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About Xiaoliuqiu, Liuqiu Island
Xiao-Liuqiu (小琉球) (or Little Liuqiu, Liuqiu Island, Liuqiu) is a small island 14 km offshore from Donggang (東港), Pingtung, where visitors take ferries for 25 minutes before landing. Given its proximity to the highly populated Kaohsiung and Pingtung, this island is busy for most seasons in a year, particularly during the school holidays or public holidays when the troops of tourists swarming toward it. They usually hire scooters or e-bikes once arrive the harbor and quickly spread across the whole island.
Since 2008 I have visited Liuqiu three times. My first impression was that except law enforcement almost no one wore helmets while riding the motorcycles / scooters and none of them got a ticket. There was no traffic light at all either. Things have changed a bit. During my latest visit in 2022, I was reminded to wear the helmet as more and more visitors were fined. The news said the first traffic light on the island is scheduled to work in August 2025 ; these might be the signs of a growing economy of the island or just more traffic accidents forced the authority to apply some control.
In comparison to my impression in 2008, it appeared there were more construction work, more shops and restaurants and unfortunately somewhat more rubbish sighted at several spots along the coast. Even it is more touristy than before, Xiao-Liuqiu is still a nice place to do something people would normally expect from a tropical island. In addition to quick sight-seeing by a scooter or water activities like snorkeling or sea turtle watching, Liuqiu Island is full of natural and cultural significance for exploration.
Some of those popular places are fairly artificial, particularly the old-fashioned infrastructure / decoration, but some other places still maintain its original state. Providing you can visit the island during off-peak times, winter or working days, there are actually quite a few locations you may enjoy some taste of solitude by the peaceful communities while still have certain convenience of city life.
