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    To promote local stargazing tourism, the Nantou County Government, Dongshih Forest District Office under the Forestry Bureau of Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan, and the Taroko National Park Headquarters collaborated for the application of the Hehuan Mountain Dark Sky Park certification with the International DARK-SKY Association (IDA) in July 2018. After 1 year of hard work, the certification was finally approved on August 2, making the Hehuan Mountain Asia’s third International Dark Sky Park after South Korea and Japan, and the first Dark Sky Park in a Chinese-speaking region.

    The Hehuan Mountain boasts rich ecological resources. Its high altitude and low atmospheric turbulence also result in excellent stargazing conditions, making it a long-time popular venue for stargazing and for amateur astronomers. The area that has passed the certification this time extends from the Yuan Peak to Xiaofengkou. With the assistance of the Cingjing Tourism Association, the County Government has been working on recording and improving the light pollution spots in the area since last year. 

    Under the leadership of the County Government and the Association, businesses in the Cingjing area have also begun recording the outdoor lighting and analyses on the improvement of reducing light pollution. By putting forth a lights-off stargazing pact, in the future, unnecessary outdoor lighting sources will all be simultaneously turned off every night starting at 9pm. There are currently 28 businesses in total that are collaborating to protect Taiwan’s beautiful starry night sky.