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進入《TAIPEI TIMES 焦點》 First light of the year inspires hikes, flights, beach visits
Visitors to Alishan in Chiayi County celebrate the first rays of the morning sun yesterday morning as an estimated 15,000 visitors saw the sun rise above Yushan, accompanied by a concert that was performed in the background. Photo: Lin Yi-chang, Taipei Times
People across the nation celebrated New Year’s Day by catching the year’s first beams of sunlight, both on the ground and in the air.
Up in the sky, 158 passengers took a special flight offered by China Airlines （中華航空） that headed straight into the day’s first rays on an early trip to Okinawa, Japan.
Flight CI2015, which took off from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 5:20am, took a detour down the coast of Hualien County to Jiqi Beach to greet the new day at 6:18am, before turning north toward Japan.
Later in the morning, tens of thousands of spectators in the eastern county’s Cisingtan area （七星潭） watched several F-16 jets welcome the new year with an air show above the Pacific Ocean.
Further north, people flocked to the easternmost edge of Taiwan proper at New Taipei City’s Cape San Diego （三貂角） to greet the sunrise, while others climbed Alishan （阿里山） in Chiayi County to watch the sun climb above the sea of clouds from 2,500m above sea level.
However, the uncooperative weather spoiled plans for some celebrants.
In Hualien’s Fenglin Township （鳳林）, poor weather canceled early-morning hot air balloon rides.
Others ballooning near Hualien and Taitung County were unable to catch the sunlight due to fog and light rain.
On New Year’s Eve, people all across the nation hurried to parties and celebrations that featured music and fireworks.
Taipei Rapid Transit Corp （TRTC） yesterday said that ridership on the capital’s MRT system set a new record high in the hours around midnight, as nearly 3 million passengers rushed to countdown parties and fireworks displays.
In the 24 hours between 6am on Dec. 31 and 6am on Jan. 1, the five MRT lines transported about 2.96 million passengers, up by 210,000 from the year before, the system operator said.
The MRT reported smooth operations despite the increase in passengers, thanks in part to the assistance of more than 1,600 staff members and volunteers.
The inauguration of the Songshan Line （No. 3） in mid-November boosted system capacity, helping the entire network cope, TRTC said.
The new line and the Xinyi Line （No. 2） that opened in 2013 helped “stagger” passengers, who in previous years could crowd onto only the Bannan Line （No. 5） to reach City Hall and Taipei 101 for the major festivities.
A huge number of passengers surged into Yongchun, Taipei City Hall and Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall stations on the Bannan Line and the Taipei 101/Taipei World Trade Center station on the Xinyi Line near midnight in a challenge to the MRT’s organizational capabilities.
The operator dealt with the crowds by designating elevators for elderly and disabled people, pregnant women and children to help them navigate the sea of people.
The number of trains was also increased to help move people as quickly as possible.
In Southern Taiwan, Greater Kaohsiung’s two-line subway saw fewer riders than last year, falling 16,751 to 351,287, Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corp said.
The north-south red line transported 277,306 passengers, while the east-west orange line carried 73,981 passengers on Wednesday, it added.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
Two visitors take a selfie as people gather during sunrise yesterday at the Duigaoyue observation deck on Alishan in Chiayi County. Photo: Lin Yi-chang, Taipei Times
Taipei 101 is enveloped in fireworks just after midnight yesterday in a display of 23,000 rounds of fireworks that lasted for 218 seconds. Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
