Testament to local spirit
“Stone clock, stone breasts, a carp jumps out of the water, a mouse sucks on a cat’s nipple.” To vividly evoke the hardship of life in years gone by, Tang recites an earthy Taiwanese-language saying that alludes to several famous formations, including a pair of conical candle-shaped rocks and the Carp Rock behind them. Of course, a mouse is playing with its life if it tries to suckle at a cat’s teats. “Below Carp Rock was a trench,” explains Tang. “Since seaweed was abundant in that spot and promised a good harvest, all the local women wanted to collect seaweed there.” But the terrain was treacherous, the wind strong, the waves wily, and the rock surfaces slippery. If one fell in, one would be lucky to survive.
“Life in the fishing village was very arduous, for the ocean is a coffin without a lid,” says Tang with emotion.
As marine resources have been exhausted, it is the people who earned their livelihood from the sea who feel it the hardest. “Local women have always played a role in supporting their families,” says Tang. Two octogenarian grandmothers, fishermen’s wives Lin-Liu Bilan and Lin-Fang Caiyun, have lived through Yeliu’s good times and bad.
“There’s no time to lose. If we don’t hurry, it will soon be too late.” Through the words of the elderly, the book Golden Times of Yesteryear documents a culture that is disappearing, preserving memories that would otherwise be lost. The association leads the way for residents to fully participate in preserving historical materials and cultural relics.
“The Queen’s Head is not our only attraction,” asserts Tang. “All of Yeliu is a treasure house.” The towering cuesta in the park is lush and hosts more than 200 plant species. Its broadleaved woodland is a paradise where migratory birds can pause on their journey. To date, nearly 300 species have been recorded. Two ocean currents, rich in nutrients, bring diverse marine life and offer great research value.
Down the ages, Yeliu Cape has watched over its people living between mountain and sea. Says Tang: “If you have love in your heart, you are bound to radiate light and warmth; if you have a vision in your heart, you are sure to build a robust dream.” Located amongst treasures bequeathed from on high, the residents of Yeliu have not disappointed their benefactor, and they intend to guard them lovingly and pass them on from generation to generation.
Carp Rock, seen here with several candle-shaped rocks, is associated with hair-raising stories about the dangers that the people of Yeliu once faced in wresting their living from the sea.
Due to their varying levels of hardness, different parts of the rocks erode at different speeds, producing gnarly, outlandish shapes. (photo by Jimmy Lin)
The nutrient-rich Kuroshio and Oyashio ocean currents pass close by Yeliu Cape, endowing the nearby seas with abundant fish stocks.
Yeliu’s fishermen are famous for their practise of using lights to lure fish into the nets.
Time travel: Yeliu’s intimate “Breast Brushing Alley” comprises a pair of walls, one old and one new.
Cai Caifang, director of the Vasai Fishing Village Culture Association, points at the wall of the century-old “Vasai Residence.” The stones are laid in a herringbone pattern, resembling large numbers of the Chinese character ren (人), “person.” Cai explains that this symbolizes an abundant working population for the village.
Mazu’s Homecoming: Each year on the 16th day of the fourth lunar month a celebration is held at Yehliu Geopark’s Mazu Cave to mark the return of Mazu from Cihu Temple in nearby Jinshan to her “ancestral home.” (courtesy of Vasai Fishing Village Cultural Association)
Yeliu’s landmark: The Queen’s Head stands silent guard over her people in their home located between the mountains and the sea.