A seaside hill known as Guanshan (關山) in Kenting National Park earlier this week made it onto CNN’s list of “12 superb sunset spots around the world,” published in the travel section of the network’s Web site.
Long a popular place for locals to enjoy the sunset, Guanshan is a 152m high hill a short distance outside Hengchun (恆春), overlooking the Taiwan Strait.
Among CNN’s top spots to view the sunset are destinations like the Grand Canyon in the US, Uluru (Ayers Rock) in Australia, Maui Island in Hawaii, Oia on the island of Santorini in Greece, Phnom Bakheng temple in Angkor, Cambodia, and West Lake in Hangzhou, China.
Photo: Tsai Tsung-hsien, Taipei Times
The CNN article, published on Monday, said of Guanshan: “A Guanshan sunset is one of the great attractions of southern Taiwan … it offers the best viewpoint from which to see the Hengchun Peninsula, a popular tourist spot in the south of the island.”
“The peninsula has no train or highway, making it a natural paradise. What it has is beautiful hot springs and forests. The pavilion adjacent to Fude Temple (Gaoshanyen) on Guanshan Trail offers the best viewing point for sunsets,” it added.
Looking north from Gaoshanyen Fude Temple (高山巖福德宮), one can see Dapingding Hill (大平頂) and its adjacent fishing village.
Turning eastward, one sees the beautiful coastal landscape of Kenting National Park’s South Bay (南灣), Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) and Long-luan Lake (龍鑾潭).
On Guanshan, a raised terrain of formerly submerged coral reefs and marine limestone, the best place to view the colorful sunset is the “Sunset Platform” erected by the national park authorities, according to residents.
According to a resident and proprietor of a nearby restaurant, Tien Te-cheng (田德成), the best time to enjoy the scene of the sun slowly setting into the sea is from June to October.
“When a typhoon is approaching, it is a good opportunity to catch the clouds glowing brilliant red and orange during sunset [known as ‘fire-burning clouds’ (火燒雲) in Taiwan],” he said.
He added that during the Qing Dynasty, “Sunset at Guanshan” (關山夕照) was listed among eight popular scenic spots in the Hengchun region.
Kenting National Park Headquarters head Chen Chen-jung (陳貞蓉) said that Guanshan is not a big place and receives a huge number of tourists during the peak season.
“Due to concerns about the environmental impact, we will not add more facilities, nor hold new promotional activities,” she said.
“When tourist visits are concentrated in a few ‘star destinations,’ it is not good for the local ecological environment,” she added.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
Taiwan successfully defended its women’s 540 kilogram title and won its first-ever men’s 640 kg title at the 2026 World Indoor Tug of War Championships in Taipei yesterday. In the women’s event, Taiwan’s eight-person squad reached the final following a round-robin preliminary round and semifinals featuring teams from Ukraine, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, the Basque Country and South Korea. In the finals, they swept the Basque team 2-0, giving the team composed mainly of National Taiwan Normal University students and graduates its second championship in a row, and its fourth in five years. Team captain
RSS