Donggang's Tuna and Sakura Shrimp

Donggang is a working fishing harbour on the southwest coast, and it is known for three things caught off it. The first is bluefin tuna, landed in late spring and auctioned on the quay, with the first fish of the season treated as an event in itself. The second is sakura shrimp, a small translucent pink shrimp fished commercially in only a couple of places in the world, eaten fresh in season and otherwise dried and scattered over rice. The third is oil fish roe, salted, pressed and sun-dried on frames into amber slabs that are sliced thin and seared. The market and the eating places behind the harbour deal in all three.

What you actually see

• The fish market - the auction hall and stalls behind the harbour wall.
• Sakura shrimp - small pink shrimp eaten fresh in season or dried for keeping.
• Drying roe racks - pressed roe curing in the sun on frames near the quay.
• The harbour - the fishing fleet tied up along the river mouth.

When to go

Bluefin comes in from roughly April to June and there is a festival built around it; sakura shrimp is a winter fishery. Mornings are when the market works. Boats to Little Liuqiu leave from the same harbour, so most people combine the two. Bad weather cancels landings and the market thins out accordingly.

Honest expectations

Pacific bluefin stocks are badly depleted and the quota-limited catch here is a fraction of what it once was, so the fish is scarce and priced to match; this is not cheap seafood. The town itself is plain and the harbour smells like a harbour. Menus are in Chinese and pricing by weight can be unclear, so ask what something will cost before ordering it.

Nearby

Little Liuqiu island is thirty minutes by ferry and Kenting is an hour further south.