Live cameras in Taitung, Taiwan

On Taiwan’s quiet southeast shore, Taitung City faces the open Pacific just southwest of where the Beinan River meets the sea. It is the seat of Taitung County and home to about 103,000 people, a modest size that gives it a relaxed, small-city feel compared with the crowded west coast. Behind it rise the southern ends of the Central and Coastal mountain ranges, and offshore lie Green Island and Orchid Island, both reached by ferry or small plane from here. Beinan Cultural Park, built around a large prehistoric site found in 1980, sits on the city’s edge.

LiveLocation lists more than 160 cameras for Taitung, drawn from Taiwan’s national road agencies through the transport ministry’s open data feeds. They follow the two provincial highways that serve the city: Highway 9, the inland and southern trunk road connecting toward Hualien and around the south of the island, and Highway 11, the coastal route that hugs the shoreline north toward Hualien. Expect views of straight seaside roads, river bridges, town junctions and long empty stretches with the ocean or mountains behind. The pictures are periodic snapshots and may be a few minutes old.

Taitung uses Taiwan time, UTC+8. Sunrise comes early over the Pacific, so the coastal cameras are often at their prettiest just after dawn. The climate is tropical monsoon, with a wet season from about May to October and a drier winter. Summer can be very hot, especially in the weeks before the rains arrive. Typhoons often make landfall on this coast, so storm days can bring dramatic seas and closures.

• Early morning: soft light on Highway 11 along the shore.
• Summer: the Taiwan International Balloon Festival takes place in nearby Luye.
• Typhoon days: watch for rising rivers and wind-blown rain.

The radius takes in Luye and the Beinan valley to the north, along with more coastal views beyond.

Sources: Taitung City - Wikipedia · 2023 Taiwan International Balloon Festival - Discover Taitung.