Uninhabited Matsu Islands Launch New Homestay – Everyone Can Be an Island Owner

By Li Xinyi, Interview & Report

Being an island owner in peaceful seclusion is something everyone envies. Since residents and military personnel withdrew, Da Wu Island in Matsu has been an uninhabited deserted island for 15 years. This year, the first homestay on Da Wu Island has opened, and the homestay owner has also become the new island owner of this uninhabited island. However, starting today, as long as you pay an average accommodation fee of NT$600 per night, everyone can become an island owner of Da Wu Island!

In 1996, when the last batch of troops left Da Wu Island by boat, sika deer were also introduced. With no natural predators, there are now hundreds of sika deer living here, becoming the new inhabitants of the island. Every July and August during the tern-watching season, visiting the uninhabited islands of Matsu to see the once-thought-extinct Chinese crested tern has become a popular activity, while a side trip to Da Wu Island to see the sika deer is often part of the maritime journey. However, even outside the tern-watching season, hiking on the island and watching herds of sika deer grazing by the cliffs, enjoying the tranquility and natural scenery of the island, remains a highly sought-after experience.

Abandoned for many years and accessible only by boat, the landscape of Da Wu Island remains largely intact. Anti-communist slogans are engraved on the exteriors of traditional stone houses, and the deserted military bases and sparse population make it feel as though time has frozen in the anti-communist era. Although the island’s scenery remains stuck in the past, the surrounding waters of Da Wu are now areas where mainland fishermen fish and use explosives, and there are even reports of mainlanders landing on the island to capture sika deer. It’s said that a single sika deer can sell for 20,000 RMB on the mainland, and a pair even more—but fortunately, they were reported by Matsu residents and caught by the police. However, the destruction caused by mainland fishermen to the ecosystem around Matsu threatens the habitat of the Chinese crested tern, which is concerning.

Threatened not only is the natural ecology, but last year, a business attempted to open a homestay on the island, only to have the newly moved-in furniture stolen by mainlanders. This year, Hu Jinjiang overcame numerous challenges and finally succeeded in opening a homestay on Da Wu Island—“Da Wu Island Eco Park.” He preserved the appearance of the island’s traditional houses, takes visitors to feed sika deer, go rock fishing, and the nearby Zhong Island, often visited by terns, lies right in front of the homestay. Guests can set up long-lens cameras here to observe the birds’ ecology all day long. To get to Da Wu Island, take Uni Air to Matsu first, then take a boat to Da Wu. For boat information, contact the local Long Fu Travel Agency, and for accommodation details on Da Wu Island, contact Hu Jinjiang at 0927-189-032.