Text / MOOK Scenic Spots Family Travel Life Network Editorial Department, compiled and reported by Liao Qiyu
Although we’ve always known Taiwan is beautiful, ever since the movie “Beyond Beauty: Taiwan from Above” was released in Taiwan in 2013, director Chi Po-lin took us on a bird’s-eye view of this land that has nurtured us for the first time, and we were shocked to realize that Taiwan’s beauty far exceeds our imagination.
Aerial photo of the Tainan Interchange, with crop circles resembling patterns made by aliens. (Image source / National Freeway Bureau, Ministry of Transportation and Communications, Taiwan)
Recently, the Tainan City Government posted aerial photos of the Tainan System Interchange on online platforms. The lush green rice fields were etched with elegant curved lines, resembling crop circle markings left by aliens visiting Earth, which amazed many netizens. The photographer behind these images is none other than Chi Po-lin, who took us on a visual journey across Taiwan and captured this as part of his work while employed at the National Freeway Bureau.
The microfilm team shooting in Li Mountain unexpectedly discovered the radiant beauty of Taiwan at night. (Image source / San Shan National Scenic Area)
Besides the stunning crop circles, this year the Lishan Hotel in Taichung celebrated its 50th anniversary and invited a professional team to create a promotional microfilm. Unexpectedly, while filming the night scenery from a high vantage point, they spotted a glowing map of Taiwan’s night lights that matched the actual landscape with 100% accuracy – an astonishing discovery that moved everyone.
A view of Taiwan’s illuminated city lights from space is truly breathtaking. (Image source / NASA)
When it comes to breathtaking aerial views, if you think the two spots above aren’t “high” enough, check out the aerial image of Taiwan’s night lights released earlier this year by NASA. Taken from outer space 223 miles (358.88 kilometers) above Earth, the small outline of Taiwan is sharply illuminated by the glow of its city lights, with sparkling dots over the sea surface. The sight amazed many netizens — our little sweet potato really is gorgeous after all.