--- title: Taiwan: Nine-Hour Rainbow Breaks Record in Taipei description: Students and professors in Taiwan's capital Tapei enjoyed a rare study-break treat last week: a record-breaking rainbow canonical: https://time.com/5049206/rainbow-taiwan-taipei/ author: Eli Meixler article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-12-05T08:06:50.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T18:27:19.072Z article:section: World og:title: You Won't Believe How Long This Rainbow Lasted og:description: "It was amazing… It felt like a gift from the sky... It's so rare!" og:url: https://time.com/5049206/rainbow-taiwan-taipei/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8d847ceaa35ecf05/6988f3b4656a3f651dbd2b33/gettyimages-667610442.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Rainbow og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: You Won't Believe How Long This Rainbow Lasted twitter:description: "It was amazing… It felt like a gift from the sky... It's so rare!" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8d847ceaa35ecf05/6988f3b4656a3f651dbd2b33/gettyimages-667610442.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 'Like a Gift From the Sky.' You Won't Believe How Long This Rainbow Lasted by [Eli Meixler](/author/eli/) ## Eli Meixler Dec 5, 2017 8:06 AM CUT  A rainbow seen on a sunny afternoon following rain. A rainbow seen on a sunny afternoon following rain.Kryssia Campos—Getty Images by [Eli Meixler](/author/eli/) ## Eli Meixler Dec 5, 2017 8:06 AM CUT Students and professors in Taiwan’s capital Tapei enjoyed a rare study-break treat last week: what they claim was a record-breaking rainbow strung across the sky for nearly nine hours. The rainbow, reportedly visible from 6:57 a.m. to 3:55 p.m. on Nov. 30, spanned the mountains near Taipei’s Chinese Culture University for [eight hours and 58 minutes](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rainbow-lasting-nine-hours-breaks-world-record-in-taiwan-chinese-culture-university/?ftag=CNM-00-10aab7e&linkId=45510781 "undefined"). If confirmed, it will shatter the previous record of a six-hour rainbow in Yorkshire, England on March 14, 1994, CBS News reports. “It was amazing… It felt like a gift from the sky… It’s so rare!” said [Chou Kun-hsuan](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-42219665 "undefined"), a professor in the university’s Department of Atmospheric Sciences, according to the BBC . > [](https://twitter.com/TaiwanNews886/status/936522944791973888) The natural marvel didn’t catch the department wholly by surprise: There was a nearly-six hour rainbow the previous week. This time, Chou and a fellow professor, Liu Ching-huang, were ready, [issuing a university-wide call](https://ap2.pccu.edu.tw/pccupost/post/content.asp?Num=2017124155230603 "undefined") at 4:00 p.m. for photos to help fill in gaps in their own observation. Their efforts paid off. The department [captured 10,000 photos](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tyfrs0TAoKc&feature=youtu.be "undefined"), in addition to thousands more collected by volunteers, which let them build a second-by-second record to show the rainbow’s duration. Rainbows typically last less than one hour, but seasonal conditions in Taiwan’s Yangmingshan mountain range, where the university is located, [created ideal conditions](http://epaper.pccu.edu.tw/?mode=yes&NewsNo=15435 "undefined") for a record-breaking rainbow, Chou said. A northeastern monsoon, which trapped moisture in the air and created clouds, along with sunlight and slower wind speeds set the stage for spectacle. These conditions are typical in the area in wintertime, Chou told the BBC, adding that he plans to contact the city’s tourism board to make rainbow-watching a draw for visitors. Speaking to Focus Taiwan News Channel, Chou said Taipei’s radiant skies [could prove appealing](http://focustaiwan.tw/news/asoc/201712040026.aspx "undefined") to travelers. “If Iceland is known for aurora, Taiwan can do the same for long-lasting rainbows,” Chou said. “Plus, we have more colors than they do.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5049206/rainbow-taiwan-taipei/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5049206/rainbow-taiwan-taipei/"},"headline":"'Like a Gift From the Sky.' You Won't Believe How Long This Rainbow Lasted","datePublished":"2017-12-05T08:06:50.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T18:27:19.072Z","description":"\"It was amazing… It felt like a gift from the sky... 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