Xiao­liu­qiu is located off the southwest coast of Taiwan proper. It’s approximately 35 kilometers from Kao­hsiung Harbor. The ferry from Dong­gang in Ping­tung takes about 30 minutes. It used to be that the island’s residents were largely employed in the fishing industry. In 2000, after the ROC Tourism Bureau made Xiao­liu­qiu part of the Da­peng Bay National Scenic Area, a tourism plan for the island was drawn up with a focus on ecotourism. In 2006, Xiao­liu­qiu began to forcefully promote itself as a tourism destination. In 2012, the Tourism Bureau sponsored a vote on Taiwan’s best small tourist towns, and Xiao­liu­qiu won for ecotourism. Its beautiful ocean scenery and abundant ecological resources have captured the hearts of quite a few tourists.

The festival to welcome Wangye that is held once every three years is Xiaoliuqiu’s pride and joy. It is also a way of passing along the island’s cultural heritage.

Of Taiwan’s 14 offshore islands, Xiao­­liu­­qiu is the only one formed entirely by coral reef. Located as it is on a side branch of the Ku­ro­shio Current, it has a warm climate and waters that teem with marine life.

The intertidal zone is Xiao­liu­qiu’s ecotourism strong suit. This zone lies between the high- and low-tide marks, and all manner of marine animals appear in its pools when the tide pulls out. If you go at the right time, the veritable abundance of sea creatures is truly amazing.

Coral reefs are the best places to see marine animals living and foraging. When the skies are clear, the water is completely transparent. From shore, you can catch glimpses of tropical fish swimming by. Check out the cute clown fish nestling amid the sea anemones. The sea cucumbers, to avoid burning in the sun, dig themselves into the sandy seabed. Tourists can’t help but want to touch them. What fun!

But make no mistake: the coasts of Xiao­liu­qiu are included within protected marine resources conservation zones, and those who illegally catch animals here can be fined NT$30,000–150,000. Last year a tourist who stole sea urchins was indeed fined. It’s simply not worth it.

The island is also a place where endangered green sea turtles forage and lay their eggs. Because conservation efforts have been successful, you can see signs of them throughout the island, and lucky snorkelers can upon occasion enjoy the rare treat of swimming with them at close range.

Homestays are a hot new industry on Xiao­liu­qiu. Each establishment features its own unique character.

Still, conflicts do arise between developing tourism and protecting natural resources. Both locals and tourists need to strive to find the proper balance.

Currently, the four most popular intertidal zones on the island are ­Shanfu, Ge­ban­wan, Yu­cheng­wei and Du­zi­ping. Unfortunately, because these locations are seeing the largest number of tourists, they are suffering damage. The wildlife populations in them have decreased to only about one-twentieth of what you can find in the intertidal zones of other areas. The worst affected area is ­Shanfu, where almost no living creatures over two centimeters are to be found.

In August of 2012, tough controls were adopted for the ­Shanfu area. Only businesses and guides with proper permits can take tourists there, and each group is limited to about 10 tourists. The total number of tourists that can visit at any given time is 300, meaning that the tidal pools there receive about 1000 visits per day, as opposed to 2000 per day before the restrictions were put in place. The aim is to lessen the impact of tourists on the environment. What’s more, because there are so many species in the intertidal areas, those who go without guides may mistakenly touch poisonous species.

The large number of tourists coming to Xiao­liu­qiu has brought new business opportunities to what had been sleepy fishing villages.

The island used to produce a lot of three things: temples, school principals and fishing-boat captains. Because of the reliance on fishing, there are numerous temples on the island, large and small, where residents can pray for peaceful seas. Yet because they know full well how hard it is to make a living at sea, members of the island’s older generation have hoped that island youngsters would find more stable work and have encouraged them to enter the field of education. Those who weren’t good students have come home to take over their family fishing businesses.

In recent years, global fishing stocks have been on the decline, and the Taiwanese fishing fleet’s haul of bluefin tuna has been falling sharply year after year. Amid fears that fishing holds no future, the “old three” have given way to the “new three”: scooters, homestays, and ma­hua fried dough twists. The size of Xiao­liu­qiu’s tourism industry has already surpassed the fishing industry to become its people’s main source of income.

Snorkeling, beautiful marine scenery, good food… Xiaoliuqiu has become a hot tourist destination in recent years.

With the tourism boom, the residents of Xiao­liu­qiu’s small fishing villages have done their best to meet the demand for a particular means of transportation: motor scooters.

The number of scooters on Xiaoliuqiu leaves one speechless. According to the ROC Tourism Bureau, there are 6500 people living on the island and 11,000 motorcycles and scooters registered there. Among them, half are owned by rental businesses.

And yet the noise and pollution created by gas-­powered two-wheelers are serious drawbacks for ecotourism, whereas most visitors consider riding a bicycle too strenuous for navigating the island’s 18-kilometer ring road. Consequently, starting in March of 2012, the Ping­tung County Government and the motorcycle rental industry on the island began cooperating on a plan to introduce electric scooters.

Relying on battery power, electric scooters need no fuel to operate. They can achieve speeds of up to 50 kilometers an hour, with a range of 30–40 kilometers on one charge, which is enough to circle the island with power to spare. Currently, the island has four recharging stations, where you can, free of cost, replace a spent battery with a charged one. Emergency assistance services are also offered: If your motorcycle runs out of power, you need only make a single phone call to get help.

Electric scooters are quiet and emission free, and are reasonably priced at NT$300–400 a day to rent, and county government promotional offers can discount the price. Consequently, electric scooters have become many tourists’ transportation means of choice.

The ever-growing number of stands selling fried dough twists represents a minor economic miracle.

Apart from the captivating scenery, rare wildlife, and convenient transport, the traditional Taoist festival to welcome ­Wangye is another tourist draw the island is promoting.

Organized every three years by the San­long Temple, the festival is an important way that the island maintains a sense of community. The celebrations here may not be as famous as similar ones for ­Wangye in Dong­gang, but they are no less festive.

­The Wangyes are commonly worshipped deities along the Taiwan and Fujian coasts. According to legend, every three years ­a Wangye descends from Heaven by decree of the Jade Emperor and makes his rounds on Heaven’s behalf, pacifying demons and ensuring that all is in order. The festival to welcome ­Wangye has a century of history hereabouts.

As far as the locals are concerned, the festival is more important than the presidential elections. Xiao­liu­qiu’s long-range fishing boats come back from foreign waters, and its native sons working on Taiwan proper come home. Lined up stern to bow, the boats in the harbor during the festival could nearly circle the island three times.

The ceremony has a long history on Xiao­liu­qiu, and it has several features—including “observing the royal carriage,” “patrolling the harbor,” “performing investigations”and making offerings of food along ­Wangye’s route—that are not seen in Wangye festivals elsewhere.

The purpose of “observing the royal carriage,” which is held about half a year before the festival proper begins, is to call back the three Wangyes who reside in San­long Temple in order for one of them to preside over the festival. The master of ceremonies secretly writes a phrase on a piece of paper and puts the paper into a brocaded bag, which is placed in the main hall of the San­long Temple. Then local volunteers carry out the three temple’s three Wangyes on palanquins to allow the deities to reveal which of them will preside over the welcoming ceremony for the visiting Wangye. When the chosen Wangye arrives before the incense altar, he will take possession of one of the volunteer bearers, who then writes on the altar the secret phrase hidden in the brocaded bag, thus revealing the deities’ choice. Cai Wen­cai, secretary at the Liu­qiu Township Office and director of the festival, says that the message this year was “A carp jumps over the dragon’s gate.” It took seven days for a palanquin bearer to guess the right answer. The record is 37 days. In 2000, a bearer with only an elementary school education guessed the correct answer of “Millennium.” The island’s people still like to talk about it.

On the first day of the actual festival, for “patrolling the harbor,” believers take the three Wangyes of the San­long Temple and the Goddess of Mercy Guan­yin on a trip around the harbor, so as to bless both the harbor and the boats in it and also to prepare for the arrival of the visiting Wangye.

Wangye is the Jade Emperor’s imperial envoy. By parading through the island’s streets, he purges the area of demons and illness and ensures that everything remains safe and sound. ­Wangye also listens attentively to the people’s opinions, and when necessary rights wrongs. People struggling with ailments and troubles can shout out their grievances to ­Wangye passing on his palanquin. This is one of Xiao­liu­qiu’s unique traditions. Because ­Wangye has so many cases to attend to, he often remains “at work” until late at night. Simply parading around the island takes four days’ time.

The festivities come to a climax with “burning ­Wangye’s boat” on the final night. As the boat loses form and fades away amid the fire, it symbolizes that ­Wangye has returned to Heaven’s Court and that the festival has formally come to a close. In 2012 the celebrations spanned November 2–8. At least 100,000 showed up to observe them.

In accordance with custom, the locals prepare food and refreshments for those who carry the palanquin. Being a bearer is both hard work and an honor. Businessmen, doctors and school principals all happily participate. Even foreign crew members employed on local fishing boats can be seen laying out firecrackers along the way, demonstrating how faith in Wangye inspires a remarkable social cohesion.

Convenient and emission-free electric scooters are the transportation means of choice for tourists.

With its scenic beauty and cultural activity, Xiao­liu­qiu has tremendous potential for tourism. According the Tourism Bureau, the number of tourists who visited the island rose from 90,000 in 2006 to 300,000 in 2011. With fishing revenues declining, many locals have abandoned their boats for tourism-related jobs, such as running homestays or stands selling fried dough twists.

The beautiful scenery and biodiversity are the island’s biggest tourism draws. If the industry is to have a future, it is important that government and locals work together to achieve the ideal of “taking away nothing but scenic memories, and leaving behind nothing but footprints.”

Xiaoliuqiu was created by coral reefs and has abundant intertidal wildlife. If you look carefully, you may see a green sea turtle swimming by!