Jibei Island Introduction
Jibei Island has a total area of about 3.1 square kilometers and a coastline of approximately 13 kilometers, making it the largest island in the North Sea and one of the most popular tourist destinations in Taiwan. The island's topography is high in the east and low in the west, featuring beautiful beaches and sandbars formed by marine accumulation, which is the island's most significant geographical characteristic. The beach is located in the southwest of the island, extending southward from Xikanshan. At the end of the beach, a sandbar extending into the sea has been shaped by ocean currents, measuring about 800 meters in length and 200 meters at its widest point. Surrounding the island, many man-made stone fish traps of various sizes are scattered, peaking at over two hundred traps, with only 88 remaining today. The island is about 5 nautical miles from Chiayi, with a journey time of around 20 minutes. Jibei Island is not only one of the fishing grounds north of Penghu but also features significant tidal differences and a vast intertidal zone. Early settlers observed fish ecology and used tidal differences for fishing, utilizing the surrounding basalt and coral reefs to build fish traps during low tide. According to records, during the Qing Dynasty's Qianlong period when the "Trap Tax" was collected, Jibei already had one large trap and four small traps, indicating that the construction of stone traps existed long before the Qing Dynasty. The stone fish traps in the waters around Jibei are dense, and the remaining 88 traps account for nearly one-seventh of the more than 580 traps in the entire county. During low tide, one can wade from the local area called "Rongwanzi" to the northwest sandbar. The coastline on the east and west sides of Rongwanzi is densely populated with stone fish traps, which account for about half of the Jibei stone traps (approximately 40). This method of utilizing the intertidal zone with basalt to construct fishing traps is the most distinctive cultural landscape of Jibei Island. A popular attraction, the television idol drama "Dolphin Bay Lovers," features the place where Ze Ya (played by Hsu Shao-Yang) meets Yi Tian-Bian (played by Zhang Shao-Han) as Jibei's Shashao. "Have you heard the legend of the dolphin? According to the legend, a dolphin once held a steel ring to help a pair of separated lovers reunite, becoming the guardian of love!" In Dolphin Bay at Tian-Bian, a story of love and legend is passed down! The airing of this drama attracted many fans to this location for idol chasing. The boat house where Yi Tian-Bian and Xu Ze-Ya first meet as adults, Yitian-Bian's family noodle shop, and the Dolphin Bay bus stop are all highlights captured by fans' cameras. Are you one of them? When visiting Jibei Island, be sure to feel the beach at Jibei Shashao and fantasize about the scenes of the boat house; also, don’t forget to venture into the community to find the home of the female lead, Yi Tian-Bian. If you take photos, feel free to share them with us! Additionally, the MTV video of healing singer Xin Xiao-Qi's "Forget" was also filmed in Jibei, showcasing the unique splendor and vibrancy of Penghu's summer. The beloved "Da Ren Ge" - Chen Bo-Lin and Ke You-Lun filmed a "7-ELEVEN" image advertisement in 2006, featuring scenes of the two riding motorcycles with clouds floating in the sky and jumping into the crystal-clear waters, all captured in Jibei.
