page_title: Liuqiu Island
section_title: Tourism
hierarchical_section_title: Liuqiu Island / Economy / Tourism
caption_attribution_description: English: Sanmin Street Liuqiu
context_page_description: Liuqiu, also known by several other names, is a coral island in the Taiwan Strait about 13 kilometers southwest of Taiwan Island. It has an area of 6.8 km² and approximately 13,000 residents, the vast majority of whom share only 10 surnames. It is administered as a township of Pingtung County. The current township chief is Chen Lung-chin.
context_section_description: The sea temperature of the island is above 25 °C (77 °F) year round, allowing many species of coral reefs to inhabit the area and making it one of the best locations for winter swimming activities in Taiwan. Tourism became a mainstay of Liuqiu's economy in the 21st century. After it was included in the Dapeng Bay National Scenic Area in 2004, it gained media exposure and advertised until it was one of Pingtung County's main sightseeing locations. Home to less than 15,000 residents, the island saw over 500,000 tourists in 2012 and over 400,000 in 2014. B&Bs and hotels now cover the island, while others rent bicycles and motorcycles or facilitate scuba certification and diving. 
  The island's main sights are its temples; its beaches, reefs, caves, and rock formations; its net cages for fishing; the bamboo forest and wetland park (t 竹林生態濕地公園, s 竹林生态湿地公园, Zhúlín Shēngtài Shīdì Gōngyuán) in the center of the island; the architecture and shops along Sanmin Road 三民老街, Sānmín Lǎojiē); the Sanfu Fishing Port (t 杉福漁港, s 杉福渔港, Shānfú Yúgǎng); the Sea View Pavilion (望海亭, Wànghǎi Tíng) beside Beauty Cave, Restoration Pavilion (t 復育涼亭, s 复育凉亭, Fùyù Liángtíng) on a reclaimed landfill on the east coast, and Sunset Pavilion (落日亭, Luòrì Tíng) on the island's southwest corner; and Sanzu or Wild Boar Ditch (t 山豬溝, s 山猪沟, Shānzhū Gōu), a steep gully northwest of Sanban'ao near Black Dwarf Cave.
  The Taiwanese government has restricted access and set daily limits for visitors at the islands' intertidal zones since 2012. The increased control has helped restore the areas' ecosystems and biological diversity in the years since.
caption: Sanmin Old Street
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