Taiwan isn’t a part of the world often associated with winter weather. After all, its southernmost portions extend down into the tropics. But this doesn’t mean Taiwan is free of icy cold.

Winter has arrived. That seemed to be the message written in the sky across southern Taiwan this week as a very visible cold front moved in.

All across the Yunlin, Chiayi, and Tainan areas, cold air met warm, and moist air met dry. The result was a sky split in two all the way to the horizon, sunny on one side and covered in leaden clouds on the other.

Away from these warm, low-lying areas, up in Taiwan’s high mountains, the effects of this wintry weather were even more apparent. Temperatures on Hehuanshan, a mountain in Taiwan’s rugged center, plunged to 2C. Mountainside vegetation was left covered in icicles. Taiwan can look forward to some chilly days ahead.