Kinmen

Kinmen (金門 Kim-mn̂g in Minnan, Jīnmén in Mandarin, literal meaning "golden gate", also known as Quemoy) is a county comprising a number of outlying islands near the People's Republic of China (PRC) but controlled by the Taiwan-based Republic of China (ROC) government.

All the islands of Kinmen county are within just a few kilometers of Mainland China, with the Xiamen city skyline clearly visible in the distance from many areas. Despite, and because of, its status as the front line in the semi-dormant China-Taiwan conflict, Kinmen is highly tourist-oriented, with the main themes being military history, historic architecture, and its signature gaoliang (kaoliang) grain alcohol.

About a quarter of the county, including inhabited areas, is covered by various units of Kinmen National Park, which is largely concerned with preserving historic architecture and former military sites, as well as natural areas.

Understand
The main islands in the county are Greater Kinmen and Lesser Kinmen (Lieyu/Liehyu). Administratively, Kinmen is split into six townships, four of which are on Greater Kinmen. Another has Lesser Kinmen plus its neighbouring small islands, and the sixth is a couple of more remote small islands that aren't open to visitors. The islands are largely rural, made up of a mix of small towns, farmland, and historical sites.

The economy of Kinmen is now based mostly on tourism and the famous Kaoliang liquor (高粱酒). Dried meat from Kinmen is also sold on Taiwan.

Kinmen and Matsu remain sensitive areas and both the PRC and the ROC maintain substantial military forces in the area. Travellers should exercise caution, avoid political discussions, and avoid photographing military installations or even pieces of infrastructure (bridges, dams, etc.) which might be military targets.

Although administered by the Taiwanese government, Kinmen and Matsu are officially considered to be parts of Fujian province, not of Taiwan, by both the PRC and ROC governments. Unlike the main island of Taiwan, they were never colonized by Japan (except for an 8-year occupation related to World War II), instead being governed by the Qing dynasty, and then the Mainland-based Republic of China, during Taiwan's Japanese period.

Local residents often identify as "Kinmenese" or "Chinese" and not "Taiwanese". Politically, Kinmen is a KMT stronghold, with most residents being firmly opposed to formal Taiwan independence. The DPP has made inroads among the younger generation, but most of these Kinmenese end up permanently settling in Taiwan and never go back to Kinmen.

History
In 1949, the Communists won the Chinese civil war, defeating the Nationalists (Kuomintang) who had governed (most of) China from the 1911 revolution until 1949. Since then, there has been a Communist government in most of China (the People's Republic of China or PRC) while the Nationalists held onto Taiwan, which is still officially called the Republic of China or ROC.

The islands of Kinmen and Matsu are near the Chinese coast &mdash; Kinmen is about 10 km (under 6.5 miles) from Xiamen &mdash; but held by the Taiwan-based ROC. They are symbolically important, and strategically as well, and were often actively fought over from 1949 into the 1970s. The "Artillery Battle of 823" (part of the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis) was one of the key battles that kept the PRC from invading Taiwan. It involved artillery bombardment of Kinmen and Matsu, beginning on August 23 (8-23) 1958.

Relations between the two governments improved greatly in the early 2000s; there is extensive Taiwanese investment in China, and until 2020 (due to both the COVID-19 pandemic and escalating tensions) travel in both directions was much easier than before, with Mainland China becoming biggest source of tourism to Kinmen.

Talk
As in Taiwan proper, most residents throughout Kinmen county speak fluent (if accented) Mandarin, even if it's not the language they prefer to speak with their friends and family. Few people speak English, especially outside of tourist areas, but the level of English is perhaps slightly better than in rural Mainland China.

The local language in most of the county is Minnan (aka Hokkien or "Taiwanese"). Due to its different history, the Kinmen variety of Minnan generally lacks the Japanese loan words that are ubiquitous in the varieties in Taiwan proper, and is instead perceived as being most similar to that of the Xiamen suburb of Tong'an in mainland China. However, Minnan speakers from Taiwan, Xiamen, and Kinmen can all generally understand each other.

In the remote outlying Wuqiu islands, the local language is Puxian Min, which is not mutually intelligible with Minnan.

By ferry
There are ferries from Xiamen in mainland China to on the main Kinmen island, and the link is open to foreigners. Boats are NT$750 (as of June 2013) from Shuitou to Xiamen and ¥155 from Xiamen (Wǔ tōng mǎ tóu 五通码头, Oct 2016) to Shuitou and run once an hour between 08:30 and 19:00 in each direction. There is also a ferry from Quanzhou, but it allows only Chinese and Taiwanese passengers. The ferry from Xiamen Wutong terminal to Shuitou runs every 30 min from 08:00 until 17:30.

There are no public ferries to Kinmen from Taiwan or any other islands under the Taiwan government's control. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, it was possible to take a ferry from Taiwan to Xiamen (in Mainland China), then take the Xiamen-Kinmen ferry to get to Kinmen. This assumes that you have a visa or visa-free entry eligibility for both China and Taiwan.

Since Kinmen is under Taiwanese control, going there from mainland China counts as an exit. Thus, holders of single-entry visas cannot do short trips to from Xiamen to Kinmen and return. So make sure to clarify your visa situation before hopping on a ferry!

If you are arriving by ferry, the ferry terminal has a tourist information desk that can help find you an inn. There are also money exchange counters, but they will only exchange RMB to NT$; they will not exchange other currencies.

There is also an ATM just outside the ferry terminal (cross the road) that accepts Visa and Mastercard. A UnionPay ATM is in the departure area, where you also find a stall to change RMB to NT$.

At the tourist services counters besides Joane Ranch Restaurant, you can rent portable WiFi (NT$250 per day) or get an unlimited data SIM Card (starting from NT$400 for 5 days). Cash only, no cards.

Orientation
Greater Kinmen island is "butterfly-shaped" with each of its four administrative townships roughly corresponding to one of the four "wings" of the butterfly. It's the largest of Taiwan's outlying islands, and extremely dense with tourist sites. If you're at all interested in military history or historic Chinese architecture, expect to spend at least a few days looking around. It's probably not practical to see "everything", but if you're determined to try, give yourself at least a week.

The western, northern, and eastern sides of Kinmen all face Mainland China, with only the southern side open the larger Taiwan Strait. The airport is located in the middle of the big island's southern coast, while the main urban center, Jincheng (previously spelled "Kincheng"), is tucked into the curve of the west coast. Smaller towns and villages are scattered all around the island. There's no "ring road" around Greater Kinmen island - getting between sites is done by switching between major roads in the island's interior and smaller loops and spurs around the coastal areas (as well as messily criss-crossed farm roads and tangled village allies).

Lesser Kinmen, also known as Lieyu Township, is just southwest of Greater Kinmen and easily reached from the big island by frequent ferries. It's comparable in size to each of the big island's four townships. Though the major roads are in the island's interior, there's something like a (narrow) ring road circling the island, along which most of the tourist sites are located.

There are many smaller islets scattered around the vicinity of Great and Lesser Kinmen, which are mostly occupied by the military. The two largest, Dadan and Erdan (not to be confused with Dadeng, which is claimed by Kinmen County but controlled by Mainland China), are farther southwest from Lesser Kinmen, and sometimes open to tourists.

The Wuqiu islands, also governed as part of Kinmen County, are far to the north off a different part of China's coast, and though inhabited, are controlled by the military and not accessible to outsiders.

By taxi
There are taxis on the island, though you need pretty good Mandarin or Minnan skills to negotiate a rate with the driver. They are also concentrated mostly in the city center, so you can't count on finding one just anywhere. If you can speak Mandarin or Minnan, most of the drivers are quite friendly, so one shouldn't worry about bargaining super hard. Most of them aren't looking to rip you off.

Taxis from the Shuitou wharf to Jincheng city's downtown are NT$250 flat rate, and roughly NT$200 to return to the wharf.

There are a few buses that run around, but they are not frequent and bus stops aren't particularly convenient.

Your own vehicle
Roads in Kinmen are all paved, there are good maps at every village and in every hotel, and navigation apps are mostly accurate. Official road signs are written in both Chinese and English, and are fairly well-placed, but the road network is very extensive and haphazardly laid out, so expect to miss some turns and have to reroute or backtrack. As of July 2022, there also seem to be a lot of road closures that mapping apps don't know about. Some of the "roads" on the mapping apps look more like bicycle paths in real life, but there don't seem to be any strict rules about which vehicles can go where, and locals would presume that scooters (at the very least) are allowed to use them. Beware of high winds, which can strike any time of the year.

By scooter
It's easiest to just rent your own scooter. Your accommodations may be able to arrange this for you, or you can get a 150 cc for about NT$550 per 24 hours at a rental shop. There's one in the airport. There is also a rental place in downtown Jincheng near the northern entrance to Mofan St (模範街). Just as in Taiwan proper, it's illegal to ride a scooter without a scooter or motorcycle license.

Though locals who know the way and aren't interested in stopping anywhere can ride a scooter from one corner of Greater Jinmen island to the opposite corner in about half an hour, expect your travel times to be much longer. Set aside lots of extra time for missed turns, closed roads, and especially for unplanned stops for interesting scenery and attractions. If you're at all interested in military history or historic Chinese architecture, expect getting from one end of the island to the other to end up taking you most of the day.

By bicycle
There are a number of public "K Bike" automated bicycle rental stations (similar to Youbike 1.0 in Taiwan), which are free for the first hour.

Previous visitors said there were bicycles free to borrow for the day at various key locations, such as Zhaishan Tunnel, Jinshui Primary School (金水國小) in Shuitou, the Shuangli Wetlands Area close to Guningtou Battle Museum, Siwei Tunnel on Little Jinmen, as well as various other locations, but it's uncertain whether this is still the case. These rental stations would keep your passport until you return the bicycle, so you would need to be aware of when each rental station closes.

Little Jinmen is particularly great for bike riding as there is a bike path more or less ringing the perimeter of the island (with sections closed as of July 2022), connecting most of the important sights. Greater Jinmen is rather large, and inexperienced cyclists may find the distances to be very intimidating, especially in the extreme heat of the summer or during windy weather (which can happen any time of the year), so plan accordingly.

By boat
Ferries are the only public transportation connecting Greater Kinmen and Lesser Kinmen (Lieyu) islands, at least until the long-delayed Kinmen Bridge is completed.

The ferry leaves every half hour from Shuitou Pier on Greater Jinmen during the day, and takes about 10-15 minutes to cross. As of July 2022, the fare as NT$60 per person plus NT$100 per scooter, each way. Note that scooter space is more limited than passenger space, so bringing a scooter may make you more likely to miss one boat and have to wait for the next one. Tickets can be purchased with cash in the office, but most people use their EasyCard (the same card used on the Taipei Metro and many public transit systems in Taiwan). iPass cards are also accepted, but unlike the EasyCard, you can't add value to them at the ticket office. The boarding process is a bit of a mess - if you're told to park your scooter to the side and wait, get off and stand in line in front of the EasyCard reader machines to avoid losing your place.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, it was possible to book a public boat from Lesser Kinmen to the Dadan and Erdan islets to the southwest, but as of July 2022 these seem to still be suspended. Due to landings on the islets being sensitive to tidal and weather conditions, we're told that it was necessary to book the boats a week in advance, with cancellations still common in prior to departure.

By bus
Kinmen has a bus service specifically for tourists. Day tickets are NT$200 and include bus rides and guided tours at all destinations (Chinese only). Departure is from the bus station in Kincheng at 08:30 and 13:30. Public buses also go to all parts of the island, including the major sites, the ferry terminal and the airport (red 1 line, 紅一). Buses 7/7A/7B run from the Shuitou Pier, to Shuitou, and finally to Kincheng. Buses 9/10/11 go to the northwest part of the island, particularly the Shuangli Wetland Area and Guningtou Battle Museum. Bus fares are NT$12 or NT$24 for long distances (such as from Kincheng to the eastern half of Kinmen). For Little Kinmen, the fare is NT$10. Understand that buses can be rather infrequent and many do not run late. Also, the bus drivers will skip a station if there is no one waiting there, so press the "get off" button when you want to get off. Kincheng has a major bus station with buses to many parts of the island and also has a very useful tourist office.
 * Line A (morning): to Juguang Tower (莒光樓) and several sites in Shuitou, including traditional architecture, houses by returnees from Southeast Asia (including a Peranakan house) and the Zhaishan tunnels (翟山坑道) an underground navy installation.
 * Line B (afternoon): to Guning, north of Kincheng, to several museums and sites related to military history and the battle of 1949 in particular, and a wildlife museum.
 * Lines C and D start from Shanwai in the east of the island.

See

 * The Wind Lion Gods of Kinmen are unique statues all over the island, you can either see the originals in the villages (this can take some patience and hunting skills) or just go to the new Wind Lion God Park near the ShangYi Airport. They began as simple stones placed at the northeast corners of settlements to ward off evil coming in with the winter seasonal winds. Over time, they developed into brightly-decorated, and slightly humorous, individual lion statues. One of the later trends is to wrap them in red cloth shawls to give them protection from the cold winds.
 * "Republic of China" patriotism nostalgia. All around the island are monuments and giant red inscriptions (in Chinese) containing patriotic slogans, mostly from past decades all oriented around pride in the Nationalists' "Republic of China" as the rightful government of all China, rather than in any separate country of "Taiwan". These may be hard to appreciate if you don't read Chinese though.

Culture and architecture
One of Kinmen's calling cards is its high density of preserved, and often beautifully-restored, historic houses and community temples. These historic buildings (古厝) are a mix of traditional Fujianese styles (with notable differences from Taiwan, such as "saddle"-shaped roofs) and 100-year-old Western-inspired architecture (洋樓) imported by Chinese emigrants returning from European colonies in Southeast Asia. You can find them everywhere, including in downtown Jincheng, but the outer villages (聚落) are much more striking, with large concentrations of restored (or sometimes ruined) old houses and family shrines in the village centers. If you travel around the main island off of the main artery roads, you're sure to run into some of these villages. Many of the old houses are still occupied by families, while others are abandoned, a handful are small museums, and many more have been converted into tourist accomodations (民宿).



Temples
Temples can be found everywhere on Kinmen and Little Kinmen, many of which are very tiny and quaint. They tend to be similar to the ones found in Taiwan, but often with even more spectacular swallowtail roof decorations. Besides the conventional temples dedicated to various Daoist/Buddhist/Chinese folk deities, many of the larger historic "houses" in the outer villages are actually family ancestral shrines.

Nature
Though less famous for nature, Kinmen still has a fair bit of it. The two most proud features are its county bird, the fan-headed Eurasian Hoopoe (rare in Taiwan), which most birdwatchers will be able to find while there, and the Eurasian River Otter, which is also absent from Taiwan proper. You'll have to get really lucky to see a wild otter, but they and the hoopoes are all over the county's tourist souvenirs.
 * The Forest Recreation Area, located along Section3, Huandao East Road, is a multi-purpose area for barbecues, a child playground, botanical gardens, and more.
 * During the winter, flocks of migratory birds come to Kinmen and Little Kinmen to nest. They can be seen and heard at the many lakes and ponds on the islands. The Shuangli Wetlands Area is a good place for information and birdwatching. It's in Nanshan village, very close to Beishan and Guningtou Battle Museum and not too far from Zi Lake (Ci Lake). Buses 9, 10 and 11 go there.
 * Strolling along any of the beaches is quite peaceful and there are two bonus attractions to be seen: crumbling military fortifications and views of Xiamen, especially from the western shore of Little Kinmen or the northwestern shore of Kinmen.



Do

 * Beaches and water sports. In the hot summer months, tourists and locals flock to the Kinmen's beaches, either to play or to dig for clams. One of the major destinations is Oucuo Beach (歐厝沙灘) in the southwest, a huge, wide-open beach of soft, warm-brown sand. There are lots of areas for kids to play in the sand or shallow pools of water, at least during low tide. At low tide you can also see the rusted-out remains of a scrapped battle tank half buried in the sand a ways to the west of the main beach access. Swim at your own risk. Much of Kinmen's coastline is restricted, with no water activities allowed, so check before getting in the water at other sites. Some water sports may be available from tourism operators, such as standup paddleboard (SUP) or windsurfing. There are also swimming competitions in the ocean during the summer.
 * Birdwatching: Birders from Taiwan come to Kinmen to see bird species that are rare in Taiwan proper but common in Mainland China. Besides the county mascot Eurasian Hoopoe, other specialties include Blue-tailed Bee-eaters in the summer, Great Cormorants in the winter, and Pied and White-throated Kingfishers year-round. For beginners, a fun thing to note is that Kinmen's myna birds (visible everywhere) are all indigenous Crested Mynas, while in Taiwan this species has been almost entirely replaced with introduced Javan Myna's and Common Mynas.
 * If you can find all 63 "official" wind lion god statues, the ones that are represented in the park, and present proof to the park office, they will give you a special gift (as of July 2022, there are now over 100 of then on the official map, and we didn't check whether there's still a prize.

Buy
Cleavers are Kinmen's best-known tourist product. They are famous for making excellent quality cleavers; the steel is said to be obtained from the hundreds of thousands of shells that the Communist forces fired at Kinmen, in a failed attempt to take the island away from the Nationalist troops. The most authentic knives and the best place for a factory tour is Maestro Wu's Knives.

It is claimed that a single shell casing can make approximately 60 blades; this is doubtful. Also doubtful is the claim that current blades are made from shell casings, since shelling stopped in the late 1970s.

Finishing quality for cleavers has dropped a lot since the mid-1990s. Even for Maestro Wu's Knife's top selling special-designed cleavers, the words "Made in Kinmen" are barely visible and/or badly engraved. Salespersons were taught to toe the line that "its because the steel's quality is so good that the engraving machine cannot carve the words properly". This is a bad sales tactic and a sorry excuse for a once famous knife brand that was built on quality.

Eat
While Kinmen lacks the high price fancy fare of more populated locales, cheap delicious snack shops are everywhere in the downtown area of Kincheng. Taiwanese favorites such as fried chicken cutlets, fried oyster balls and chow mein can be found without much trouble. Prices average around NT$50 per item which is quite reasonable considering the quality.

Drink
Kinmen is the home Kaoliang liquor (高粱酒), a tequila-like hard liquor that popular all over Taiwan and widely considered to be its national liquor. The factory is located right in the middle of the island, not far from the airport and is hard to miss with its distinctive smell and two two-story liquor bottles guarding the front gates. This is one of the upmarket brands of the widespread Chinese liquor bai jiu, and is often served to visiting foreign dignitaries at state banquets; see Chinese cuisine for background.



Sleep
Prices for stays in Kinmen start from about $600 per person per night in the summer high season. Most of the accomodations are minsu (民宿), something in between a B&B and a small, independent hotel (often misleadingly labeled "homestays"). Many of the mid-range and upper-range ones are located inside beautifully-restored historic houses in Kinmen's outer villages.
 * Visit Kinmen Guest House is a traditional Kinmen old house restored by Kinmen National Park in Shanhou Village, the north east side. Visit Kinmen Guest House provides a place where travelers can stay with a relaxed atmosphere after exploring the beautiful scenery of Kinmen. The guest house has three double rooms for two people and one family room with twin bed that is good for group of four people, rates from NT$1400–2400. Please find us on web for further information.
 * Visit Kinmen Guest House is a traditional Kinmen old house restored by Kinmen National Park in Shanhou Village, the north east side. Visit Kinmen Guest House provides a place where travelers can stay with a relaxed atmosphere after exploring the beautiful scenery of Kinmen. The guest house has three double rooms for two people and one family room with twin bed that is good for group of four people, rates from NT$1400–2400. Please find us on web for further information.

Stay safe
Though formal hostilities with the PRC ended by the early 1980s, Kinmen is still very much a front line area. Visitors are strongly advised not to wander off paved roads when exploring the island due to the possibility of running across old unmarked minefields. It is also advisable to avoid traveling to certain sensitive areas after dark, such as coastal areas or areas near military installations. Visitors should also obey all orders given by military personnel and avoid entering or photographing sensitive areas.

Respect
Most Kinmenese identify as "Kinmense" or "Chinese" rather than "Taiwanese". As such, in Kinmen, labelling the locals "Taiwanese" could sometimes cause offense (though as always, there are also many locals who don't mind or who call themselves that). While you are in Kinmen, try not to refer to the Republic of China as a whole as "Taiwan". To be safe, call the country "Republic of China", and use "Taiwan" only to refer to the island of Taiwan. Likewise, call the local dialect "Kinmenese", "Min Nan", or "Quemoy" rather than "Taiwanese".

Political issues, especially Taiwan independence, are best avoided. Although most residents of the island are strongly opposed to Taiwanese independence, that does not mean they support the People's Republic of China government in Beijing; they are proud citizens of the Taiwan-based Republic of China.

Go next
There are two choices; Taiwan is easily reached by plane, and Xiamen in mainland China is accessible by ferry (as of February 2023, may only be taken by Kinmen residents). To go to Xiamen, holders of most passports need to already have a Chinese visa; there is no office to issue them on Kinmen.