Beipu 北埔

About Beipu

Citian Temple anchors the old-town streets, where traditional snacks, lei cha and small shops make a natural pause between buildings. The area retains red-brick lanes and several prominent historic residences.

Jinguangfu Hall, Tianshui Hall and the Jiang A-xin mansion show different chapters of the settlement’s history. Plan around the visitor arrangements for each property: some buildings are appreciated mainly from outside, and an open street does not mean every residence is open. Beipu Cold Spring lies outside this old-street circuit.

Before the Qing administration period, the area was home to the Saisiyat and other Pingpu indigenous peoples. In 1835 the Danshui sub-prefecture ordered the Hakka Jiang Xiuluan (姜秀銮) and the Hoklo Lin Dexiu (林德修) and Zhou Bangzheng (周邦正) to jointly fund the Jinguangfu Reclamation Company (金广福垦号), an armed Hakka-Hoklo venture that opened the Da'ai area covering today's Beipu, Baoshan and Emei townships. Hakka settlers who followed now make up about 95 percent of Beipu's population.

Beipu lies in southwestern Hsinchu County, bordered by Emei, Baoshan, Zhudong, Wufeng township and Miaoli County's Nanzhuang, covering about 50.667 square kilometres. The terrain is mostly hills and mountains, higher in the south, with the Beipu basin at an elevation of about 90 to 150 metres; its flat, fertile land and ample irrigation made it the area's early rice-growing centre, while the surrounding hills, at 90 to 200 metres, are planted with tea and fruit orchards.

Jinguangfu Guildhall (金广福公馆), built in 1835, is Hsinchu County's only national historic site (国定古迹), formerly ranked a first-grade national historic site, and served as the command and administrative office of the Jinguangfu reclamation venture. It has a two-section, one-courtyard quadrangle layout (四合院) with two side wings; the right wing was rebuilt in Japanese style after the 1935 earthquake, while the left retains its original Qing-era form.

What to look for

• Citian Temple forms the religious and spatial centre of the old streets.
• Jinguangfu Hall and Tianshui Hall preserve the settlement’s older architecture.
• The Jiang A-xin mansion and local tea shops add another layer to the walk.

Location & getting there

Getting to Beipu

For the historic settlement, go to Beipu Street around Citian Temple in Beipu Township, Hsinchu County. Specify the old street when arranging transport; Beipu Cold Spring is a different destination outside the centre.