Penghu Fireworks Festival 2012

Each year the residents of Penghu and thousands of visitors greet the coming summer season with the Fireworks Festival. This year the event will be held twice a week, on Monday and Thursday, from April 16th to May 24th at Guanyingting Recreation Park. An awesome array of fireworks are set-off over the iconic Rainbow bridge while visitors and locals chill out in the park below. Last year there was a squid, fish and a heart exploding in the night sky to wow the crowds.

Stages are also set up to host other entertainment, including shows by local children and high school students as well as bands. A few more well known headlining acts are spread though out the months, though nothing too exciting by international standards. Market stalls line the street above the park and sell snacks and souvenirs to the crowds of people who after the show slowly make their way downtown to restaurants, KTV pubs or back to their hotels.

Spring

Slowly the clouds have cleared and spring is waking these sleepy islands. An exciting buzz takes over from the whistling wind and warmth returns as the sun claims its place in the big blue sky. New plants are springing forth from the sandy soils, creeping across the islands, forming a layer of green to cover the crusty earth exposed by the winter wind’s gales. Spring is here and windy days are few and far between.

Visitors from what the locals call “Taiwan” begin to appear, everywhere. Large herds of rented scooters amble the streets downtown as they clumsily try to navigate, maps in hand, obliviously obstructing traffic. Like so many ‘destinations’ the rules surely don’t apply to tourists here.

Locals being to shake off the thick layer of dust deposited by the wind and pull out the summer chairs, tables and umbrellas. Stores that shut for the winter now prepare for the summer season. Busily readying themselves for the hordes of visitors soon to deluge the islands.  New stores, restaurants and guesthouses open their doors each summer season, though not all make it to the next.

Endless sunny hot days are not far away. Soon there’ll only be scorching hours filled with swimming, lazing about on beaches, picnics, barbecue dinners and cool breezy evening walks downtown. Boat trips to outer island, visits to old haunts, more snap shots of another picturesque summer and iced coffee, lots of iced coffee. Summer isn’t far away now… but, after that the wind returns and it all starts again.

Jun Tou Tea House

Magong, like much of Taiwan is littered with ‘tea-shops’. Little stalls that are literally everywhere, selling take-away tea and assorted drinks. Some are chains and others just one-off mum and pop shops. More often than not these places are take-away only, with no place to sit and relax – they offer no way to enjoy your tea in a setting that reflects the traditional tea-culture of Taiwan. That’s where Jun Tou Tea House comes in. Like a haven amongst a sea of sameness, Jun Tou is truly one of Magong’s best kept secrets. Few foreigners have ever found the place and those who have were probably loath to share the secret of this quiet retreat.

Freedom Camping in Penghu

Life doesn’t get much better than camping on a gorgeous beach, barbecuing and enjoying the crystal clear ocean water in the middle of summer! It’s a little known secret that there are a number of brilliant camping spots in Penghu and that almost the entire archipelago is open for freedom camping. Freedom camping means that within reason, campers may camp throughout the islands (except on private property) without permits or fees. To encourage such outdoor pursuits the county government has invested significant time and money in providing excellent facilities (toilets, showers, bbqs) for campers at a number of the best beaches.

White sand beaches where the buzz from the city is left behind you. In these places all you’ll hear is waves lapping the sandy shoreline and the gentle Penghu summer breeze.  Lintou Park, Longmen Beach and Neian Beach are some of the finest examples Penghu has to offer in the way of beach camping. These are all beautiful beaches, with few visitors that are fully equipped and free to use. All you’ll need is a map from the visitor centre, a scooter and your camping gear. Stock up on food and water at one of the supermarkets in Magong city and even head to the daily fresh market to prepare fresh veggies for a BBQ. See information on Lintou and Neian below and information on Longmen here.

Longmen Beach

About 20 minutes from Magong, is Longmen Village, which has one of the best swimming beaches around. Getting there isn’t particularly straightforward, but this keeps the beach quiet and undeveloped. Once you get to Longmen Village you have to keep going and make your way through narrow country roads, past garzing cows and peanut fields, all without much signage. You might come across a small secluded rocky beach, that’s not it, keep going. It’s worth the trip once you get there. The beach is stunning and has recently been equipped with quirky army inspired toilet, shower and shade facilities. With it’s new facilities, the beach makes for another excellent camping spot – just bring the bbq! The sand here is blindingly white and the water clear and azure. It’s safe for swimming and isn’t as  rocky as Aimen Beach or as over-popuated with tourists as Shanshui Beach. Thankfully the locals seem to have dealt with the only issue, one of trash blowing ashore from fishing boats, which became a problem during the windy months. If you’re looking for something really chilled out and prefer to be one of the only people on the beach, this place is perfect.

Harness the Wind

The economic future of Penghu has always been a contentious topic for discussion amongst Pēnghú rén (Penghu people). The islands’ economy mainly revolves around tourism and fishing, though those can be tentative industries. For much of the year Penghu is devoid of tourists, and fishing is difficult due to extreme wind. With increasing pressure to find a solution to the county’s economic woes, a number of controversial proposals have been hotly debated. Plans to turn the archipelago into an ‘island Vegas’ or ‘mini-macau’ were strongly rejected by popular vote last year, and another plan to sell off islets for use as nuclear waste dumping sites were met with protests. Now it seems the locals have turned to more sustainable means of carving out a future for themselves. Penghu County, with the support of the national government, has just announced plans to harness its most abundant resource – the wind.

Outlying Islands Ahoy!

Mudouyu

Penghu’s northern sea is home to a number of small islets, some of which are uninhabited and are barely visible on satellite maps. The northern most islet is Mudouyu, which is a large rock formation surrounded by a shallow clear water reef and small beaches. Due to the hazardous shallow rocky waters a lighthouse was built on Mudouyu in the 1920s and has since become the defining feature of the islet.