Hualien resident and professional photographer Chen Min-ming had something to say about the issue when showing off some of his aerial shots of Xinkang Mountain: "Don't forget, folks, every day the first sunlight in Taiwan falls right on Xinkang Mountain!"
Cheng Chun-yue, director of the Central Weather Bureau's observatory, concurs. For the past several years, he said, everyone has practically forgotten about the existence of Xinkang Mountain. At an elevation of over 3,000 meters, it is undeniably the actual spot for the first light falling on Taiwan, rather than those places that the public likes to talk about and can easily travel to.
Xinkang Mountain, located in Zhuoxi Township in Hualien County within the boundaries of Yushan National Park, was only known to a small community of climbers for some time. Zealots discovered that the mountain would be the place to receive the first light of the year 2000 during the millennium craze. A number of reputable sources, including the Taipei Municipal Observatory, the Central Weather Bureau's observatory and many scholars, all agree on Xinkang Mountain's pride of place in the competition for the earliest light.
Calculations have also shown that, besides being the place with the first light of the new millennium in Taiwan, the mountain actually receives the first light of day for Taiwan year-round. However, it is by no means easy to travel to the mountain, so unless you are a skilled climber, you are better off not trying to see the true face of this peak, and rather allow it to sink back into the peaceful obscurity it enjoyed prior to the millennium celebrations.
(This article first appeared Dec. 10, 2009 in the “Liberty Times.”)