Extended Range Base ReviewComprehensive SSI Diving Training Center, Taiwan's Technical Diving Leader

Xiaoliuqiu boasts exceptional natural resources, offering not only sea turtle encounters but also numerous underwater wreck sites that demand advanced Diving in Xiaoliuqiu skills and professional guidance.

That's why Yanshen Lingyu Base chose Xiaoliuqiu as its home, establishing a comprehensive dive center that combines Diving in Xiaoliuqiu and accommodation. They offer courses in both recreational and technical Diving in Xiaoliuqiu, providing extensive resources in instruction and equipment for those eager to explore the deep sea.

Yanshen Lingyu Base is located in Xiaoliuqiu's Yufu Village, just a five-minute drive from Baishawei Ferry Terminal. This spacious, two-story detached villa offers a wide range of amenities.

Beyond fully customized scuba Diving in Xiaoliuqiu instruction, the venue also provides various accommodation options, including double, triple, and quad suites, as well as backpacker rooms.

Whether you're arriving at Xiaoliuqiu Baishawai Ferry Terminal from Donggang, Pingtung, or at Xiaoliuqiu Dafu Fishing Harbor from Yanpu Port, Pingtung, Yanshen Lingyu Base will confirm your ferry schedule before departure and pick you up punctually at the pier.

If you've reserved scooter rental, the thoughtful instructors will have the scooters waiting at the pier for your arrival. They'll hand over the scooters as soon as you disembark, then transport your luggage by car to Yanshen Lingyu Base for storage.

Perched on a small hill, this standalone villa is the brainchild of owner Huang Sankuang, who personally oversaw every detail from exterior design to interior planning. Sankuang’s vision was to create a home-like atmosphere, ensuring every guest who comes to Yanshen Lingyu Base feels at ease and can relax as if it were their own private sanctuary.

The rooms continue the industrial design theme, accented with blue walls that evoke the ocean. The comfortable rest areas allow you to recharge before your dive, and after Diving in Xiaoliuqiu, you can head straight upstairs to wash up once your gear is clean—it's incredibly convenient!

The lobby's soaring design, with its exposed brick walls, industrial-style staircase, and warm wooden floors, immediately catches the eye. The comfortable space is bathed in natural light, a clear testament to Yanshen Lingyu Base's thoughtful design.

The spacious public lounge features a large dining table and a bar. Several beanbag chairs are scattered on the floor for guests to relax on, and the bright, clean, and comfortable environment makes guests feel right at home.

The black, stand-alone villa, built with steel frames and tongue-and-groove panels, is both minimalist and elegant. The outdoor seating on the terrace is perfect for stargazing at night or enjoying a relaxed conversation.

Behind the Yanshen Lingyu Base is the equipment area, where four rinse stations offer powerful hot water and clean towels, a thoughtful touch for divers to dry off immediately after shedding their gear.

If you're here to get your Diving in Xiaoliuqiu certification, you won't need to worry about accommodation, because Yanshen Lingyu Base is also a guesthouse. The certification fee includes lodging and transportation, so you can head straight back to the guesthouse to wash up after your dives. It's a complete, all-in-one service that saves you time and effort, allowing you to focus entirely on learning to dive!

Yanshen Lingyu Base's Diving in Xiaoliuqiu certification courses use the SSI International Scuba Schools system, making it Xiaoliuqiu's first SSI-certified venue. In recent years, SSI has prioritized environmental protection by going completely paperless. All academic materials, certifications, and dive logs are managed through their app, which is incredibly convenient for students, allowing them to review course material anytime.

The SSI teaching system differs from AIDA in its assessment standards and instructor system. SSI diving certifications are issued by the dive venue rather than individual instructors, which allows for better oversight of student progress and ensures you gain solid diving skills!

Yanshen Lingyu Base specializes in technical Diving in Xiaoliuqiu, offering comprehensive instructors and courses for divers to refine their skills.

Depending on the course, classes are kept small, with a 1:2 or 1:3 instructor-to-student ratio, ensuring that every participant looking to improve their diving technique receives personalized attention.

Yanshen Lingyu Base also serves as a coach development center, boasting professional instructor trainers. It's one of the few venues in Taiwan with full expertise in both recreational and technical Diving in Xiaoliuqiu. If you're looking to advance your skills and become a diving instructor, this is an excellent place to learn and grow into a top-tier professional within a well-resourced environment.

The AOWD course at Yanshen Lingyu Base is quite unique. Unlike other systems that offer five specialties with only one dive per specialty, resulting in just an AOWD certification upon completion, Yanshen Lingyu Base takes a different approach.

Their AOWD course focuses on four specialties, but students can choose which ones they want to master. Each specialty is a complete course, requiring at least three days and two nights to complete 7-8 dives.

If all goes well, you can earn five certifications at once: four specialty certifications and the AOWD certification. It's a truly comprehensive and rigorous training program.

Diving in Xiaoliuqiu with Yanshen Lingyu Base takes about 2 to 2.5 hours, with actual underwater time lasting 40 minutes. An instructor provides one-on-one guidance, reaching a maximum depth of 12 meters. Anyone aged ten or older without specific medical conditions can participate, even non-swimmers, to enjoy seeing sea turtles and clownfish.

Yanshen Lingyu Base is fully equipped to meet the needs of divers at all levels, offering scuba gear rental, sales, maintenance, and servicing for back-mounted and side-mounted twin tanks. They even provide more specialized equipment like CCRs and DPV thrusters, along with custom gas blending services.

After you sign up for the Yanshen Lingyu Base scuba certification course, the owner will give you a brand-new pair of dedicated booties and two Fun Dive shore diving vouchers—all you have to do is like and follow the Yanshen Lingyu Base Facebook fan page.

The best part is that these vouchers can also be used at their sister venue in Taipei, DIVIN’IN, and both locations share instructor resources, so you don't have to worry about adapting to a new instructor! This is a huge benefit for students in central and northern Taiwan, and I'm looking forward to exploring the underwater world of the Northeast Coast soon.

Unlike most dive venues that only offer recreational Diving in Xiaoliuqiu courses and fun dives, Yanshen Lingyu Base provides Trimix technical instruction for a variety of SSI Extended Range courses. This makes it an exceptional choice for students eager to delve deeper into technical diving.

Yanshen Lingyu Base offers a wide variety of technical Diving in Xiaoliuqiu courses, including SSI Extended Range Foundations, SSI Extended Range Nitrox Diving, SSI Extended Range Trimix, SSI Extended Range Sidemount, SSI Hypoxic Trimix, SSI CCR Diving, and SSI CCR Extended Range Trimix. All these courses are taught one-on-one, ensuring that every student looking to enhance their diving skills receives comprehensive attention.

The instructor for the Yanshen Lingyu Base technical Diving in Xiaoliuqiu course is the owner, Sankuang, who holds a record for Diving in Xiaoliuqiu to a depth of 101 meters. He is also Taiwan's only rEvo CCR (closed-circuit rebreather) instructor.

Instructor Sankuang can teach students to dive to a maximum depth of 45 meters in the rEvo CCR course, and up to 60 meters in the twin-tank course, making him one of Taiwan's elite instructors.

Yanshen Lingyu Base prioritizes student safety, whether for a brief introductory Diving in Xiaoliuqiu experience or a four-day, three-night OWD certification course. Before entering the water, all participants must sign marine activity insurance documents, and instructors meticulously review all safety precautions in the classroom. Since verbal communication is impossible underwater, hand signals are crucial, and a short quiz after the lesson ensures everyone has mastered them, demonstrating a rigorous commitment to safety. For those taking the OWD course, the first day is dedicated to a full day of academic instruction, reviewing physiology, equalization, and dive physics, supplemented with real-world case studies to ensure comprehensive understanding.

After the briefing, the instructor will lead you to the equipment area, where all the heavy Diving in Xiaoliuqiu gear is already assembled. Your focus will be on learning the function of each component, practicing how to put on your mask, breathe through the regulator, equalize ear pressure, and clear water. Once you're comfortable with these steps, you'll change into lighter gear like a wetsuit, vest, and booties.

Once you reach the shore, the instructor helps you don the 20-kilogram diving gear, then you walk into the water along the shore. When the water reaches your waist, the instructor reviews hand signals and basic movements to ensure you're comfortable with them underwater before the official descent.

During the descent, the instructor used hand signals to remind us to equalize our ears at every meter, patiently waiting for an "OK" signal before continuing. They held our hands throughout the slow descent, allowing us to relax our bodies and minds and simply enjoy the underwater world.

Not only will you swim alongside sea turtles, but you'll also spot clownfish darting through coral reefs, making this Diving in Xiaoliuqiu experience truly unforgettable thanks to its rich marine ecosystem.

On the second morning of the OWD course, the instructor first teaches students how to assemble heavy Diving in Xiaoliuqiu gear, from the tank, BCD, regulator, first stage, and second stage, to weights and secondary checks — all must be mastered. Then, the entire day is spent on confined water training in the pool. Owner San Kuang insists that beginners must first build a solid foundation in the pool because the waves at the shore are strong, and it's difficult for beginners to get solid practice if they have to overcome both the waves and learn the movements simultaneously.

On the third day, you'll officially go Diving in Xiaoliuqiu. Your instructor will first lead you to shallower waters to review the previous day's lessons, including equipment adjustment, diving techniques, scenario simulations, and troubleshooting. Once you've mastered these, you'll gradually move into deeper waters.

Over two days, I completed four dives, reaching a maximum depth of 18 meters. Beyond applying the knowledge and skills learned in class, I also encountered several unique shipwrecks in Xiaoliuqiu, making for an unforgettable experience, much like being in an adventure movie.

The written exam took place on the afternoon of the fourth day, and thanks to the intensive training over the past few days, all students passed with flying colors, earning high praise from the instructors for their Diving in Xiaoliuqiu skills. After meeting both the academic and practical requirements, Yanshen Lingyu Base officially issued the OWD certification via the SSI app, concluding the four-day, three-night certification journey. With this, students can confidently plan their future fun dives around the world.