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Shifen Scenic Area is located in Pingxi District, New Taipei City, and is renowned for its waterfalls, the Pingxi branch-line train, and sky lanterns. Geographically, it lies along the main course of the Keelung River and is classified as a waterfall-and-gorge type scenic spot in Taiwan. Due to headward erosion and the surrounding dissected terrain, numerous faults and unusual rock formations have been created; when the river flows over these faults and rocks, its high velocity produces a series of spectacular waterfalls. Stretching north from Houtong to Sandiaoling and onward to Shifenliao and Pingxi, this region forms an almost continuous chain of cascades. The largest and most famous is Shifen Waterfall—20 m high and 40 m wide—the widest curtain-style waterfall in Taiwan and nicknamed the “Niagara of Taiwan.” The Pingxi Branch Line is one of only three remaining railway branch lines in Taiwan. Winding along the Keelung River for 12.9 km, it was completed in 1921. Originally built to transport coal, it is now one of the island’s most popular tourist railways. Each year the Pingxi International Sky Lantern Festival, held during the Lantern Festival, draws tens of thousands of visitors and was once voted by Discovery Channel as the world’s second-largest carnival.