Dragon Boat Festival tourism on Taiwan's Orchid Island doubles in 2020
2020年端午節台灣蘭嶼旅遊將翻倍
| Crowds prompt thirsty resident to wonder aloud when convenience store refrigerators will be replenished
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — An Orchid Island (Lanyu Township) resident mocked the sight of drink shelves emptied quickly by tourists at a local convenience store during the Dragon Boat Festival holiday, saying, "Is a typhoon coming?" Since the beginning of the long holiday on Thursday (June 25), more than 3,500 tourists have landed on Orchid Island, which is off the coast of Taiwan's southeastern Taitung County. As a holiday heatwave has been roasting much of the nation, including Orchid Island, most of the drink shelves at the 7-Eleven convenience store on the island were emptied by tourists as soon as they were replenished, according to CNA. The fact that the island's Hongtou (紅頭) and Dongcing (東清) villages are also holding millet harvest festivals during this period has contributed to a larger than usual number of visitors to the island. Each ferry to the island reached its passenger capacity during the first three days of the holiday. A convenience store clerk said that as the sun was belting down on tourists over the holiday, drinks were the hottest merchandise, and other items such as instant noodles, bread, and packaged snacks were selling well, too. An island resident surnamed Chen (陳) went to the convenience store to shop on Sunday morning and saw that the drink shelves in the refrigerators were almost empty. This prompted the resident to wonder aloud when the store, which relies on shipping from the main island, will restock its shelves. According to the Coast Guard Administration (CGA), the number of tourists who are visiting Orchid Island at the moment is about twice as many as in the same period last year. |
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| George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer | |
| 2020-06-28 |
