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Located near Shuinandong and the Yin-Yang Sea, the former Taiwan Metal Mining Corporation plant—better known as the Thirteen Levels Ruins—was once the largest ore-processing facility in the Shuinandong, Jinguashi, and Jiufen area. From a distance the refinery used to extract gold, silver, and copper looks like an abandoned yet majestic palace, while the 2-kilometer-long disused flue snakes across the ridge, appearing and disappearing among the hills to add a touch of mystery. To appreciate the site’s uniquely desolate beauty, the best vantage points are the Shuinandong parking lot looking up, and the viewing pavilion in Changren Community looking sideways. The story of the Thirteen Levels Ruins The Thirteen Levels Ruins, also called the Shuinandong Refinery, was built in 1933 (Shōwa 8) and was a vital ore-dressing and precious-metal smelting facility during the Japanese colonial period. After Taiwan’s retrocession, the Taiwan Metal Mining Corporation took over, added a new gold-smelting plant, and divided the complex into a dressing plant and a smelting works. As times changed, the once-thriving mining industry declined, operations ceased in 1987, and the site was handed over to Taipower. Lighting up the Thirteen Levels—reviving its former glory The Shuinandong Refinery occupies an irreplaceable place in Taiwan’s mining heritage. In September 2019 Taipower joined forces with international lighting artist Lien Chou and up-and-coming artist Joyce Ho to create the public-art project “Lighting up the Thirteen Levels.” Bathed in golden light, the ruins seem to travel through a time tunnel, letting visitors once again witness the grandeur of the old Gold City. Night-scene photographers should not miss this spectacle. ※ Fixed lighting hours: 18:00–21:00 nightly.