Liuqiu's "Welcoming Wangye Deities Ceremony" started on Dec. 3. On Dec. 6, 7,000 arrived as 11,000 departed, creating chaotic scenes and crowds everywhere.
There were multitudes of people around Donggang's Dongliu Ferry Terminal, even though it was just an ordinary Tuesday. There were no scooter parking spots available, while long lines of people waited to board ferries to Liuqiu. However, the number of people on this day was still considered low compared to previous days. Over 10,000 people arrived on Liuqiu every day for the past several days, setting new records.
Chi Ching-sheng, Manager, Taifu Ferry: “We've already become a marine subway, with one service followed by another. Our ferries depart as soon as they are full.”
Tourist: “They had a religious festival going on, so we thought we would go take a look.”
Liuqiu recently held its "Welcoming Wangye Deities Ceremony," which is the last of the three to take place in Pingtung. It started on Dec. 3, and worshippers filled up the beach. The number of people arriving on the island on Dec. 4 and 5 was nearly 20,000, and 7,000 arrived on Dec. 6. Those who were hoping to catch the religious procession had to wait patiently in line.
Returning Resident: “I waited for three hours. Luckily, I didn't take my scooter or else I would have to wait for even longer. (Why?) Because the scooter line was very long.”
Local Resident: “There were really a lot of people, and probably even more today and tomorrow. (It's like this every year during the festival.) People are going to watch the departure ceremony tomorrow.”
There were lines of people everywhere. The departure ceremony and the burning of the Wangye boat will take place on Dec. 9. This is one of the few large-scale religious events to take place since disease prevention restrictions were eased, so it has attracted people from all over Taiwan. They aren't expected to depart Liuqiu until after the festival ends.
明明是週二平常日，但東琉線碼頭外還是來了不少遊客，機車停車位也額滿，登船口排滿準備去小琉球的人。但這樣的人數還已經算少的，因為小琉球已經連續好幾天，被上萬的登島人潮擠得水洩不通，破了歷年紀錄。
泰富輪經理冀慶生說：「我們已經像海上的捷運一樣，一班接著一班，所以每一位旅客，他就是一班一班地上，上滿了就開。」
遊客說:「他們在迎熱鬧，我們順便過去走走看看。」
小琉球迎王作為屏東三大迎王祭典最後一棒，在上週五3日舉行請水儀式時，觀禮人潮已經佔滿海灘，週、六日的登島人數更是直逼2萬，到週一都還有7千多人，想來看繞境的民眾，才到碼頭，自己就得先排隊繞境。
外地返鄉民眾說：「大概（排）快3個小時，還好我沒有騎機車，不然等更久，因為機車排很長耶。」
當地居民也說：「真的很多，今天更多，明天大家要看送王。」
街上到處是排隊人潮，由於小琉球迎王重頭戲送王、燒王船，9日才登場，作為疫情鬆綁後少數的大型民俗活動，吸引到來自全台的民眾觀禮，恐怕島上人潮到活動結束前，都不會消退。