Live cameras in Xihu, Taiwan

Xihu is an urban township in Changhua County, on the flat and fertile plain of west-central Taiwan, with about 54,000 residents in 32 square kilometers. It is one of the island's main vegetable-growing centers, and the surrounding fields and wholesale market supply greens and fruit to much of the west coast; the town is especially proud of its chive flowers and its kyoho grapes. Under Japanese rule Xihu became an important sugar town, and the old Xihu Sugar Factory now runs a tourist train pulled by steam locomotive No. 346 through the cane country. In the cooler months locals gather for another specialty, lamb hotpot, served in restaurants all over town.

Freeway 1 across the farm plain

Xihu's views come from Taiwan's freeway and provincial highway monitoring system, published as public open data. National Freeway 1 crosses the township from north to south, and the Yuanlin interchange lies within Xihu's limits, connecting the freeway with the busy market town of Yuanlin next door. Provincial Highway 19 also runs north to south through Xihu, linking Changhua City toward Yunlin. Our map files each camera under its nearest place, so this page collects freeway lanes and interchange views in the middle of the Changhua plain. You will see photos that update periodically rather than a moving picture. Note that the Xihu service area on Freeway 1 is a different place, in the township of the same name in Miaoli County.

Changhua County keeps a single time all year, UTC+8. The plain is hot and humid through summer, when afternoon thunderstorms and the occasional typhoon move through, and dry and breezy in winter as the northeast monsoon sweeps down the coast. Fields stay bright until about 6:45 at the height of summer and darken a little after 5:15 in late December. Watch the freeway on the eve of long holidays, when the stream of cars heading south can slow for kilometers.

Lukang, the historic port town with its Tianhou Temple and old merchant streets, is a short drive northwest, and the Bagua Mountain ridge rises to the east beyond Yuanlin.

Sources: Xihu, Changhua - Wikipedia · 溪湖鎮 - Wikipedia (Chinese) · National Freeway 1 (Taiwan) - Wikipedia.