Follow Jimmy Liao into "Unbeatable Sea Views" at Bixiligan – an ultra-healing tribal journey!

By Xiao Caiwei, Taitung Report

With the vast Pacific Ocean in front and the magnificent Coastal Mountain Range behind, this is the "Baishoulian Tribe" of the Amis Sanxiantai in Taitung. However, "Sanxiantai" is a name given by the Han Chinese. To fit in here, we go with the more beautiful local name—Bixiligan. In collaboration with the renowned illustrator Jimmy Liao’s team, the tribe’s walls are now adorned with the brave little girl from *A Trip in Spring*, who will guide you step-by-step into the story of Bixiligan.

▲ "Bixiligan" originally means "a place to raise sheep," and sheep have become the symbol of this place. (Photo by Xiao Caiwei)

Jimmy Liao has added color to the walls of the tribe, but if you only want to take photos with these cute illustrations, you’d be missing out on the true essence of this trip. Instead of following a "checklist-style" photo tour, I hired three Amis warriors as guides. That’s when I realized—the illustrations weren’t randomly placed. Every corner the little girl took me to had a vibrant story of Bixiligan.

▲ Following the little girl from Jimmy Liao’s illustrations, we began our adventure in "Bixiligan." (Photo by Xiao Caiwei)

"This old lady is an amazing sea woman—no one is better at catching sea snails than her!" Turning right along the coastline, we arrived at a house with a large yard. The granny who lives here is incredibly skilled but doesn’t share her secrets. Whenever someone wants to join her in snail-catching, she bluntly refuses, saying, "You’ll just get in my way." But the granny is also adorable—despite her age and the hard work of diving for snails, she shares her catch with others. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to meet her during our visit. In other words, if I had just taken a photo with Jimmy Liao’s painting by the door and left, I might never have known about this charming character.

▲ This is the home of the sea woman granny. (Photo by Xiao Caiwei)

Indeed, there are over ten Jimmy Liao illustrations scattered around Bixiligan, each with its own lovely story. (We won’t tell you the exact number—go find them yourself!) As we followed the little girl on the wall and the Amis warriors beside us, it was also time for dinner. Locals set up tables by the road, moms called their kids to eat, and then you’d see a bunch of wet little ones showing up—yes, they had just swum back from the Pacific and were heading straight home for a meal. What an enviable life.

▲ Unbeatable sea views paired with freshly baked bread from the "Bixiligan Cultural Center"—pure bliss. (Photo by Xiao Caiwei)

What started as a journey following the illustrations unexpectedly led me into the daily lives of the people of Bixiligan. Then, one of the Amis warriors pointed to his left with a smile and said, "Actually, I think the most worthy thing to paint here is this house, because it’s my home!" At that moment, a very fit woman walked out. "Let me introduce you—this is Bixiligan’s 'number one female model,' the first female formwork worker!" I burst out laughing and suggested they take a mother-son photo together. Only then did I realize that the "warriors" who had been guiding me all day were actually brothers!

▲ Exploring the tribe with local Amis warriors allows you to hear even more stories. (Photo by Xiao Caiwei)

Like many indigenous youths you’ve heard of, these brothers had to leave their hometown to find work just to make ends meet. However, the older brother later became the leader of Bixiligan’s famous "PAW PAW Drum Group" and started spending more time in their hometown. The younger brother also plays drums but works more often outside. Still in his 20s—the age when college students enjoy life—I couldn’t help but ask, "Isn’t it tough?" The younger brother laughed and said, "No, when I’m tired, I just go swimming in Taitung, and everything’s forgotten!" Looking at the Pacific Ocean ahead, I understood what he meant. Isn’t life really just like that?

▲ The Bixiligan Cultural Center is also the home of the PAW PAW Drum Group. (Photo by Xiao Caiwei)

▲ On the way to the seaside breakwater, I stumbled upon this scene and decided to imagine the footprints on the ground as those of the bear from the illustrations. (Photo by Xiao Caiwei)

▲ The Bixiligan seaside breakwater at night has another kind of beauty. (Photo by Xiao Caiwei)

Bixiligan Travel Information

By Bus: Take Taiwan Tourist Shuttle to Fugang Station, then transfer to Dingdong Bus to Baishoulian Tribe. Get off and follow the signs.

By Car: Drive north along Provincial Highway 11 to the 112k mark. Before reaching the Sanxiantai Tunnel, turn right onto the descending road. At the fork (with a sign for the Bixiligan Cultural Center), turn left to reach Bixiligan Tribe (formerly Baishoulian Tribe); turn right to go to Sanxiantai.

Note!

1. The tribe has its own culture and traditions. Please respect local residents when taking photos or filming.

2. There are many forks in the road along the way—be careful not to take the wrong path.