Tropic of Cancer Marker Park Introduction
The Tropic of Cancer Marker Park is located on the Ruifeng Wuhua Plateau, featuring a white sundial shape, making it a must-take photo spot for travelers passing through the Wuhua Plateau. The park is equipped with outdoor parking, a large teapot-shaped installation art, restrooms, walking paths, and recreational areas. The path from the parking lot to the park is designed as an accessible walkway, allowing visitors of all ages to walk easily to take pictures with the Tropic of Cancer marker and the teapot installation or browse the informational signs in all four directions to learn about the 24 lunar mansions and celestial phenomena, while enjoying the beautiful views of the tea gardens and mountains surrounding the Wuhua Plateau. Along the wooden corridors on both sides of the park, there are many informational signs related to celestial phenomena, climate, solar terms, and Earth sciences. Nearby, vendors sell honey-scented black tea and Wuhua coffee, providing travelers a place to rest and enjoy local delicacies while also taking home some souvenirs. In the summer, it is the perfect time to observe special celestial phenomena at the Tropic of Cancer and to photograph the tea gardens and the Central Mountain Range, with the blue sky, bright Tropic of Cancer, green tea gardens, and distant Central Mountain Range creating the most classic scenery on the Wuhua Plateau, which many passersby will want to capture. The Tropic of Cancer marks the farthest distance north of the equator 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, resulting in the unique phenomenon of "no shadow at noon." Moreover, most countries and regions through which the Tropic of Cancer passes are deserts, making Taiwan a rare oasis along the Tropic, with its island climate and monsoons creating this unique geographical landscape. In Taiwan, there are three Tropic of Cancer markers located in Jiali Shueishang Township, Hualien Ruifeng Township, and Fengbin Township. The marker in Ruifeng was established in 1933 on the west side of Ruifeng Railway Station, but it was relocated to its current site due to the expansion of the East Trunk Line. However, the exact location of the Tropic of Cancer crossing Provincial Highway 9 is actually about two kilometers south of the current Tropic of Cancer marker.
