[2025 Penghu Attraction] Travel Guide for Tongpan Geology Park (Updated Jun)

#Taiwan Local Tour Tongpan Island is an outlying island of Penghu, not far from Magong City. You can reach it by boat or by joining a tour operator, which takes about ten minutes. Most people cruise by and see the columnar basalt that circles the island from a distance. It is recommended to visit the island when you have time, as you can see the cool lotus seat at low tide. They say it got its name from the fact that it looks like the lotus seat of Guanyin Bodhisattva. The tour I participated in was taught by a National Taiwan University Earth Science professor who taught geological knowledge. He said that some people said that the Lotus Seat was formed by a volcanic crater, but the teacher disagreed and felt that it was just a simple sea erosion platform. But no matter what, you can definitely see many beautiful small fish in the small pond here, and it is a place where you can see corals and intertidal zone ecology without snorkeling. It's just that the reefs are slippery when the tide goes out, so be careful. Once when I went there by myself, I walked around the island and picked up a lot of shells to admire. While waiting for the shuttle, I drew some shells and corals. ⚠️The corals in Penghu cannot be taken away, otherwise it is illegal, so please be careful. #familytravel #localtravel #goodplaceforfamily

#Tongpan Geopark #Tongpan Island Tongpan Island is about 6 nautical miles away from Magong Island. The entire island of Tongpan Island is surrounded by basalt stone pillars with distinct joints. The columnar joints are well developed, which is the best in Penghu. It is known as the "Yellowstone Park" of Penghu. The columnar joints and plate cracks on this island are very developed. They were originally hexagonal or pentagonal. Due to severe weathering and erosion, the edges of the rock columns have become rounded, and the tops of some basalt columns have been weathered into spherical shapes. There are concentric lava outlets formed by the outflow of basalt magma on the sea erosion platform on the southwest coast of Tongpan. The domed rock in the center is like a lotus platform, called the "lotus seat", which appears and disappears with the rise and fall of the tide. It is a very unique topographic landscape in Penghu. #Tiger Well Island Hujing is one of the small outlying islands of Penghu. It is located in the southwest of Penghu Island and is the seventh largest island in Penghu. There are spectacular columnar basalts on the island. Because it is close to Magong and is located on an excellent sea route, it used to be a battlefield where the imperial garrison fought against foreigners and pirates. It was also the fishing ground with the largest fishery output. Now, due to the sharp decline in resources, the islanders have moved away, and the local industry has gradually declined. Today, Hujing only has one legal homestay, a restaurant, and a primary school. This island has gone through many hardships and has countless mysterious legends. It was once one of the eight scenic spots in Penghu and is known as the "Tiger Well Abyss". Legend has it that there is a mysterious sunken city on the seabed, and there is also a legend that the Japanese army's southward command post was set up here. There is a mysterious legend about a sunken city in Hujing. According to legend, there is a wall that looks like a collapsed city, hidden at the bottom of the Hujing sea. This adds to the mystery of Hujing Island, and some people call it the lost Atlantis. At the same time, because there are many cute cats living on Hujing Island, it has also been called "Cat Island" in recent years. #Dongjiyu Lighthouse The Dongji Island Lighthouse, built in 1911, is located on the top of the cliff at the northern corner of Dongji Island in Penghu County. It was originally an iron cylindrical lighthouse. It was rebuilt into a reinforced concrete round tower in 1938, and its exterior is painted with black and white parallel horizontal stripes. Dongji Islet is the closest island to Taiwan Island in the Penghu Islands. There is a spiral turbulent undercurrent running back and forth in it, which is called the Black Water Channel. Many ships have run aground on reefs and sunk in the nearby waters. In the early days, the Black Water Channel to the east of Dongji Islet was regarded as a ghost area by sailors and was the most dangerous area.

#AprilGoodDestinations2025 Among the many beautiful attractions in Penghu, Tongpan Geopark is undoubtedly an impressive natural wonder. This time when I personally stepped onto Tongpan Island and stood in front of the coast formed by magnificent basalt columns, I felt like I had walked into a living geology textbook. Tongpan Island is one of the four southern islands of Penghu. Its terrain is not high, but the most eye-catching thing is the tall and neat columnar basalt along the coast. These volcanic magmas form regular hexagonal columns as they cool, like a work of art meticulously crafted by nature. The sunlight shines on the rock pillars, the interweaving of light and shadow is visually stunning, and it also makes me full of awe for the evolution of the earth. In addition to the spectacular basalt landscape, the environment of the entire geological park is also well protected. The tourist movement route is reasonably designed, allowing visitors to appreciate the landforms up close without causing damage to the environment. Here, I not only took many amazing photos, but also learned about the formation of basalt and the geological history of the Penghu Islands. Knowledge and emotion coexisted. This trip to Tongpan is not just a sightseeing trip, but also a journey of dialogue with nature. I deeply realize that the wonders of nature cannot be described in a few words, and they deserve our respect and cherishment. Next time I visit Penghu, I will definitely return to this magnificent basalt coast and quietly feel its silent yet powerful presence.