Erkan Village 二崁聚落

Erkan Historical Village is a unique place in Taiwan that preserves nearly 300 years of Southern Min culture. Isolated and cut off from the rest of Taiwan for quite some time on Siyu island of Penghu County, the village is a living museum for visitors. Every home is built in traditional red brick Southern Min style, and offering a unique splice in time. 

How to get there:
The easiest Way to get there is by car or scooter from Magong.

Price: Free, except for the Chen family ancient house which charges an admission of about 30 NT.

Hours: 8:00 AM - Dusk

Map: Please see below:

History:

The village started by two brothers surnamed Chen, but since then there has been nine generations over about 300 years.
The town was built on a lower part of land on Siyu island for protection from strong winter winds.
For most of it's history, the village was largely cut off from the outside world, lacking transportation and communication channels. Because of this, no other families (men from other towns) ever moved into the town, and everyone in the town is surnamed Chen, which is rare to see anywhere in Taiwan.
​Almost every house is made from traditional red brick Southern Min style, and the main road is made from traditional stones.

Probably due to lack of work opportunities for later generations, currently there are over 40 ancient houses but only 70 people live in the village.

Our Journey:

We first happened upon this village on the way to Siyu East fort. We didn't know what to expect. First off we came across this restaurant.

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Not pictured in this photo is a lady selling trinkets and showing off her huge pumpkin.

Every house in the village is designed in the Southern Min style. There is also quite a bit of remodeling going on to attract tourists.

A brand new reconstruction of a traditional Southern Min house. I'm not sure if they want to convert this into a hostel or what.

There were surprisingly a lot of people here strolling the streets of the ancient village.

Old wall made of coral rocks. Walls were built around everything to keep the wind out.

A reconstruction in progress.

One well known place in the town is the Wenxing tea shop, which sells potent and delicious drinks.

You have the choice of Almond tea for 50 NT or Sea Rock Flower (like jello) for 40 NT. The Almond tea is really really strong, its like drinking straight up vanilla extract, so be warned.

Ancient peanut de-shelling machine at the front of the tea shop. 

An abandoned and totally broken down house off the main path. There are many, many, abandoned and destroyed houses in the town. Forgive me for shooting into the sun.

The back end of a traditional house.

Someone in the town has started converting coral rocks into animal shapes!
There are tons more places to explore and experience in this town. 
For more photos of the village, check out this blog.

​Thanks for reading! Be sure to like and follow to see more of our adventures in Penghu!

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