By Li Xinyi, Interview & Report
Being an island owner in peace and quiet is something everyone dreams of. Since residents and military personnel withdrew, Da Wu Island in Matsu has been an uninhabited wilderness 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!
Since the military withdrawal, Da Wu Island has been uninhabited for 15 years. (Photo by Traveler’s Eye Li Xinyi)
In 1996, when the last batch of soldiers 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 island’s new residents. During the popular bird-watching season in July and August, visiting Matsu’s uninhabited islands to see the once-thought-extinct Chinese crested tern becomes a hot activity, while spotting sika deer on Da Wu Island is often part of a sea excursion. Even outside the bird-watching season, hiking on the island and watching herds of sika deer grazing on the cliffs, enjoying the island’s tranquility and natural scenery, remains a highly popular experience.
Da Wu Island’s hiking trails are well-designed. (Photo by Traveler’s Eye Li Xinyi)
Abandoned for years and only accessible by boat, Da Wu Island’s landscape 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 stopped in the anti-communist era. Although the island’s scenery is frozen 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 even more if a pair is caught. Fortunately, they were reported by Matsu residents and arrested by police. However, the damage caused by mainland fishermen to Matsu’s ecology threatens the habitat of the Chinese crested tern, which is concerning.
There are hundreds of sika deer roaming Da Wu. (Photo by Traveler’s Eye Li Xinyi)
Threatened not only is the natural ecology. Last year, a business planned to open a homestay on the island, but unfortunately, the newly moved-in furniture was 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 Paradise.” He preserved the appearance of the island’s traditional houses, accompanies visitors to feed sika deer and go rock fishing, and the nearby Zhong Island, often visited by terns, lies right in front of the homestay. Guests can set up long-range lenses here to observe the birds’ ecology around the clock. To get to Da Wu Island, take Uni Air to Matsu first, then take a boat to Da Wu. For boat information, contact Long Fu Travel Agency locally. For accommodation details on Da Wu Island, please contact Hu Jinjiang at 0927-189-032.
The owner of the island’s first homestay, Hu Jinjiang, becomes the island owner of Da Wu. (Photo by Traveler’s Eye Li Xinyi)
Viewed from the sea, this uninhabited island is known locally as the “Seaside Paradise.” (Photo by Traveler’s Eye Li Xinyi)