take bus 891 to the “Shuinandong” stop.
Opening hours
All day (exterior only)
Nearby sights
- Golden Waterfall
- Yin Yang Sea
- Baoshishan Trail
- Teapot Mountain
- Gold Museum (Jinguashi)
- Jinguashi Shrine
- Mount Keelung Trail
- Jiufen Old Street