Yifang Trading Company

Corporate headquarters of Ruisan Mining Company (瑞三鑛業公司), built in 1930 when Li Jianxing (李建興) moved his family down from Pingxi to Ruifang in 1930. Already a successful mining tycoon, he took over concessions in Houtong and developed them into a profitable mining operation. The Li family rose to prominence alongside the Keelung Yan family (基隆顏家) before the colonial authorities jailed Li, much of their family, and approximately 100 employees of the mines in the Ruifang Incident (瑞芳事件) of 1940, accusing them of collusion with China. Li was released in 1945 and became the first post-war mayor of Ruifang. Nowadays the old residence remains in the family and is not regularly open to the public, but its faded grandeur can be appreciated from the street.