Tropic of Cancer Marker Park Introduction
The Tropic of Cancer Marker Park is located on the Ruisui Wuzhuhai Plateau, featuring a white sundial shape, making it a must-visit photo spot for travelers passing through the plateau. The park has an outdoor parking lot, a giant teapot-shaped installation art, restrooms, walking paths, and recreational areas. The path from the parking lot to the park is designed as an accessible trail, allowing visitors of all ages to easily walk to the Tropic of Cancer marker and the teapot installation art for photo opportunities, or browse the explanatory signs in all four cardinal directions to learn about the 24 lunar mansions and celestial phenomena, while enjoying the beautiful scenery of the surrounding tea gardens and mountains. On both sides of the park's wooden corridors, many interpretive panels related to celestial phenomena, climate, solar terms, and earth science are displayed. Nearby, vendors sell honey-scented black tea and Wuzhuhai coffee, providing travelers a place to relax with a good cup of tea or coffee and experience local flavors, while also having the chance to take home specialty gifts. During the summer solstice, it is the time to observe unique celestial phenomena at the Tropic of Cancer and a perfect opportunity to photograph the tea gardens and the Central Mountain Range. The clear blue sky, bright Tropic of Cancer, green tea gardens, and distant Central Mountain Range create the most iconic scenery on the Ruisui Plateau, making it a beautiful sight for passersby. The Tropic of Cancer marks the farthest point north where the sun can directly shine in the Northern Hemisphere, located at 23.5 degrees north latitude. On the day of the summer solstice, the sun shines directly on the Tropic of Cancer, leading to the unique phenomenon of "no shadow under the sun" at noon. Furthermore, most of the countries and regions that the Tropic of Cancer passes through are deserts, making Taiwan a rare oasis along this latitude. Its island climate and monsoon contribute to this unique geographical landscape. Taiwan has three Tropic of Cancer markers: in Shueishang Township in Chiayi, Ruisui Township in Hualien, and Fengbin Township. The marker in Ruisui was established in 1933, located to the west of Ruisui Railway Station, and was later relocated to its current site due to the east railway expansion. However, the exact location of the Tropic of Cancer along Provincial Highway 9 is actually about two kilometers south of the current Tropic of Cancer marker.
