The hillside town of Jiufen is located 35km east of Taipei, near the northeastern tip of Taiwan. It derived its name from its origin as a village of nine families. It grew into a mining town after gold was discovered in 1893. Gold mining reached its peak during the Japanese occupation era then declined after 1957. After the 1989 movie A City of Sadness (悲情城市) won the Golden Lion at the 46th Venice Film Festival, interests in Jiufen, the movie's setting grew. Now it is a major tourist sight with many shops selling local snacks on its narrow old streets.