Steam in the valley

Beitou lies at the foot of the Datun volcano group, and the ground is still warm. Steam rises from vents in the Thermal Valley and drifts across the Beitou River; the water is acidic and carries sulfur, and the stones along the streambed are stained yellow and white. The Ketagalan, who lived here before Han settlement, called the place Kipatauw, meaning a witch, because the valley seemed to smoke by itself. Sulfur was mined and traded before the Spanish and Dutch arrived. In 1697 the Qing official Yu Yonghe came to Beitou to buy sulfur and wrote about the valley in his travel record. The smell, the heat and the colours of the rock still recall those early descriptions.

In 1896, Osaka merchant Hirata Gengo opened the Tengu-an hot-spring inn in Beitou. The public bathhouse, built in 1913, later fell into disuse. Local residents helped bring it back: it was designated a historic site on 20 February 1997 and reopened as the Beitou Hot Spring Museum on 31 October 1998. Its former bathing hall is on the ground floor, with a tatami room above.

Beitou today is a residential district that retains the atmosphere of a hot-spring resort. Hotels range from old wooden inns to large modern spa buildings, and the public bath in Beitou Park still costs little. The museum explains the geology and the Japanese-era resort, and the nearby Ketagalan Culture Center tells the earlier story. Up the valley, the Thermal Valley is fenced for safety; the steam is best seen on a cool morning. Down by the river, the old lanes are narrow and steep, with drains that carry hot water. Visitors are asked not to touch the spring water at the source and to follow each bath's rules; the water is hot enough to scald. Here, geological forces remain part of everyday city life.