Jioufen, also known as Jiufen, is a mountain town in the Ruifang township of Taipei county near Keelung. Jioufen was an isolated village until 1893, when gold was discovered in the area. The resulting gold rush hastened the village's development into a town. When the gold sources dried up, the town went into decline. In 1989, Hou Hsiao-hsien's film "A City of Sadness", which was set in Jioufen and won the Golden Lion award at the Venice Film Festival, revived the town and attracted people from cities to experience its old fashioned atmosphere.[Photo/VCG]