A 24-year-old NCTU graduate becomes a captain and gathers a group to explore the stunning blue cave on Penghu’s Xiji Islet

▲ The blue paradise “Stove Cave” on Xiji Islet has quickly risen as a popular spot in Penghu, and now there's a chance to get up close and see its full beauty!(Photo/“Penghu Blue Cave Southern Four Islands Trip” Facebook pageprovided)

By Tsai Wen-jun, Taipei

Through a series of photos, Taiwan’s blue cave — the “Stove Cave” on Penghu’s Xiji Islet — has rapidly become the most sought-after destination in Penghu this year on the internet. Just as many were asking, “How do I get there?”, a 24-year-old local young captain gathered 50 netizens on the 1st to charter a boat from Penghu and set out to unveil the mysteries of the Southern Four Islands.

▲ Penghu’s Xiji Islet, Taiwan’s blue cave. (Photo/courtesy of Chen Wan-ju’s Flickr))

The initiator of this“Penghu Blue Cave Southern Four Islands Trip”itinerary, one of the captains, graduated from National Chiao Tung University just last year. Having grown up by the sea and with his family already running a local boat tour business, he returned to his hometown after graduation to join the family venture. He has over a year of experience sailing with his family.

When asked why he wanted to launch such an activity, he smiled and said, “Because it’s been all over the news lately.” But he also mentioned that he hadn’t expected so many people to be interested at first. It was friends inviting more friends, some even booking trips for tourists already in the area, and others being industry players wanting to scout the location. Thanks to a mix of these factors, the inaugural tour was able to take off.

▲ Dongyu Ping, one of the Southern Four Islands, was once a bustling trade hub but is now sparsely populated. (Photo/“Penghu Blue Cave Southern Four Islands Trip” Facebook page provided)

The inaugural tour was guided by the captain himself and steered by his father, a captain with decades of seafaring experience. In addition to visiting the currently super-popular blue paradise — Xiji Islet — to witness the beauty of the “Stove Cave”, the captain also led the group to explore Dongji Islet, Dongyu Ping, and Xiyu Ping, which are soon to be included in Taiwan’s ninth national park. They not only enjoyed a sea tour around the island to admire Penghu’s unique basalt cliffs and sea caves, but also landed on Dongyu Ping to explore the ancient village that was once thriving but has now fallen into decline.

The captain said that as long as the weather is good, the “Penghu Blue Cave Southern Four Islands Trip” will continue to operate, with a minimum of 30 people required to set sail. However, there is no fixed schedule yet, and currently only one-day tours are available. As for whether visitors can land on the popular Xiji Islet, the captain explained that since the island has no harbor and is already uninhabited, it poses higher safety risks, so it can only be viewed from the sea.