The Waterfalls of Pingshi

Located just south of Keelung, inland from the northern tip of the Northeast Coast National Scenic Area, Pingshi was once an area that bustled with coal-mining activities. Only an old railway line threading through the mountains and forests is left from those glory days; now, instead of coal miners, the trains carry sightseers heading for the densest concentration of waterfalls in Taiwan. A unique local custom here is the release of "sky lanterns"-miniature hot-air balloons-at the time of the Lantern Festival, two weeks after the Lunar New Year.