This morning, over a thousand visitors flocked to Kenting Longpan Park in Hengchun Town, Pingtung County. Bundled up against the biting cold winds, they gathered on New Year’s Day to greet the year’s first dawn. Unfortunately, the sunrise remained hidden behind the clouds, but it did not dampen the enthusiastic spirit of the people.
This morning, Kenting Longpan Park in Hengchun Town, Pingtung County, was flooded with over a thousand visitors entering the park. Everyone was dressed in warm clothing, braving the intense, bone-chilling winds to welcome the first dawn of the New Year on New Year’s Day. Unfortunately, due to the thick cloud cover, the dawn did not appear even as the sky lightened, much to the disappointment of enthusiastic visitors who came by motorcycle, lamenting, “It’s a real pity.” Amidst the descending mountain winds (downslope wind), people spiritedly wished each other a Happy New Year, looking forward to the new beginnings of the year ahead.
Downslope wind is a meteorological phenomenon characterized by warm and dry winds that descend along the slopes of mountains, often increasing in speed as they go.
The Taipei Astronomical Museum pointed out that this year’s earliest sunrise on flat ground in Taiwan appeared at 6:34 a.m. at the Eluanbi Lighthouse. The Pingtung County Government organized “Chasing the Light and Dreaming” at Kenting Longpan Park, with the theme “Ping’an Dawn.” They arranged for free shuttle buses, performances by the “South Island Dance Collection,” and prepared over ten thousand “Chasing the Light and Dreaming” commemorative postcards to accompany the public in welcoming the dawn.
A couple from Tainan arrived at Kenting Longpan Park to welcome the dawn at around 1 a.m. They could not withstand the strong gusts of wind and took shelter from the wind next to a container outside the park, waiting for the dawn to appear. There was also Mr. Lin from Changhua and his family of three, who visited Pingtung yesterday, saying, “We have never welcomed the dawn outside before; this is our first time,” hoping to witness the dawn.
There were also many people who were disappointed last year and came back to the site full of hope, wishing to see the dawn this time, saying, “After celebrating the New Year in the city, we came here and didn’t see it, this is our second time, and our new hope is to see the dawn next year!” Although they only saw thick clouds in the end, the crowd still enthusiastically shouted, “Happy New Year!”
360-degree panorama photo in Longpan park by vr-kenting.com