Readers’ Photos

Birdwatching Around Penghu (Qiu Ruiming)

Birdwatching tours around the small islands east of Penghu are a unique experience. They combine intertidal zones, bird ecology, leisure fishing, and water sports. Such tours always impress visitors and leave them with lasting memories.

Coastal Marathon at Yeliu (Wang Weisha)

The Wan Jin Shi Marathon has started! The race passes through three districts of New Taipei CIty: Wanli, Jinshan, and Shimen. As the runners speed along the route, they can feast their eyes on the North Coast’s magnificent scenery of mountains and sea.

Sulfuric Fire Fishing (Chen Ziqing)

Traditional sulfuric fire fishing is still practiced in New Taipei’s Jinshan District. Torches are lit to attract Japanese scaled sardines (Sardinella zunasi) to the surface, where they are caught with handheld dip nets. The light reflected in the water makes for a dazzling sight.

Early Morning Fishing (Li Shengzhang)

Early November is eel fry season at the mouth of the Hualien River. In the first rays of the sun, fishermen carrying framed nets taller than themselves use all their strength to scoop their catch from the water.

Releasing Water Lanterns at Ghost Festival (Chen Ziqing)

As part of the Ghost Festival rituals in Keelung, on the first day of the seventh lunar month the gates of Hell are opened at Laodagong Temple. On the 12th the lights are lit at Zhupu Altar, and on the 13th there is a clan lantern parade. At 11 p.m. on the 14th, people go to Wanghaixiang at Badouzi to release water lanterns, which symbolize commemorating the dead, helping ghosts to pass into the afterlife, and praying for peace and tranquility.

Catching Fish Fry (Wang Chaoteng)

Before sunrise, fishermen gather in the estuary of the Hualien River and use special nets to catch the fry of monk goby fish (Sicyopterus japonicus). The photographer coordinated his shot with the movements of the waves, using a slow shutter speed to capture this vivid image blending the dynamic and the static.

Drying Fish on Lanyu (Lin Lisheng)

Lanyu is a volcanic island off the coast of Eastern Taiwan. Its native Tao indigenous people have traditionally lived by fishing, with their most important catch being the flying fish that migrate northward with the Kuroshio Current. The Tao carefully dry the fish they catch and store them for later consumption.

Lanyu Fishing Boats Under a Rainbow (Zheng Wenzheng)

The photo shows visitors to the Tao indigenous community of Iranmeylek (Dongqing) on Lanyu taking a trip out to sea in traditional Tao fishing canoes. At the end of a hot summer’s day, a rainbow hangs in the blue sky amid white clouds as the canoes make their return journey across the tranquil ocean surface.

Bitou Cape (Pan Tongxi)

At Bitoujiao Park at the northeastern corner of Taiwan, as you follow the clifftop path around the cape, the majestically rugged topography created by sea erosion is laid out before your eyes.