Lanyu

Introducing Lanyu

The Yami people call their island home ‘Pongso No Tao’ or ‘Island of the People’ in their native tongue. The Taiwanese call it Lanyu (Lányǔ, Orchid Island), naming it after the flowers that have almost been picked to near extinction. A volcanic, mountainous island covered with a carpet of tropical rainforest, Lanyu lies about 65km southeast of the city of Taitung, making it the southernmost outpost of the Republic of China.

Lanyu’s status as a far-flung outpost isn’t merely geographical, but cultural as well, as the island is by far the least Chinese part of the Republic of China. The Yami people are of Australasian descent, speak their own distinct language and have a culture well removed from that of the people ‘on the mainland’ (as they sometime refer to the Taiwanese).

Coral reefs, perhaps the least spoiled in Taiwan, surround the rocky coastline, and at first glance the island appears a tropical paradise. In many ways it is. But to its inhabitants, the island is a sacred land, one mistreated for decades by a larger colonising neighbour and there are certain frictions between natives and outsiders. The opening of the island to tourism in the 1960s, coupled with controversial government policies, have forced the Yami to struggle particularly to retain their culture in the face of increasing outside influence. The Yami are well aware that most Taiwanese visitors view them as an oddity, so Western visitors to Lanyu should tread especially lightly.

Last updated: Feb 17, 2009