Taiwan is surrounded by sea. Geographically, it is located at the hub of traffic  between Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia. Geologically, it is situated in the  collision zone between the Eurasian and Pacific plates. Historically, it has  undergone the management of many different ethnic groups. Under the intertwined  background of these unique space-times, it has produced rich and special ecology,  topography and humanism on the land of Formosa-Taiwan. Additionally, it has also  created diverse and abundant marine cultures and assets. From tourism and leisure,  industrial activities, literary and artistic creations to folk customs, they all  have their own characteristics and connotations, which attract numerous local and  foreign tourists to visit. According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), the latest  2017 global tourism competitiveness evaluation ranked Taiwan 30th in 136 countries  or regions, making the name of Formosa famous in local and abroad.

It can be seen that Taiwan has excellent conditions to promote its own marine  cultural heritage and can be transformed into cultural tourism assets. Richards (2001) believes that culture  represents the uniqueness of the place and transforms cultural heritage into  cultural tourism resources. This transformation not only enables the conservation of  heritage itself to gain economic attention and support but also enhances  people’s pride and recognition of local culture. What’s more, people  will be more responsible and dedicated to protecting the natural and cultural  heritage of the region. In 1982, Taiwan enacted the “Cultural Assets  Preservation Law”, the main purpose of which was “to preserve and  wisely use cultural assets, enrich the spiritual life of people, and promote  multiculturalism”. In 2005, the Cultural Assets Preservation Act was amended  to divide the name “Natural Cultural Landscape” into “cultural  landscape” and “natural landscape”. The cultural landscape is  supervised by the Cultural Construction Committee of the Executive Yuan (now the  Ministry of Culture), and the natural landscape is supervised by the Agriculture  Committee. In order to keep up with the World Heritage Convention, the  “Cultural Assets Preservation Act” was revised again in 2016 to  combine “natural landscape” with “natural monument” as  natural asset categories. The natural landscape is divided into “natural  reserve areas” and “geological parks”. Natural monuments are  classified into three types, including “precious and rare plants”,  “precious and rare minerals” and “special topography and  geological phenomena”.

Currently, the registered natural assets related to the ocean and the coastal areas  are Yehliu Coast Geopark on the north coast of Taiwan and the fringing reef coast in  Kenting National Park in southern Taiwan. These attractions are praised to be  marvelous uncanny workmanship. In addition, the “Blue Tears” of Mastu  Island is a phenomenon caused by flocking dinoflagellates (Noctiluca scintillans),  which produce the beautiful blue fluorescence in the coastal areas during the nights  from April to September. CNN hailed it as the top 15 wonders of the world. Moreover,  Taiwan’s only active volcanic island, KueiShan Island in Yilan, it looks like  a turtle from the shape and also be selected as the top 12 islands with the most  special appearance in the world by the famous travel website “When on  earth”. What’s more, the Penghu Columnar Basalt Nature Reserve area is  the joint of the volcanic lava flow shrinking during cooling, forming the hexagonal  column or multi-corner column unique to the basalt. Later, due to the influence of  sea erosion and other weathering, many high and low undulating and varied landscapes  are formed. It is worth mentioning that in 2007 and 2009, Taiwan’s seventh  Dongsha Atoll National Park and the eighth Taijiang National Park were born  respectively. These two new national parks both contain land and sea areas. Dongsha  Atoll National Park is Taiwan’s first marine national park. Its atoll  topography is a circular island chain formed by coral reefs, and the middle is  surrounded by a lagoon environment. Dongsha Atoll is the only large and complete  development of circular reef in Taiwan. As for Tainan Taijiang National Park,  located in the very west of Taiwan’s main island, has special topographical  and geological landscapes such as the Zengwun Estuary Wetland and Sicao Wetland.  They are international wetlands, which nurtures abundant biological resources with  its nearby sea areas, portray fabulous and lively interactions between human and  nature. Therefore, they are precious ecological and cultural resources, which are  worth preserving and promoting.

In terms of the category of cultural landscape, the “Operational Guidelines  for the Implementation of the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World  Cultural and Natural Heritage”, divided the cultural landscape into three  categories (Wang and Fu, 2010), respectively  including, “landscape designed and created intentionally by man”,  “organically evolved landscape”, and “associative cultural  landscape”. Taiwan’s “Detailed Rules for the Implementation of  the Cultural Heritage Preservation Act” lists several categories of cultural  landscapes, including places with myths and legends, historical and cultural paths,  religious landscapes, historical sites, historical events, and agricultural,  forestry, and animal husbandry. There are also industrial landscapes, traffic  landscapes, water conservancy facilities, military installations and other  landscapes where humans interact with nature. Among them, some are more related to  marine culture. For example, “stone weir” is a low wall made of rocks.  It is submerged by the sea when the tide is high. It is exposed to the water surface  when the tide is low. Fish was trapped in the stone wall of the weir, which was the  natural fishing method that many Taiwanese and Penghu in coastal areas relied on  before the 1980s. The 320 kilometer coastline of Peng-hu has up to 600 “stone  weirs”. The number and density are among the best in the world. Qimei  Twin-Hearts Stone Weir is the most famous one. Jibeiyu island, which is in the  northern part of the Penghu, has the largest number of stone weirs. There are 116  weirs, and one-third of them are still in use. These traditional fishing methods not  only constitute special local humanism landscapes but also are precious cultural  crystallization and assets.

In addition, the lighthouses that guide ships sailing on the sea not only ensure the  safety of navigation but also have the symbol of strengthening national sovereignty.  Furthermore, as lighthouses are usually constructed in the foothills of the  mountains, they offer stunning landscapes, which are often worthy of sightseeing.  According to the Ministry of Communications, Taiwan’s lighthouses have been  built for more than 150 years since its establishment in the Qing Dynasty. At  present, there are 35 lighthouses in Taiwan, including 19 on the main island. Many  of the lighthouses have undergone various eras. With their different architectural  styles and abundant literature and history, they are highly qualified as cultural  assets. For instance, the Penghu Yuwengdao Lighthouse built in 1778, is the  earliest-constructed lighthouse in Taiwan. It has been listed as a national  second-class monument. The Eluanbi Lighthouse built in 1881 is the southernmost  lighthouse in Taiwan. Additionally, it is also the unique armed lighthouse in the  world. The northernmost Fuguijiao Lighthouse on the island of Taiwan is the first  lighthouse built in the Japanese colonial period in 1896. With a view to  rediscovering and redefining the geographical and historical status of the  lighthouse, the Ministry of Culture upgraded the Matsu Dongyin Island Lighthouse and  the Kinmen Wuqiu Lighthouse to the National Historic Site in 2016 and 2017  respectively. The Dongyin Island Lighthouse built in 1904 is the historic site  located in the northernmost of the Taiwanese area. While the Wuqiu Lighthouse was  built in 1874 and has been through 143 years of history.

Additionally, due to the special geographical location, since the seventeenth  century, Taiwan has been ruled by the Netherlands, Spain, the Qing Empire, and  Japan. All of them contribute to the development of both maritime and international  duality in history. Therefore, in many parts of Taiwan, defensive castles, old  gates, and forts are still retained, which constantly record the space-time  background and environments of the place, such as Anping Castle in Tainan City  (built in 1624) and Chihkan Tower (built in 1653). The Fortress San Domingo of New  Taipei City (Anthony Fort, built in 1644) witnessed the historical facts of the  Western powers colonizing Taiwan at that time. The cities built in the Qing Dynasty,  such as the old city of Fengshan County (also known as Zuoying Old City, built in  1722) and Tainan Fucheng (built in 1725) have nearly three hundred years of history,  while the ancient Hengchun city built in 1875 still retains the most complete city  gates; the well-known Taipei City was completed in 1884. At present, only the North  Gate remains its original appearance. It is the masterpiece of Taiwan’s new  city gates and the country’s first-class monument. The rest of the city gates  were demolished or rebuilt, which demonstrates the significance of preserving  cultural heritage. As for the turret, it is an important facility for military  defense. Many fortresses for coastal defense are equipped with turrets. The  northernmost “Harbour City”—Keelung on Taiwan main island,  surrounded by mountains on three sides and left the north side facing toward the  ocean, is a natural harbor. Moreover, it is also located in the vital communication  hub of economic and trade. Thus, from Taiwan’s governor—Liu Mingchuan  in Qing dynasty, forts have been constructed at commanding heights around Keelung so  as to facilitate the defense. Later, the Japanese and National Government moved to  Taiwan and reinforced the artillery fortification in this area. As a result, Keelung  has the largest number of fort sites in the city today. There are a total of 13 big  and small forts in the city. For instance, Dawulun Fort, Baimiweng Fort,  Shihciouling Gun Emplacement, Gongzi Liao Fort, Ershawan Battery, Mushan Fort, and  Sheliao West Fort, among which 5 forts have been included in monuments. Regardless  of the past military facilities, such as forts, barracks, and campgrounds, are  generally preserved. The Keelung City Hall has embarked on building a fort museum  with an eye to witnessing the history of Keelung military strategies and wisely  using the monuments.

The so-called cultural assets can be divided into tangible cultural assets and  intangible ones, and intangible cultural assets can also be called as  “intangible cultural heritages”. This is owing to the increasing  growth of emphasis on the standards of “actions or traditions, thoughts or  beliefs, arts or literary works that are directly or virtually related to remarkable  universal values”. Therefore, within the “Recommendation on the  safeguarding of Traditional Culture and Folklore” in 1989, “UNESCO  Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity” in 2001 and “Declaration  of Istanbul” in 2002 by the Third Round-table Meeting of Ministers of  Culture, the UNESCO emphasized the importance of intangible cultural heritage  repeatedly, and, at the same time, took into account the interdependent relationship  between intangible and tangible cultural heritages, and the contribution intangible  cultural heritage made on human cultural diversity and creativity. Hence the purpose  of the “Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural  Heritages”, which was enacted in 2003, is to protect and maintain local  communities, their history, the surrounding and all the knowledge, the techniques  and ceremonies that are closely related to the social life. Furthermore, it makes it  possible to pass on into generations. However, the intangible culture based on human  as its main body and media often increased the difficulty in its discovery and  protection. This is due to the fact that the existence of non-figuration and the  need to present at a specific time and space thus make it more worthy of  attention.

Marine culture is related to the history of coastal residents’ activities, and  is usually manifested in customs, religious beliefs, festival etiquette, literature  and art, etc., so the above of which are mostly summed up as an intangible cultural  asset. For example, ceremonies such as the Jhongyuan Ghost Festival, The Grappling  with Ghosts Competition, Wang Yeh Boat-Burning Festival, and the Mazu Pilgrimage  Procession are all important symbols of marine culture. Because fishermen need to  “make their living depending on the sky” and “fight with the  sea”, they become particularly pious on religious beliefs, and some customs  and festivals related to fisheries were formed spontaneously. The major  representative of marine religious beliefs is Mazu, the goddess of the sea on the  southeastern coast of China and Taiwan. With the compassion and gentleness of women,  she helps to save souls and soothe people’s nerves. While Taiwan was still in  the agriculture society and was isolated, she brought great comfort and ease for the  people. Mazu is not just the guardian of navigators, she could also help prevent  from the damage of plague, pests, heavy rain, and bring cure for illness, disaster  relief, marriage, fertility, etc. Therefore, the beliefs of worshiping Mazu are  deeply rooted in the hearts of Taiwanese people. With the worshippers’ devout  respect and ceremonies, it forms a life community. Every year, when it comes to the  birthday of Mazu, which is in the third month of the lunar calendar, celebrations  will be held throughout Taiwan. The worshippers would form a folk event, which is  called “Craze for Mazu in March”. Among the worship events, the  “Dajia Mazu pilgrimage procession” held by the Dajia Zhenlan Temple  and “Worshiping Mazu” held by Baisha Temple in Miaoli are the most  representative ones. Take “Dajia Mazu pilgrimage procession” as an  example. The event lasts 9 days and 8 nights, with the participation of 1.5 million  pilgrims and over 400 parade formation, the whole journey is approximately 330  kilometers long, stopping at Taichung, Changhua, Yunlin, Chiayi and more than 20  other towns and cities throughout Taiwan. This is not only an important religious  and cultural event in Taiwan, but also chosen as one of the world’s three  major religious events by Discovery Channel, one of the leading international media.  In May 2010, the UNESCO officially listed the act of the worship of Mazu as  “an intangible cultural heritage of mankind”. The ceremony of  Taiwan’s Mazu pilgrimage procession reflects the historical background of  Chinese people emigrating through the Taiwan Strait to Taiwan. Meanwhile, it is also  a typical representation of marine culture.

In addition to the well-known Mazu pilgrimage procession, “Wang Ye pilgrimage  procession” is also a very popular religious event in the southern Taiwan.  How people worship Wang Ye is different from temple to temple. For example, Renshou  Temple in Guiren, Tainan, calls the ceremony “Five Dynasties Wang  Shuo”. The Qing’an Temple in Xigang, Tainan, calls their ceremony,  commonly known as “Xigang Incense Serving”. The Donglong Temple in  Donggang, Pingtung, named the event “Welcoming Wang” Festival. The  Changxing Temple in Anding District, Susong, Tainan, calls it the Plague King  Festival. Among these events, the Donggang ceremony in the South and the Xigang  ceremony in the North are the most famous because of their largest scale and the  number of their parade participants. In these ceremonies, the burning of the Wang  Boat is the most representative event. The original intention of burning the Wang  Boat is to send the plague out. Until now it has evolved into an activity of praying  for blessings. Take the QingAn Temple in Xigang as an example; the event takes place  every three years. The whole process follows the tradition, including the activities  of procession, Wang Ye Boat, Zheng Wang Festival, ancestors worshiping at Lu Er Men,  Sending Mazu off, Burning Wang Boat and so on. In particular, the burning of Wang  Boat on the last day is the climax of the whole ceremony. In 2009, the Council for  Cultural Affairs named the “Xigang Incense Serving” as an important  national intangible cultural asset based on three reasons. First, its historical  inheritance and content of customs and habits show the typical characteristics of  people’s life. Second, this ceremony is an important religious belief of  Taiwanese people, and shows the characteristics of art. Third, the development and  changes of folk art possesses local characteristics and affects people’s  lives (Lin, 2015).

Marine cultural assets are also related to fishery activities, such as fishing  methods, fishing boat construction, farming techniques, which are related to  cultural forms and appearances. Thus, they are also intangible cultural heritages.  For instance, at the intertidal zone along the coast of Changhua Fangyuan, in the  past, the fishermen waved their hand whip, driving the ox cart to the sea, plowing  the fields and carrying them home. These oxen went to the sea to help carry oysters,  so they were called “Sea Ox”. Moreover, this “Sea Ox Farming  Field” has had a long history of more than 100 years. It is difficult to find  such a “farming method” throughout the world, so the human landscape  constructed by the ox cart and the farmer become a precious fishing village cultural  asset. This method also attracted interviews and reports from domestic and foreign  media such as the British National Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), and transforms  into a new highlight for cultural tourism. In June 2016, the “Fangyuan  intertidal zone with ox cart oyster harvesting culture” in the “Sea OX  Farming Field”, passed through the review of the Changhua County Government  Review Committee, and becomed an officially registered national intangible cultural  heritage.

What’s more, in the Wanli, Jinshan and Shimen areas on the north coast of  Taiwan, a tradition of the sulfuric fire fishing or lighting fishing method is  preserved, which lasted from the era of the Japanese occupation. The sulfuric fire  fishing works by adding water to ore and creating an explosion after lighting it up.  While the sea surface is burning, the fishermen disturb the fish and trap those  phototaxis Squid. While waiting for the fish to jump up, other crew members will  pick up the fork net and dredge up the fish. This kind of fishing method requires  skills, experience and teamwork to carry out every step through ignition, guidance,  and fishnet collection. Unfortunately, this kind of fishing technique with low  energy consumption, low pollution and less stress on the marine environment and  ecological environment, has gradually been replaced by modern advanced fisheries.  Until recently, this unique and special traditional fishing method has been paid  attention due to news reports, and becomes a hot spot in cultural tourism. In  September 2015, “Jinshan sulfuric fire fishing” passed the review of  the New Taipei City Cultural Review Committee and was officially registered as an  intangible cultural asset of the New Taipei City.

Cultural heritage is an accumulative generational cultural tradition created by the  human community and its living environment, natural interaction and historical  conditions for living. Therefore, it is necessary to preserve the value and context  of cultural assets through detailed investigation and research, basic data filing,  and regular tracking of records. The purpose of preservation and conservation of  cultural heritage is not only to care for places with cultural values, such as their  structures, materials and cultural significance but also to educate the present and  future generations about past things and the culture of ancestors to make them  understand the context of cultural identity. Moreover, the cultural heritage is  retained as substantial evidence to prove the continuity between the past, the  present and the future (Fu, 2009). Therefore,  logging in and setting up various types of landscape or seascape reserves are  necessary. However, managing these reserves is not focused on nature conservation  itself, but on guiding human processes so that the region and its resources can be  properly protected and effectively managed. Furthermore, make it possible to develop  environmental and cultural values that interact directly with humans in a  sustainable manner (Liu, 2008; Phillips, 2002) Therefore, the central  governing authority should continue to cooperate with local governments to jointly  preserve and maintain nationwide cultural assets. However, due to the failure to  join the UN organization, it is impossible for those assets to apply for and log in  the list of the World Heritage of UNESCO. In order to promote the preservation and  conservation of cultural heritage, the Council for Cultural Affairs, Executive Yuan  began to select 12 potential world heritage sites in Taiwan in 2002 based on the  UNESCO’s World Heritage Assessment Guidelines and added 5 potential sites in  2009. By the end of 2010, the number of potential world heritage sites in Taiwan  have been adjusted to 18, including six sites related to marine cultural assets:  “Kinmen Battlefield Culture”, “Matsu Battlefield  Culture”, “Fort San Domingo and Surrounding Historical Buildings,  Tamsui”, “Penghu Columnar Basalt Nature Reserve”,  “Penghu Stone Fish Weirs” and “Orchid Island and The Tao (Yami)  tribe”.

Since cultural assets are the activities and traces left by human beings in the  living space for the sake of survival, they are provided with not only the identity  and the sense of belonging of the group but also the value of inheritance and  innovation. Therefore, its universality deserves attention and preservation.  Moreover, the notion of regard culture as a heritage or hereditary property is  gradually formed, as Ashworth (1997) puts it:  “‘cultural heritage’ focuses on the contemporary significance  of historical inheritance, and the interpretation and practice of ‘cultural  heritage’ differs in different periods, which suggests that the decision made  according to contemporary values will affect the generation of ‘cultural  heritage.’” “Cultural heritage” is now regarded as a  medium for “adapting ancient forms for present-day use” and has even  become a product that can be consumed. The concept of “heritage  industry” and cultural industry that gradually emerged in the 1980s in  Western Europe is adapting the “past” for current use and even making  it a “commodity” (Cai, 2014) The flourishing development of the  cultural industry is due to two main reasons. One is pressure, including some of  monopolistic capitalism and some of the local culture loss led by homogeneity and  standardization of globalization, which makes the localists emphasize on local  cultural protection, re-pursue the local identity, and value the local Uniqueness  (Adorno and Horkhemier, 1979) The other  reason is that due to the re-organization by the government around the world, the  concept of enterprise management has changed the spirit of cultural and artistic  policies from the original “subsidy” to “investment” and  promoted economic resurgence and urban renaissance (McGuigan, 2001; Liu, 2004).  Especially in recent years, due to the rapid development of the globalization and  the population of cultural tourism, the cultural heritage or cultural industry  related to local tradition, festival and production activities is gradually favored.  This kind of activity that emphasizes the regional life and the spiritual  connotation of the value not only protects the local production but also highlights  the charm of cultural output value and attracts tourists to “come to a place  on account of its reputation.”

Therefore, many countries have turned cultural heritage into cultural industries and  combined it with cultural tourism as an important part of resurging the local  economic development. For instance, cultural assets combined with tourism marketing  have brought about economic benefits and created symbolic values and brands to most  European cities. Harvey (1990) clearly pointed  out that the inheritance of historical artifacts and the reuse of historical sites  are an economic force, that is, one of the fastest growing industries and wealth  resources. Therefore, the development of the cultural industry is not only the  reproduction of cultural products but also a new strategy for local wealth creation,  which directly or indirectly affects the development of the region. Thus, in  addition to the preservation of cultural heritage, thinking about how to activate  and reuse can promote its sustainable development. When a monument or historical  building is refurbished, if it is a temple or a building still in use, it can  usually be used as it is. If it is originally abandoned or is going to be  repurposed, it should be planned for reuse. Usually, before the restoration, the  future purposes should be taken into consideration during the planning. Reuse is the  most important purpose of restoration, only when these historical sites are endowed  with new values can it be a meaningful restoration. Therefore, many “cultural  and creative parks” in Taiwan, such as Taipei’s Songshan and Huashan  Cultural and Creative Parks, are constructions that are of outdated industries, or  those that have stopped production or operation. The government has designated these  sites as historical sites to activate and reuse. By repackaging them with the  concept of “new wine in old bottle”, it provides opportunities for the  local people to experience cultural and creative consumption, participate in various  exhibition activities and promote cultural aesthetic education. This also provides a  platform for research and development and cooperation in cultural and creative  industry. Therefore, the primary task of the preservation and promotion of  Taiwan’s marine heritage is to thoroughly understand, investigate and  rediscover the tangible and intangible cultural assets of unique marine features in  various regions, and log them into the list of heritage protections. These assets  should be preserved, activated or reused according to relevant laws and policies in  order to ensure the sustainable development of important marine natural and cultural  heritage. This is to avoid regret and for Taiwan to pass down and flourish the  marine civilization and create brilliance.

In order to successfully maintain the sustainability of ocean heritage, the specific  actions and strategies done by the Ministry of Culture, Taiwan, can be summarized as  follows: First, “Inheritance Education of Ocean Heritage”: to promote  and implement the marine education and marine culture connotation together with the  Ministry of Education in the education system. In addition to cultivating marine  professionals through tertiary institutions and building more detailed and complete  capabilities of research and investigation and system, marine knowledge should be  coordinated and combined with the education and daily life in primary and secondary  schools, museums of marine science and technology, museums of marine biology and  aquarium and private marine museums to enhance the public’s understanding of  marine culture and become veritable citizens of the maritime country. Second,  “Social Participation in Marine Heritage”: Through public  participation, diverse equality, public-private partnerships and so on to gather  people to explore the content of marine heritage, brainstorm, coordinate and  cooperate to formulate marine heritage policies and ensure the preservation is  carried out effectively. Third, the “Support System for Ocean  Heritage”: Through the transformation of the cultural industry and the  promotion of marine tourism, the development of marine heritage has been improved  and comprehensively supported. Since the concept proposed in “International  Tourism Charter” that cultural tourism can make contribution to the  preservation of cultural assets. Countries around the world have adopted strategies  to market cultural assets. To preserve the traditional space for reuse and revive  the local economy, the local governments in the coastal areas hope to construct  local charm, and promote the development of tourism and economic industries by  preserving and creating marine cultural heritage. Therefore, while prospecting the  future, the government must view valuable marine heritage in a comprehensive way,  that is, no longer delimiting the meaning and value of one heritage by a single  coastal landscape, historic building or religious activity. The relevant behaviors  and environments that human preserved for living should be taken into consideration  in a macroscopic and overall way. Managing and preserving the marine heritage in  this way can lead to the positive development of comprehensiveness and  persistence

Cultural assets include tangible and intangible ones, which embody the  “uniqueness”, “authenticity” and  “locality” of ethnic groups, regional traditions and aesthetics of  life. Being irreplaceable, they are the cornerstones of the current and future  development of civil society. As an island surrounded by sea, Taiwan has bred  abundant tangible and intangible precious marine heritage due to its geographical  location and the process of historical development. Thus, in order to pursue the  wonderful diversity of culture, continue to exert local creativity and enhance the  well-being of the local residents, thinking about how to investigate and discover,  properly preserve, activate and reuse is needed. Since Taiwan has established itself  as a maritime nation, with the advent of the “Knowledge Economy” in  the 21st century, the government and the NGOs should attach more importance to those  assets and add more marine cultural factors. By combining tourism resources and  integrating cultural assets and creative culture, the marine culture industry with  local features can be created. Moreover, exert the soft power and influence of  culture to enhance the charm of tourism in Taiwan can promote the perpetual local  prosperity.