Houtong, a Must for Those Who Love Cats

1:35 AM Unknown 0 Comments

If you are a people loving cats very much, you should also like a small village in Taiwan, because it is a cat’s shelter and paradise. That is the Houtong cat village located in Ruifang District, Taiwan's Xinbei City. 

Houtong was known as the “monkey hole” in the early days, because there were lots of monkeys living in the surrounding mountains. 

Houtong cat village is also known as Houtong Cat Street, the local cats are not afraid of people for long-term contracting with tourists. But because of the hot day, most cats hide in the shade, while after dark they will come out in groups. 

A hand-drawn map, two unique Taiwan railway tickets took us into the cat's paradise.


On the Houtong station stop sign, there is a small logo clearly described the Houtong outlines: cats, miners, monkeys, as well as the miners crossing a stream bridge.

The mining industry has become the History of the Houtong, and the cats become the main theme of this small mountain village, even the benches on the station platform are also marked with the imprint of the cat by the local indigenous people. 

The flower beds painted with cat are fastened on each pillar outbound, holding a few pieces of casual flowers to welcome the guests who come for the cats from afar.

A “kitten” lazily lay on the window sill leading to the exit of the channel.

Here, the cat reminds the guests security is the most important. 

The cats also walk into the station to remind you that “I’m here”,“I am very timid, don’t take the dogs here”…

The famous star of the villagers “black nose” conductor will always stand at the station port to welcome every friends coming for the cats. 

The station is very small, only a shop, filled with the souvenirs of the cat.

Even the cartoon image of Taiwan Railway Administration has been draw a few whiskers, as cute as cat like.

A heavy table beside the shop is designed to prepare for guests to write postcards, but star cats have “occupied” here. 

There are even lots of pieces of lovely seals preparing for tourists in the store.

You can free to cover any of seal you need to record the carrier, postcards, travel brochures, maps and even

This little boy was also personally completed all the records under the help of his Mummy.


The cat village is on the other side of the station. After coming out from the train station, there are clear instructions to the direction. In the cat village, almost every cat has its own name, of which there are four star cats. 

The “Four kings” sit on a tourist train leading guests to the cat village.

Everywhere is the cute cat on the footbridge acrossing the railway. 

Walk into the cat village, people will feel as if walked into the cat's paradise, and everywhere you can see their home. 

They can lay idle in the roadside stone steps and fall asleep.

Even was shot by tourists not far away, the cats won’t look at the tourists, they would go on sleeping after turning around. 


The village is very quiet, and the flower-filled trails intricate distribution between the cottages. 

The cats are the owner here. They will jump out and look up and down every unfamiliar face like aborigines. 

The sentence on the board means “there are lots of cats in front”. 

There is a cat in less than 10 cm in front of the camera, so cute that I could not help take it home. 

This is the activity center of the village. I was wondering it is designed for residents or for cats?

After all, Houtong was once a village mainly in the mining industry, although the mines have been abandoned, mining facilities are still retained, and made into mining memorial, even become a good sports and fitness place for cats. 

Houtong station is the few several still retain the rustic local scenery station in Taiwan Railway. The abandoned mining plant surround increase the sense of History of the station. 

The street was covered with cat lights, even the restaurant signs are the cat's shadow.

cat lights in front of the liquor store

A driver pulling the coal came to tell the tourists the History of the Houtong.

Electronic tour guided figure in the museum is the only facility without cat element in Houtong. 

But as long as walk out of the museum, everything is relevant to cat, even the lanterns hanging on the square in front of the museum are painted with cats. 

May be it is easier to sun here, a lot of cats come out of the cat village, across the railway and come to the Museum Square corner for a nap.

Even lying on the pavement and fall asleep, no matter how you look at it daze. 

Even if you push the bike by the side, it will notice and continue to sleep.



This cat was drinking water.

Houtong is also a place with beautiful natural and cultural scenery. This little village is surrounded by green mountains, together with unique train station, the abandoned old mine, some Japanese-style houses, stream flows through the village, all of these are the highlight of Houtong. 

There were lots of monkeys living in the mountains opposite the cat village. 

Houtong station was once a relative importance of a trunk station because of its coal mine, so tourist can shoot almost car models of Taiwan. 

A walkway in the cat village goes straight to the railroad, where there is a famous tunnel!

Japanese-style cottages are close to the railway.

Houtong platform

0 评论: