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All Taiwan Sea Gazing Room
AO Edited

Sea Gazing Room

This public artwork, hidden down a cliffside hiking trail, encourages visitors to contemplate the tides.

Xiaoliuqiu, Taiwan

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Getty Hesse
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You can look through the porthole window out to the sea   gettyhesse / Atlas Obscura User
You can look through the porthole window out to the sea   gettyhesse / Atlas Obscura User
The Sea Gazing Room’s ocean side   gettyhesse / Atlas Obscura User
The view from the hiking trail   gettyhesse / Atlas Obscura User
Cute figures line the path to the Sea Gazing Room   gettyhesse / Atlas Obscura User
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About

Hiking enthusiasts who visit Xiaoliuqiu, off the western coast of Taiwan, should be sure not to miss the Shanfu Ecological Walk. Interspersed along this winding cliffside trail are cute miniature figures and signs that encourage hikers around the next bend.

These signs culminate in the Sea Gazing Room—situated on a cliff outcropping, this whimsical piece of public artwork has a design inspired by Xiaoliuqiu's abandoned barracks buildings, but with a circular grill window reminiscent of those on a ship and a cozy bench.

Rising out of the roof are a multitude of symbols: a radar dish, a mushroom, two eyes, and a heart, among others. Those who visit are encouraged to sit and gaze—not at the artwork, but out at sea.

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Oceans Trails Art Art Outside

Know Before You Go

Ferries arrive regularly on Liuqiu from Donggang Pier in Pingtung County. The Sea Gazing Room is freely accessible any time of the day, though the path can get dark at night.

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gettyhesse

Published

July 22, 2024

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Sea Gazing Room
15之2號 肚仔坪路
Xiaoliuqiu, 929
Taiwan
22.34279, 120.362624
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