Kenting National Park and Taitung County in southeastern Taiwan are two top spots for people who want to view next year’s first sunrise, the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) said.
The bureau said that on Jan. 1 the sun will rise at 6:35am in Kenting’s Longkeng area and Taitung’s Sansiantai (三仙台) area.
However, for those who wish to catch the very first rays of light on New Year’s morning, Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) off the east coast would be the best choice, as the sun will rise over the island at 6:33am, the earliest sunrise of the day in all of Taiwan and its outlying islands, the bureau said.
New Year’s morning activities have become increasingly popular among Taiwanese over the past few years.
One such event is a flag-raising ceremony at Cape San Diego in New Taipei City, which drew about 60,000 spectators this year.
The sun is to rise in the location — the easternmost point of Taiwan proper — at 6:37am on New Year’s Day, the bureau said.
Another popular activity is to take a flight over Hualien County to catch the first rays of sunlight on New Year’s Day.
China Airlines is operating a special charter flight, CI 2016, which is to depart from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 5:20am on New Year’s Day before flying over the coast of Hualien on its way to Hong Kong.
Passengers can choose to take a flight back to Taiwan the same day or buy a Hong Kong tour package offered by the carrier.
The airline on Thursday said that all 158 seats on the flight had sold out within three minutes of going on sale.
The Taiwan Railways Administration on Friday said that it would offer 16 extra trips between Zhushan and Alishan stations from 2:20am to 6:10am on New Year’s Day to transport people who want to watch the sunrise from the 2,500m-high Alishan.
Other activities in the Alishan Scenic Area include an outdoor concert in Zhushan on the morning of Jan. 1. This year, the concert attracted an audience of about 15,000.
Those who want to watch this year’s last sunset can go to Tainan’s Anping District (安平) or Kaohsiung’s Sizihwan (西子灣) area, where the sun is to set at 5:25pm, to have a clear view of the spectacle, the bureau said.
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