Across Eight Arches, to the Island Where Three Immortals Rested

Drive north on Provincial Highway 11 (台 11 線), past the town of Chenggong (成功), and the coastline gives a sudden bend.

Where it curves inward, you've reached Sanxiantai (三仙台).

Three Rock Islets, Eight Arches, One Legend

Sanxiantai is a cluster of three rock islets, less than 200 metres offshore — built of coral reef and volcanic stone. The tallest, Footprint Rock (仙跡岩), rises about 70 metres.

The elders of the Puyuma (卑南族) tell it this way: long ago, three immortals — Lü Dongbin (呂洞賓), Li Tieguai (李鐵拐), and He Xiangu (何仙姑) — wandered east from the western lands and rested on these three islands, leaving behind their footprints and the marks of their alchemy. Ever since, the place has been called Sanxiantai, the Terrace of the Three Immortals.

What ties the mainland to the three islands is Taiwan's most iconic bridge over the sea — eight arches that rise and fall like eight Ws, some 320 metres end to end. The crossing takes fifteen minutes, and every crest offers a new vantage: to the right, the open Pacific; to the left, the mountains of Taiwan's main island; below, water clear enough to show the coral.

Sunrise Is Sanxiantai's Most Precious Hour

Sanxiantai is among the first places on Taiwan's main island to catch the sun.

Around 05:00 in summer, about 06:30 in winter, the sun leaps clear of the Pacific horizon — gilding first the silhouettes of the three islets, then lighting the eight arches one by one, until the whole scene looks like a photograph slowly surfacing in the developing tray.

A local tip: arrive 30 minutes early (04:30 in summer, 06:00 in winter). Watch the sky shift from the car park first, then walk out to the crest of the bridge's first arch — the best spot for photographs.

More Than the Bridge

Sanxiantai isn't a place you photograph and leave.

• The coastal trail: once you've crossed the bridge, a loop trail circles the islets in 40–50 minutes, revealing all three rocks from changing angles, along with sea-carved formations and coastal vegetation
• The wave-cut platform: at low tide, a broad shelf of eroded rock emerges before Sanxiantai, letting you walk almost to the water's edge (mind the tide table — a rising tide can strand you)
• The white lighthouse: a small lighthouse on the mainland side, a favourite among photographers — it frames beautifully with the arches of Sanxiantai
• The visitor centre: the briefing hall offers a thorough introduction to the geology of the east coast

「

The finest view is the one worth waking early for.

」

Pair It with Fish at Chenggong Harbour

Ten minutes south of Sanxiantai is Chenggong Fishing Harbour (成功漁港) — Taitung's largest fishing port, and the east coast's biggest hub for billfish.

• September to March: billfish season (black marlin, striped marlin), sold fresh off the boat at Xingang Fish Market (新港漁市)
• March to June: mahi-mahi season — the sweet, firm flesh found only along the east coast
• April to July: flying-fish season, the traditional fishing season of the Amis (阿美族)

"See Sanxiantai → drive ten minutes to Chenggong Harbour for lunch" is the east-coast routine every Taitung local knows by heart. At the seafood restaurants beside Xingang Fish Market, the fish was landed that morning — fresher than at any sushi counter in Taipei.

How to Plan Sanxiantai

Half a Day (Most Recommended)

Time	Itinerary
04:30	Arrive at the Sanxiantai car park, watch the sky change
05:00	Sunrise (summer timing)
05:30	Cross all eight arches + the loop trail
07:30	Drive ten minutes to Chenggong Harbour
08:30	Breakfast by the harbour (fish just off the boat)
10:00	Continue north on Highway 11: Baxiandong, Changbin

A Full Day (Along the East Coast)

Add: the coastal art at Jialulan (加路蘭) → the Xindong Sugar Factory in Dulan (都蘭新東糖廠) → Shanyuan Bay (杉原灣) → Taitung City

How to Get to Sanxiantai

• By car: north from Taitung City along Highway 11, about 1 hour 10 minutes (55 km)
• By private car: recommended. There are no buses at sunrise hour, so a hired car is by far the easiest way
• By bus: the Taiwan Tourist Shuttle East Coast Line (frequent by day, none before dawn)

Which Season Suits Best

• April to June: the sea at its bluest, mahi-mahi season, few crowds
• July to August: the earliest sunrises (before 05:00), the summer sea at its grandest
• September to November: billfish season begins, autumn light turns gentle
• December to February: strong northeast monsoon, fierce swells — but the colours of sunrise are especially beautiful

A Last Word

What Sanxiantai teaches is this — world-class scenery is often very close to us; we simply don't wake early enough.

It's only an hour's drive from Taitung City, yet far fewer people see the sunrise than come to take photos.

And that is Taitung's gift to the earnest traveller: rise just one hour earlier, and you'll see a postcard no one else has seen.

A postcard the three immortals set aside for us, long, long ago.

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Further reading:

• An afternoon in the artists' town of Dulan: One Sugar Factory, a Circle of Artists, a Stretch of Sea
• String the valley's slowness together with this coast: Luminous · Slow Valley × Coast, 3 Days (staying throughout at the Luminous Hot Spring Resort)
• For the full east coast: East Coast Tribes, 3 Days