The coastal ecosystem is vanishing fast! Living by Houpihu her whole life, she “dives in” to guide tours and save Taiwan.

▲ The Daguang Community has initiated ecological interpretation activities, aiming to encourage more people to cherish Taiwan’s coastlines by guiding travelers to understand the intertidal zone.

Reported and photographed by You T-Ru / Pingtung

Houpihu in Kenting used to feature beautiful grassy slopes nearby, where expansive and gently sloping coral reef sea-eroded platforms formed vast intertidal zones filled with diverse marine life in numerous tide pools. But with the coming of Nuclear Power Plant No. 3, the landscape has been constantly altered, and now the area around Houpihu no longer features the lively biological scenes of the past, having instead been taken over by litter and water activity.As a result, the local community has initiated ecological interpretation activities, hoping that by guiding travelers to understand the intertidal zone, more people will learn to cherish Taiwan’s coastlines.


▲ Jiang Xiu-ying, an ecological guide from the Daguang Community, grew up around Houpihu.

Jiang Xiu-ying, an ecological guide from the Daguang Community, said she grew up around Houpihu. “Back then, it was all grassland, there was no drainage ditch from the Nuclear Power Plant No. 3, and before the asphalt road was built, we often herded cattle here.” Jiang recalled that the intertidal zone of Houpihu in the past had many tide pools. “When I was a kid, we’d mash bittergrass into juice, put it in the tide pools to catch fish, and that would be our dinner that day.” In the old days, families were large, and children living near Houpihu could often have a hearty meal just by picking vegetables and catching fish.

With the arrival of the Nuclear Power Plant No. 3, the roads were widened, and more and more water activity operators moved in. As hotels and tourists increased in the Houpihu area, local residents’ incomes began to rise, but the surrounding grasslands and natural wildlife gradually started to diminish. “There used to be a natural refrigerator; now there’s nothing. It’s really heartbreaking to see.”Jiang Xiu-ying said she has lived in Houpihu for most of her life, watching the environment change continuously yet feeling powerless to do anything. “I really want to protect my hometown.”


▲ Jiang Xiu-ying said she has lived in Houpihu for most of her life, watching the environment change continuously yet feeling powerless to do anything. “I really want to protect my hometown.”

Three years ago, Jiang Xiu-ying joined the local community’s tour guide team. She relearned about the organisms in the intertidal zone and began understanding their habits, trying to share this knowledge with more visitors. “I used to call them all in Taiwanese; suddenly having to use their scientific names was really unfamiliar,” Jiang said. It was only through guidance and encouragement that she gradually remembered them. “For the sake of my hometown, I feel really happy!”

The reporter joined Jiang Xiu-ying’s intertidal zone guided tour at around 2 p.m. on an early summer afternoon. Holding a small plastic basin and a guidebook, and wearing a sun hat, she said, “Look, this is a giant clam—very hard to see nowadays; there used to be so many!” “This fuzzy thing is a brittle star; its arms break easily, so don’t touch it. I’ll gently scoop it up for you to see.” Using a transparent plastic basin, Jiang gently lifted creatures from the tide pools so visitors could observe them up close. She handled them with great care, as if cradling precious treasures, afraid they might break.


▲ %妓?帜酶鏊芙盒∨韬徒步獗咀樱?反髡谘裘保?崆岚岩?步獾纳?锢唐鹪俜呕厝ァ＜/strong>


 
▲ Giant clams and sea grapes can still be spotted in the intertidal zone. But you often have to look carefully, because they might disappear by the next day.

“Giant clams keep getting stolen. When I want to show them to guests, I can’t find any,” Jiang Xiu-ying said. After joining the guide team, she often patrols the intertidal zone to check for signs of poaching and occasionally encounters situations where a certain coral or shellfish is found one day and gone the next. “I hope people who come to the intertidal zone will stop stealing. It’s really heartbreaking,” she said while guiding visitors and picking up litter. In just ten minutes, her bag was full of various plastic bottles and debris.

“Even though many people still don’t understand, it makes me very happy to be able to protect my hometown,” Jiang Xiu-ying said. Though the job of a community guide is tough, introducing visitors to the local ecology is rewarding. “The visitors are happy when they see it, and we feel satisfied too.” She plans to continue protecting the community and hopes that through repeated introductions, more travelers will learn to love Taiwan’s coastlines.

▲ “If you come, I can give you a wonderful introduction. Just one session can help you fall in love with Taiwan’s coast,” she said.


Daguang Community Intertidal Zone Tour
Address: No. 87, Daguang Road, Daguang Li, Hengchun Town, Pingtung County – Daguang Community Development Association
Phone: 0963-691968
Daytime Intertidal Zone Eco Tour: 2 hours, 350 NTD, minimum 4 people
Nighttime Intertidal Zone Eco Tour: 2.5 hours, 450 NTD, minimum 4 people