Pingxi Railway Trilogy: 2/3 Shifen Waterfall

June 30, 2010

Canon EOS 500D 18-55mm F3.5-5.6

Picking up from Part 1: Planning the Itinerary of my Pingxi Railway trilogy, I entered the Shifen Scenic Area. From there, it was another ten-minute walk to Shifen Waterfall.

The scenic-area path leading toward Shifen Waterfall — Continuing from the scenic-area entrance toward the waterfall.

As I left Shifen Old Street behind, the scenery gradually shifted from the town’s old buildings and railway atmosphere to the surrounding hills and greenery.

Greenery and wooded scenery beside the path in the Shifen Scenic Area — Beyond the old street, the view gradually gave way to wooded hills.

The path was flat and easy to walk, but the sun was blazing and there was nowhere to hide from it @.@'"

A level sunlit path leading toward Eyeglasses Cave Waterfall — The level path was easy walking, though there was no escape from the sun.

At the end of the path, I first reached Eyeglasses Cave Waterfall. The water passed through openings in the rock, and the two holes really did look like a pair of glasses ^.^

Water flowing through the rock openings at Eyeglasses Cave Waterfall — Water passing through the rock openings shaped the distinctive falls.

The twin rock openings of Eyeglasses Cave Waterfall from another angle — From another angle, the paired openings looked even more like glasses.

After crossing the suspension bridge, Shifen Waterfall was only a short distance away.

A suspension bridge crossing the valley on the way to Shifen Waterfall — The suspension bridge carried the trail across the valley toward Shifen Waterfall.

The trail beyond the suspension bridge leading toward Shifen Waterfall — Beyond the bridge, Shifen Waterfall was only a short walk away.

When I visited in 2010, the waterfall viewpoint was inside a privately owned recreation area. It had reopened not long before my visit, and admission had dropped from NT$180 to NT$80, including accident insurance ^.^

The entrance or ticket area at the Shifen Waterfall recreation grounds — When I visited in 2010, admission had been reduced to NT$80.

Ladies and gentlemen…welcome to Shifen Waterfall, sometimes called “Taiwan’s Niagara Falls”!

A full view of Shifen Waterfall from the main viewing area — Inside the viewing area, Shifen Waterfall opened into a broad wall of water.

Huh…I thought I was the first person through the gate that morning. It turned out a veteran photographer had claimed the best spot long before me and had already been shooting for quite a while ~.~'"

A photographer set up at the Shifen Waterfall viewing area — An early-arriving photographer had already secured a prime position.

That did look like a promising angle ^.^

The view toward Shifen Waterfall from the photographer’s position — Following the veteran’s line of sight toward a promising composition.

The veteran certainly knew how to choose a viewpoint ^.^

Shifen Waterfall photographed from a side viewing position — The veteran’s chosen spot really did capture the waterfall at its best.

For this shot, I slowed the shutter to give the water a smoother texture. The waterfall was already so powerful, though, that stopping down for a longer exposure made less difference than I expected…which meant I had carried my tripod all day for nothing >.<

The flowing water of Shifen Waterfall photographed with a slow shutter speed — A slower shutter speed turned the rushing water into a smoother curtain.

Shifen Waterfall is roughly 20 metres high and 40 metres wide. A broad sheet of water pours over the rock ledge like a giant curtain. Time to move around and see how it looked from another corner…

Shifen Waterfall and its rock ledge seen from another viewpoint — From another position, the waterfall and rock ledge took on a different depth.

The broad white curtain of Shifen Waterfall spanning the rock ledge — Water poured across the broad ledge in a continuous white curtain.

I also recorded a short clip to capture some of the waterfall’s force ^.^

By the time I was ready to leave, other visitors were only just beginning to arrive.

Visitors beginning to enter the Shifen Waterfall recreation area — Other visitors were only beginning to arrive as I prepared to leave.

I had been to Shifenliao before, but that visit was spontaneous and I had not brought a camera. Several years later, I finally got another chance, so taking photos was really my main purpose this time.

Under a blazing sun in temperatures above 30°C, bringing my wife and kids along probably would have earned me nonstop complaints @.@'"

After leaving the recreation area, I found a shortcut leading directly to the visitor centre, avoiding the longer loop. The trade-off was that this route skipped Eyeglasses Cave, so each path had its advantage.

From above the visitor centre, I rejoined the original route and walked back toward Shifen Station, ready to catch the 11:48 train to Jingtong and continue the railway journey.

Pingxi Railway Trilogy: 1/3 Planning the Itinerary

Pingxi Railway Trilogy: 2/3 Shifen Waterfall

Pingxi Railway Trilogy: 3/3 Jingtong Old Street