Penghu

Landing there is quite a thrill as well. Iv only been there once on CAL’s 737 tail number 1870. That same plane landed on its nose on a later date, attempted to take off again and fell into the sea at that same Makung airport. RIP to 13 onboard.

The flight out of there on a FAT 737 (i think it was 2601) to Tainan only took 13 mins wheel up to wheel down ! We just skimmed the waters. Must be one of the shortest 737 routes in the world.

Still I guess its pretty safe because havent heard of an accident on penghu since that one. Props may have been safer for the place, which is largely what they fly nowadays far as i know.

Back in the day if you flew domestic often you got to know all the domestic fleet as there were not that many planes to get to know.

Is Mandarin the dominant spoken language on Penghu (given the Ming, Koxinga, Qing history)?

Dominant languages are probably Mandarin and Taiwanese.

I’m working in a school in Penghu atm and have seen most of the sites on the main 3 connected islands (Magong/Huxi - Baisha - Xiyu) and the main attractions have been mentioned in previous posts. Still need to see the Xiaomen Whale cave / geology museum in Xiyu. Theres also a temple with giant turtles in an underground cavern (?) at Juwan, also in Xiyu, as well as an aquarium in Baisha - but was under renovation last time i checked though.

the beach at Shanshui looked amazing when i went there in October-ish but at that time it was very windy (+ sand = not a good idea) so no tourists around - will be re-visiting as the weather gets better. Fenggui is also an attraction of sorts and between shanshui and fenggui is also Shili beach. Other beaches which I’ve heard about but haven’t been yet are Aimen and Lintou. The surrounding islands also look nice, Qimei, Wang’an etc, should have flights / ferries to them.

The temple with the underground coral cavern and giant sea turtles is astonishing, even in all its legal-grey area environmentally-challenged horror. The temple is called Dayi and it’s on Xiyu Island (part of the main connected archipelago).

Aimen Beach is beautiful but the beach at Lintou park is not good for swimming according to locals because of the sharp coral.

I went to Penghu with my family last weekend. It was cloudy and cold for most of the 2.5 days we were there but it was still quite enjoyable.

It costs 3000 ntd for a return flight from Taichung which takes 30 mins or so, 45 mins from Taipei. Very handy for us as we live 15 mins from the airport, so we would have been in Penghu in an hour except for a fog delay.

We visited Shanshui beach which was really beautiful! In fact Penghu has beaches that are better than the Kenting area in my opinion, also this time of year there was nobody around pretty much anywhere. A better time of year to go is obviously March/April/May, summer is good too but a lot of stuff books up, it’s very hot then too.

We stayed in a mingshu on just off the Penghu great bridge. Penghu has a lot of nice Mingshu and I would recommend this one, 23.5, but the cost goes up considerably in summer (from 2500 now to up to 6000 in peak season…and it books out ALL summer!).

The area is really quiet and nice and there is hardly any traffic on Penghu, everything is very neat and well maintained, we rented a car but you must be careful to observe the rules of the road as for some reason there are traffic cops and cops everywhere! Visited Erkan village which is pretty unique in Taiwan, it has got touristy since I was there last 10 years ago but still nice. We got shown around an ancestral house by a local guy, seemingly they were all relatives and got rich from trading in Chinese medicine, why Penghu, I’m not sure, perhaps they were smuggling or there was some tax exemption.

We also visited Xiaomen Whale blowhole and the geology museum (which is mainly posters and a few rock samples), frozen by the wind so didn’t see much but worth a visit. The ‘blowholes’ and ‘caves’ aren’t too spectacular, Fenggui was a bit of a joke to be honest. We visited the old Qing fort which is also not much to see but pretty scenic area, as well as the lighthouse built by the British and right beside an active radar station (Penghu has many military installations and personnel). We also saw some ‘giant’s causeway’ type basalt column formations, contrary to what I had been led to believe (that you can only see them on the small islands) before they can be observed on many spots on Xiyu island. Finally we went to see an enormous banyan tree which covers half an acre.

As we were staying near Dayi temple we were told by the Laoban niang to have a look at the 10 turtles under the temple. I wasn’t sure what she meant but we went along, place was deserted as it is off peak now, sure enough under the temple there is a grotto where they keep 10 magnificent green turtles in darkness except for fluorescent lights. I believe that some of these turtles maybe 50 to 100 years old just from their size. This left us feeling quite sad that the government still allows this exception to exist (green turtles are an endangered species), especially as Penghu aquarium is quite substantial (nice to visit too) and could easily look after the turtles and there is a green turtle conservation beach in Penghu. I left disappointed and frustrated at the local culture and their weakness in dealing with animal rights and conservation once more.

Magong, the main city on the islands, is not bad also, not much good food there but plenty of nice coffeeshops!

I would like to go back and stay in the Shanshui beach area and try a bit of windsurfing/swimming when it gets a bit warmer and when the ferries run to the smaller islands.

Hi,

I’ve been living in Penghu for a few years, and yes, it’s a great place. :sunglasses: Though info for foreign tourists and residents hasn’t improved over the years… :ponder:

I can try my best to answer any questions… though others may be more quailified. Also, if you can read/type Chinese or feel comfortable translating it with google, there is a great forum (hope it’s not a violation to direct people to this site mods :blush:) called phsea (phsea.com.tw/phseaforum/forums/list.page) where locals will try to answer ALL questions Penghu related. You can even post in English, see who replies.

As others have said the best way to get around is by scooter, though make sure you get off the main roads and into some local villages and stop at beaches etc… There are so many little fishing villages, temples, beaches and more to explore.

Regarding camping…most people don’t really know this but there are no rules around camping in Penghu (let’s keep it that way). So, it’s essentially freedom camping, providing you’re not on private property, disturbing locals or damaging the environment. Camping on the beach here is perfect. There are a few places set up by the local government for camping, such as Lintou Park, that are little know but excellent camping spots (fully equipped with showers, restrooms etc). I’d like to see more people taking advantage of this…albeit in a responsible manner.

Aimen beach does have a bit of sharp coral and a few rocks, as long as you find a good spot (it’s the longest beach) swimming is great…and not as busy as Shanshui.

It’s a real pity about the turtles…I too felt disappointed that a place that claims to have a Green Turtle Sanctuary (on Wangan) could allow such horrible conditions for those turtles. That’s religion for you :loco:.

Cheers,
vitalpenghu

headhoncho II,

Just thought I would let you know… I’ve never seen windsurfing at Shanshui beach, only surfing & swimming. The best windsurfing is right in front of the Windsurfing Club which is at Guanyinting, in Magong City. There are often guys out there catching the wind, and the club is supposed to rent gear. Ask around for a guy called Alex who runs the club and also Liquid Sports Cafe. If you wanted to, I’m sure you could try Shanshui anyway…

vitalpenghu

Thanks for your advice vital.

Yeah, that was what I thought a few years ago, when I convinced my ex to hire a scooter (on the aforementioned trip) in Penghu, though he had sworn he’d never ride one. The thing I forgot about was the sand. Going around a turn, he braked (yeah, I know; you’re preaching to the choir) and went flipping almost in a cartwheel style across the road. I hadn’t known it was possible to have a full-blown wipeout while going 45kmph, but now I do. He had serious road rash and the clinic we took him to didn’t put any kind of lubricant on his wounds; just iodine and bandages. As I’m sure you can imagine, this caused unimaginable pain when we had to remove them. At the time, it seemed tragic, but now it’s kind of funny and karmic!

Definitely be careful if you’re going the scooter route; watch the sand and the brakes, or better yet, get a car!

how about a bike? wipeouts arent so bad then as speeds are lower (usually) and you are doing your body a favor with the work out?

Penghu’s flat and seems like it’d be good for cycling, but those winds are strong. I’d only recommend cycling there for people who bike regularly.

Here’s the website for my favorite place to stay in Penghu. It’s called the Er-Kan Village and it’s a lot quieter than Magong, and in my opinion a lot prettier. They fixed up a bunch of old houses and then converted the whole place into a b&b. The proprietors are extremely friendly and generous. My family has stayed there twice (and we’re going back at the end of June) and I have recommended the place to numerous friends. Everyone has always reported back with rave reviews.

Penghu’s flat and seems like it’d be good for cycling, but those winds are strong. I’d only recommend cycling there for people who bike regularly.[/quote]

Winds werent that bad on Penghu when I was there in April.

(I hadnt cycled for quite a long time but) on my first day I managed to cycle from Guoye to Makong (then around town to visit all the sights), then down to the southern part of the island towards Fenggui caves, and back to Guoye… I do recommend some sort of headcovering though, it was quite sunny and I ended up with quite a dark tan on my face and neck.

Hi

Are you still in penghu

Whats the air quality like on penghu from some you tube videos it looks 100% better the main land taiwan

Thanks in advanced

Mike

Gravedig!! FYI you’re replying to a 10-year-old post. That account doesn’t even exist on this forum anymore as far as I can tell. But yes, air quality in Penghu is good, there’s minimal industry and it’s one of the windiest places in the world.

Ok thank heaps for the feed back .

Much appreciated

Mike

Melbourne
Australia