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Nestled in the green folds of New Taipei’s mountains, Houtong feels like a pause button in the middle of Taiwan’s bustle. What was once a quiet coal-mining town has found new life as the Houtong Cat Village, where cats lounge on rooftops and tourists wander through misty lanes with coffee in hand.
Grass Jelly Dessert (仙草, xiān cǎo)
Houtong Coal Mining Ecological Park (猴硐煤礦博物園區)
Cat Village lane in Houtong (猴硐貓村)
Resident Cats at the Cat Village lane
Souvenirs
How to get here:
We booked a car for the day trip to Houtong, Jiufen and Shifen - a very convenient way when traveling with family. The ride took around 40mins. from our hotel in Ximending and the cost for 3 adults and 1 kid was NT$ 5,000.
If you're travelling on your own, or within a budget, here are other options:
Fast local train from Taipei Main Station bound for Hualien and get off at Houtong Station. Fare: Adult - NT$ 83
North bound TRA local trains on the Yilan (宜蘭) Line toward Ruifang Station and beyond
Our Experience
We left Ximending at around 9 AM travelled for around 40 mins. We stopped by Riufang station for some milk tea and grass jelly dessert. Which is one of my favorite dessert in Taiwan. It would have also been lovely to stop by the station for my stamp collection. But since it was raining, we decided to pass.
By 9:45 AM, we arrived in Houtong, just 10 minutes away from Riufang. A light drizzle began to fall. The rain had a calming charm, the way it paints everything in silver light. Though the cats were nowhere to be found, we took our time to appreciate nature's stillness. Like time was slowed down here. We went inside the Coal Mining Ecological Park, browsed the souvenir shop and found a cafe beside the museum. We saved our coffee fix for later.
Afterward, we crossed the Cat Bridge, which connects the station area to the heart of the Cat Village. We had visited back in 2016 and 2019, and it was heartwarming to see how the place has kept its cozy, nostalgic vibe. The bridge showed some signs of wear possibly caused by typhoons or earthquakes. Across the bridge, rows of small shops which once were old miners' houses reborn as cafes and craft shops which sold cat-themed souvenirs and some cats even roamed freely inside the shops! The cats are completely at ease among the tourists. I bought a notebook for my stamps and some stickers at the shop. I also bought keychain and magnet souvenirs for my friends and a cute cat-themed poster in the photos.
By this time, it was just perfect for a cup of coffee. The mist hung low over the hills and the air smelled of rain and roasted beans. It just feels like a peaceful hideaway like time ticking by so slowly. There were a lot of coffee shops along the cat lane and some pop-up shops outside selling drinks and milk tea. The most inviting was 217 Café, its doorway framed by potted plants and hand-drawn cat signs. Inside, the sound of jazz mingled with the drizzle outside as I sipped a hazelnut latte and watched the hills fade into fog.
Here are some of my Coffee Shop Recommendations:
Cafe recommendations:
217 Cafe
The cafe is affordable and cozy with resident cats frequently found inside the cafe. It has a nice ambience and interior. Ask for a seat near the window for a great view.
Food and drink recommendations*:
Hazelnut Latte (NT$ 150)
Pour over coffee (NT$ 140)
Waffle (NT$ 140)
Matcha Basque Cheesecake (NT$ 160)
Pizza 6" (NT$ 130)!
*Updated October 2025
Moreover, the cafe is a family-run cafe by a couple and their son. It has a warm homey ambience.
217 cafe interior (Credits: Tripadvisor)
A row of cafes after crossing the cat bridge from the Houtong Station.
Hide & Seek Café
This cafe is known for it's cat-themed desserts.
Food and drink recommendations*:
Cat Puffs (NT$ 120)
Cat Paw Cake (NT$ 100)
Cat Pineapple Cake (NT$ 120)
Milk Tea (NT$ 90)
Every corner of Houtong tells a layered story — the soft purr of a cat echoing where the clatter of coal once rang. Down by the Coal Mining Ecological Park, the restored sorting plant stands proud in dark wood and steel, a reminder of the town’s industrious past. You can still see old rail tracks leading to tunnels swallowed by green, history and nature coexisting quietly.
Houtong isn’t loud or busy; it’s the kind of place that invites you to slow down. To sit by the window and listen. To watch locals feed cats as trains glide past the river. To taste grass-jelly desserts topped with taro balls and red beans — sweet, cool, and comforting.
When the clouds finally lifted, we realized we had spent hours doing almost nothing — and that felt exactly right. In Houtong, time stretches gently, like a cat waking from a nap
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