In the hills of northern Taiwan, alongside the Keelung River, you'll come across a village that relies almost exclusively on cat-related tourism. Everything in the village is cat-themed, from the feline murals to the shops selling kitty kitsch and playing music consisting of cats meowing. Plus, you'll see hundreds upon hundreds of cats, posing for photographs.
Welcome to “cat village” Houtong in Taiwan.
Houtong used to be a coal-mining village. Since its mining industry collapsed in the 1990s, residents have moved out and cats have taken over the place.
A small team of volunteers looked after the cats by spaying and neutering and administering vaccinations. In 2008, local cat lover Peggy Chien posted photos of the Houtong cats and talked about the village's efforts to look after them. Her pictures attracted cat worshippers from all over the world, and Houtong is now officially known as “cat village.”
Most of the Houtong cats are strays but well-cared for. While they tend to shy away from the huge crowds and love to sleep near the quiet cottages clinging to the hillside, they are used to tourists and will usually accept to be petted and played with (though some of them will leg it at the sign of an outstretched hand). You can lure them with cat food and dried fish sold from the shops. Many tourists will do this, so make sure not to overfeed them.
Houtong is also the perfect place to buy gifts for your cat-loving friends. Most of the shops sell cat merchandising such as cat purses, cat brooches, cat key chains, cat coasters, cat socks, and much more.
When you've done enough petting and shopping, you can sit down for a coffee and some cat-shaped cookies.
However, it's not all about cats in Houtong. You can also visit former mining facilities and museums which depict how the local miners used to live. There's even a train that takes you into a mining tunnel. In the surrounding hills, you'll find lots of great hikes that pass through tunnels, across bridges and snake around railway tracks.
Maps with suggested walks are available from the visitor information center.
To get there, you'll have to take the Yilan train from Taipei to Houtong. The ride lasts about one hour and costs NT$50. The last train back to Taipei is at 9pm, but everything in Houtong shuts down around 6pm.
Houtong is situated close to cat village Jiufen and you can book a day tour which combines both cat villages.
Beautiful. I really like the first picture:-)
ReplyDeleteA place just for cats?! I love that first pic. Beautiful
ReplyDeletethey do look a bit different from our European kittens
ReplyDeleteYes! I've heard of this place before! Awesome.
ReplyDeletegood day two everee one in taiwan !!! N way kewl oh de peepulz that R still living ther ......lookz out for ewe all ♥
ReplyDeleteCool!!! Nice photos!!!
ReplyDeleteA lot of these cats have interesting markings. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteUn endroit où les chats sont rois ... ça c'est génial !
ReplyDeleteIl est amusant ce chat avec ses moustaches noires.
The cats all seem content and happy. Glad they are all being taken care of.
ReplyDeleteSean at His and Her Hobbies
What interesting photos. Some of the cats have very unusual faces. I'm glad they are fed and cared for.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous ( and lucky) cats, beautiful and intriguing place :)
ReplyDeleteThis sounds a bit like Cat Island in Japan. We especially love that first photo.
ReplyDeleteThe scenery is gorgeous! It looks like these cats have had a pretty rough life, but they have a wonderful place to live. It is cool to see all of the people who want to take pictures of them because that shows that people value these cats.
ReplyDeleteCat Town!
ReplyDeleteWOOF
So good to hear that they are well cared for!!! Pawsome that the kitties are a tourist attraction!!!! haha!! And BTW the white kitty in the second photo looks like he has a stash!!! haha! Love it!
ReplyDeletehttps://twitter.com/HuskyCrazed/status/454250842212671489
We missed Taiwan for some reason but glad we saw it as the first one is great. Have a tremendous Thursday.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes Molly
Best one is cat mustache! :)
ReplyDeleteJamie Dement (LadyJai)
My A to Z
Caring for My Veteran
This is interesting. I always worry about this scenario, though. There are so many dangers outside, especially where people are!
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of cat tourism! I'd go there for sure. What a bunch of cuties. And the top photo is just stunning.
ReplyDeleteTant mieux si les chats sont bien soignés. C'est d'ailleurs la moindre des choses puisque leur image est utilisée pour le tourisme.
ReplyDeleteHow cool! A place that the cats have taken over!
ReplyDeletewhat a wonderful place,xx Rachel
ReplyDeleteThat makes me so happy that the cats are well cared for. It seems like animals usually suffer for the sake of tourism. Very glad to see that's not the case here. And now I want to go to Taiwan. :-)
ReplyDeleteCat tourism! I love it! :D And I need to go there.
ReplyDeleteNow that's an idea! Cat Tourism. I would love to visit there and see them in person. I'm so glad that they are well cared for. They're beautiful!
ReplyDeleteThis is my first time i visit here and I found so many interesting stuff in your blog especially it's discussion, thank you.
ReplyDeleteKitten Collars
Dear Ms. Vanessa Morgan,
ReplyDeleteWe are now producing a Pingxi Photo Album and we like your first cat image of "Cats from Houtong(Taiwan)" very much. So, could you please kindly authorize us to use it in our photo album? If yes, then please let us know your authorization charge by return email? Our email address is: aifa8819@yahoo.com.tw
Besides, we'd like to know whether this image was photoed in the morning or evening.
Please kindly advise.
Meanwhile, do you have other images of flowers, fruits (such as banana), etc. of Pingxi(including Houtong), Taiwan which can be authorized for our usage in the Photo Album? If yes, then please kindly email to us for our further pick-ups.
P.S. We'll make regular donation for the protection of natural environment of Pingxi(including Houtong), Taiwan right after the release of our photo album.
Thank you very much in advance for your prompt attention on this matter.
Best regards,
Gloria Ma
AIFA PUBLISHING CO., LTD.
7F., No. 199, Tai Yuan Road, Taipei 103, Taiwan, R.O.C.
Tel: 002-886-2-2559-8382
Fax: 002-886-2-2559-8922
www.aifarecords.com.tw
Date: 2014.8. 5