Live cameras in Chiayi City, Taiwan

Chiayi City is a provincial city of about 263,000 people on the Chianan Plain in southwestern Taiwan, entirely surrounded by Chiayi County. It lies close to the Tropic of Cancer, which is marked by a monument just outside town. The area was once home to the Hoanya people; Han settlers later knew it as Tsulosan, and in 1787 the Qianlong Emperor renamed it Chiayi, meaning commended righteousness, to reward its residents for their loyalty during the Lin Shuangwen rebellion. A powerful earthquake in 1906 leveled much of the city, which was rebuilt under Japanese rule. Chiayi is the starting point of the Alishan Forest Railway, and the restored timber houses of Hinoki Village, Chiayi Park with its Sun-Shooting Tower, and Lantan Lake are its best-known sights. Food lovers come for turkey rice, a local specialty.

Roads toward Alishan

Chiayi's views are drawn from the island-wide highway camera feeds that the transport ministry shares on its open data portal. National Freeway 1 passes close to the western edge of the city, and Provincial Highway 18, the road up to Alishan, begins in Chiayi and climbs east into the mountains. Since our map assigns each camera to its nearest place, this page collects views from the roads in and around the city. Expect a photo that changes every so often, not moving video.

Chiayi uses Taiwan time, UTC plus eight, without a summer clock change. Winter days are mild and mostly dry, perfect for the trip up to Alishan for its famous sunrise, while summer is hot with heavy afternoon rain and occasional typhoons. The June sun sets around a quarter to seven; the December sun goes down near a quarter past five. Chiayi is proud to be Taiwan's city of wind music, and its international band festival, held each year since 1988, fills squares and parks with brass and woodwind ensembles from many countries.

The Southern Branch of the National Palace Museum stands in Taibao, a short drive west, and the tea villages of the Alishan range begin less than an hour to the east.

Sources: Chiayi - Wikipedia · National Freeway 1 (Taiwan) - Wikipedia.