Xinyue Beach, Zhubei

Zhubei’s crescent of beach north of the Touqian River mouth, named for its shape, faces west-northwest across the strait so the sun goes straight into the sea. At low tide the beach widens into flat wet sand that turns pink and orange with the sky, which is the photograph the place is known for. In 2026 the town rebuilt the site: a stepped lookout called the Listen-to-the-Sea Deck replaced a derelict pavilion, a new plaza replaced the rotted boardwalk, and a lit path called the Moon Corridor leads down to the shore.

This is a flat-beach sunset rather than a swimming beach; come for the reflections at low water and stay for the lights on the deck afterward. It is quiet except during the beach music festival in early August, when the roads close. Nanliao harbor and the Fish-Scale Steps are a few kilometers south across the river.