Horseshoe crabs are one of the most ancient creatures on earth, whose life and death are subtly intertwined with Taiwan’s turbulent history. After 1949 when Nationalists retreated to Taiwan, the coasts of the Kinmen islands were heavily shelled. Barricades were erected, completely blocking the beach to the human population. The horseshoe crabs vigorously prospered. However, as the political tensions gradually thaw, Taiwan’s former enemy has become its strongest trading partner, and the growth of the local economy has badly ruined the ecosystem. Inevitably, the living fossils are now facing a decline.

An urgent call from a local fisherman motivated director HUNG Chun-Hsiu to record this decline. He alludes to a story of a bird filling up the sea, taken from a compilation of Chinese geographical myths, The Classic of Mountains and Seas, to ironize how local government insatiably filled up the sea to build a commercial harbor, exacerbating a modern dilemma over economic development and natural preservation. By the end, the film seems to be asking: what can we do to make a change before it is too late?

DVD source：Taiwan Cinema Toolkit, Ministry of Culture, R.O.C.