An Edifying Wander Through Historic Villages
TEXT / AMI BARNES
PHOTOS / RAY CHANG, VISION
Well over a millennium of settlement and decades of military conflict in the 20th century, have endowed Kinmen – Taiwan’s largest outlying island – with a unique blended culture and a landscape where battle scars coexist alongside quiet villages full of exquisite traditional architecture. Just an hour’s flight from Taipei, Kinmen presents travelers with an unconventional and unforgettable getaway.
Shuitou
One of the first things you notice upon arriving in Kinmen is the wealth of historic buildings. The archipelago’s architectural blend is strikingly different from that of Taiwan proper – southern Fujian-style dwellings in varying states of polishedness are ten a penny, and scattered among them are buildings bearing clear European influences. Nicknamed yanglou or “Western-style houses,” these structures are testament to the complex interplay of economic needs, political currents, and personal aspirations that once swirled around the Fujianese coastline.
The village of Shuitou is a good starting point for those interested in getting a basic primer on the whats, whys, and hows of the islands’ architectural heritage. It is home to buildings that exemplify the range of Kinmen architecture, as well as a museum that offers insight into how – at the turn of the twentieth century – this region ended up so awash with money that the locals were all competing to build grand mansions.
Deyue Tower and Huang Huihuang Mansion
Deyue Tower and Huang Huihuang Mansion are two of Shuitou’s more striking structures. They were built in the early 1930s to the specifications of Huang Huihuang, a Kinmen businessman who amassed his wealth in Indonesia. The tower was both a deterrent and defense against bands of pirates that plied the region’s waters, but far from being purely utilitarian, its protective design was augmented with aesthetic appeal – note the decorative (and nationalistic) moldings framing its embrasures, and lintels shaped like draped ribbonry.
A tunnel connecting the tower to the main house and a row of decoy half-houses immediately behind the tower were intended to give the Huang family time to flee in the event of a raid. Even the fake houses are pretty, but Huang’s mansion takes the concept of decorative construction up a notch or two. Wherever you look, the two-story brick-and-stone structure reveals some new detail to catch your eye. Banks of majolica tiles flank the main entrance, the brickwork is embellished with propitious seal script characters, and depictions of elephants and other symbolic totems adorn the cornice, while the interior living spaces are punctuated by skywells.
Deyue Tower
(得月樓)
Tel: (082) 321-103
Add: No. 45, Qianshuitou, Jincheng Township, Kinmen County
(金門縣金城鎮前水頭45號)
Hours: 8:30am~5pm
Admission: Free
Overseas Chinese Cultural Exhibition Hall
Nearby, in the Overseas Chinese Cultural Exhibition Hall, you’ll learn that Huang’s life trajectory was not a million miles away from that of his contemporaries. After the First Opium War ended in defeat for China, the Port of Xiamen – Kinmen’s nearest large port – was opened to foreign trade, precipitating a wave of emigration from the region. Much of the Kinmen diaspora found labor in Southeast Asian colonies of European foreign powers, and over time, some parlayed their areas of expertise into positions of higher standing and started sending remittances back home.
This inflow of money meant families of those who worked overseas were better off than their neighbors. And when the adventurers returned to Kinmen – flush with cash and possessing a newfound taste for the flourishes of colonial architecture – they had no aversion to displaying their newfound riches by constructing elaborately embellished houses. It was this that drove the small explosion in yanglou buildings in the 1920s and 1930s.
The museum’s bilingual displays explain that a good yanglou incorporated a range of design elements borrowed from the European colonial architecture playbook. Verandas were popular – styled on the “five-foot way” covered walkways seen in Singapore and Malaysia. Columns were commonplace, and intricate pediment ornamentation allowed craftspeople to really show off their skills. Design motifs from both East and West were liberally incorporated, meaning that dreamy cherubs rub shoulders with Asian dragons, while shields and lions rampant join lotus flowers and carp.
Overseas Chinese Culture Exhibition Hall
(僑鄉文化展示館)
Tel: (082) 313-281
Add: No. 39, Qianshuitou, Jincheng Township, Kinmen County
(金門縣金城鎮前水頭39號)
Hours: 8:30am~5pm
Admission: Free
Places to Stay
Many of Kinmen’s historic buildings have been carefully renovated and put into service as homestays and B&Bs. In mainland Taiwan, there are few places where you can stay in a century-old dwelling, but on Kinmen, you have multiple quality options in almost every village.
Shuitou Guyanglou Homestay
During a recent visit, Travel in Taiwan had the pleasure of staying in one such historied building, Shuitou Guyanglou Homestay. The property is a southern Fujian-style courtyard home nestled within the settlement of Shuitou – just a 2min walk away from Deyue Tower. As mentioned earlier, Shuitou has a reputation for being home to a spectacular blend of Fujian and Western-influenced architecture. Indeed, a pithy local saying holds that “even all the riches in the world can’t buy you a house as fine as those in Shuitou,” and Shuitou Guyanglou Homestay is something of a compilation of all the village’s best bits.
The front door sits in the center of a single-story brick and stone building topped with characteristic swallowtail eaves. In the daytime, the heavy wooden doors stand open, with just a thigh-high gate across to deter members of the public from wandering in, and to either side of the doorway, the most exquisite array of majolica tiles is displayed in symmetrical arrangement. Such tiling – considered an indicator of wealth and sophisticated style – was a common feature of houses throughout Kinmen, but you’d be hard-pressed to find another building bestowed with such a well-preserved bounty of glaze work. In fact, Guyanglou’s veritable garden of floral and other nature-inspired geometric designs is so admired that the building has been nicknamed “Kinmen’s Tile Museum.”
Stand back a little further and you’ll notice the gable end of an outer wing, and behind that a compact two-story yanglou complete with a balcony framed by elegant brickwork columns and arches. This latter area is maintained for use by homestay staff, while the largest suite (accommodating up to six) is found in the side wing. There are also two more twin rooms, located on either side of the main entrance.
The rooms are sparsely furnished with decoration kept to a minimum, allowing the masterful simplicity of the warm terracotta tiles, white walls, and earth-tone woodwork to stand out. Luckily, simplicity does not preclude comfort – I enjoyed some of the soundest sleep that I’ve had in months, roused only by the exuberant chirruping of the dawn chorus.
In addition to the bedrooms, there are a couple of communal spaces where guests can relax and recuperate following long days spent exploring. A table stands in the central courtyard, which is attached to a small but functional kitchen – perfect for anyone who fancies rustling up a homestyle breakfast (the nearest supermarket is about a 10min drive away) or spending one’s evening stargazing accompanied by a glass of the finest local fire water, Kinmen Kaoliang (a sorghum spirit). There’s also a larger indoor seating area in the rear hall, where gods and ancestral tablets preside over a collection of books on the region’s flora, fauna, and other sights.
Shuitou Guyanglou Homestay
(水頭古洋樓花磚民宿)
Add: No. 4, Qianshuitou, Jincheng Township, Kinmen County
(金門縣金城鎮前水頭4號)
FB: www.facebook.com/guyanglou
IG: www.instagram.com/guyanglou
For guests who prefer a more secluded getaway, the neighboring Kinmenhouse Villa No. 7 would be a good choice. Located just across the way from the main building of Shuitou Guyanglou Homestay, this separated annex comes complete with its own kitchenette and can comfortably accommodate a family with its combination of single beds and tatami-style sleeping areas.
Kinmenhouse Villa No. 7
(水頭舒宅)
Tel: 0933-318-498
Add: No. 7, Qianshuitou, Jincheng Township, Kinmen County
(金門縣金城鎮前水頭7號)
Guided Tours
Five kilometers due north of Jincheng, Kinmen’s largest settlement, is Guningtou – a part of Jinning Township encompassing the villages of Nanshan, Beishan, and Lincuo.
For much of its 800-year history of habitation, the area’s residents lived simply, in sync with the rhythms of tides and weather as they farmed rice, harvested salt, and cultivated oysters. This peace was shattered in October 1949 when the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) launched an ill-fated attempt to seize Kinmen from Republic of China (ROC) Nationalist forces – making Guningtou the only place on ROC soil to have witnessed the deaths of soldiers from both sides. More recently, it has achieved further renown for an unlikely Instagram hotspot – Beishan Broadcasting Wall, a townhouse-sized wall of speakers and a weapon of psychological warfare used for blasting pop songs and anti-Communist propaganda across the waters to the other side.
One way to comfortably see this area’s highlights is by hopping aboard one of the twice-daily Guningtou Electromobile Tours departing from the Guningtou Electromobile Tour Service Center. The tours take in sites illuminating the area’s military significance as well as locations with cultural or ecological interest (booking required).
Cultural stops include two protective talismans, the Beishan Wind Lion and Shuiwei Pagoda, as well as Guandi Temple – all of which are clustered around Shuangli Lake. At one time, this lake was more of a lagoon. Boats could sail through – what is now – Lake Ci to dock in Guningtou, and where Guandi Temple sits today there was an earlier temple iteration perched atop a sandbar and accessible only at low tide. The two low-rising hills flanking the lagoon’s innermost tip seemed to twist towards the temple in a manner that made poetic-minded locals think of twin carps reaching to greet a pearl – giving rise to the name Shuangli Lake (literally, “two carp lake”).
The e-vehicle tour also pauses at the nearby Shuangli Wetland Nature Center. The upper floor of this split-level facility includes introductions to the region’s geology, changing landscape, and birdlife (top billing goes to the charmingly be-mohawked hoopoes), while downstairs are displays devoted to intertidal ecology, horseshoe crabs, and the island county’s beloved Eurasian otter population (see page 31). Another of the tour’s stops bearing ecological interest is the Beishan Seawall, outside which the majority of Kinmen’s oysters are reared. At low tide, forests of granite posts poke out of the exposed mud against the distant backdrop of Xiamen’s innumerable skyscrapers, tended to by oyster farmers for generations.
The remainder of the tour stops are locations with military import. There’s the aforementioned Beishan Broadcasting Wall and the Guningtou Battle Museum, where large-scale oil paintings recount scenes from the frontline. But by far the most viscerally impressive of these tourist stops is the Beishan Western-style House.
Beishan Western-style House
This intriguing structure presents different faces depending on which side you look at. From the main road, it’s an attractive – if dilapidated – example of yanglou architecture, but venture down the village lane on the left side and you’ll find it abuts a renovated southern Fujian-style house – now housing a backpacker hostel.
During the Battle of Guningtou, PLA fighters who survived the first night after reaching the shore pushed inland, taking cover among the coastal settlements. Without reinforcements, the troops’ rapidly exhausted rations and ammunition supplies sealed their defeat. Most were captured or killed, but those holed up in today’s Beishan Western-style House refused to surrender despite the vicious onslaught of gunfire. The siege ended in the suicide of the PLA soldiers and left pockmarks tattooed across the exterior white-plaster walls – a ghoulish sight that invites you to probe the wounds, both literally and figuratively, as you imagine the terror that once darkened this now peaceful village.
Beishan Western Style House Backpacker Inn
(古洋樓背包客棧)
Add: No. 46-5, Beishan, Guning Village, Jinning Township, Kinmen County
(金門縣金寧鄉古寧村北山46-5號)
Guningtou Electromobile Tours
古寧頭電瓶車遊程
Departures: 8:30am, 2:20pm
Duration: 90min
Max. number of passengers: 13
Ticket: NT$250
Reservation hotline: (082) 321-721
Website: kinmen.travel/en/discover/tour/44
Cruises around Kinmen With boats departing twice daily from Shuitou Pier outside the town of Jincheng, the county seat, Sunrise Cruises offers travelers the chance to sail around Kinmen in comfort. The 90min sailings pass by several of its smaller, uninhabited isles where military installations and slogans dot rocky foreshores. Passengers opting for the late-afternoon departure can watch the city of Xiamen, along the China coast, shimmy into its twinkling evening garb. kinmen.travel/zh-tw/discover/tour/661 (Chinese)
Central Jincheng
The historic core of Jincheng – Kinmen’s main town – is a roughly 2km-square wedge that’s encircled by Minquan/Minzu/Minsheng roads and home to an impressive assortment of monuments. Tight, winding lanes and densely packed sights make the area ideal for navigating on foot, with a morning or afternoon giving ample time for thorough exploration.
Chastity Arch for Qiu Liang-gong’s Mother
The route we took started from the beating heart of any town – its morning market. Scooters slalomed their way between vendors and pedestrians while breakfasters devoured steaming bowls of Guangdong congee, seemingly oblivious to both the noise and heat. Swept along by the flow, we soon found ourselves standing before the Chastity Arch for Qiu Liang-gong’s Mother.
The finely carved stone structure was commissioned in 1812 by military officer Qiu Liang-gong. Qiu’s father died a month after his birth, but rather than seeking the swift financial safety net of remarriage, his mother honored her marriage vows by remaining single and raising Qiu alone. Women of that era had few avenues through which to support themselves (and fewer still that would see their deeds commemorated in stone), so the fact that she raised him not just adequately but well enough to support his ascension through the military ranks was no mean feat. In modern parlance, you could say this is a tribute to a devoted single mother’s hard work and loving care.
It’s worth pausing to enjoy the archway’s intricate stonework. In particular, of the eight guardian lions, note the lone lioness painted jade green. She is said to be the queen of Kinmen’s wind lions, and the street’s appreciative market vendors ensure her incense is kept lit.
Kinmen Military Headquarters of the Qing Dynasty
On our way further through the twisting lanes to find Wudao City God Temple, we passed the Kinmen Military Headquarters of the Qing Dynasty. If you’re attending the free evening walking tour of old Houpu (the old name of Jincheng; www.kinmen.travel/en/discover/tour/43; tours are held in Chinese), this sprawling structure is where you’ll begin your excursion. A little further northwest, on Juguang Road, is the Houpu 16 Arts Zone. Quietly shuttered in the morning sun, this spot wakes in the afternoons and evenings as the bars and restaurants draw in a lively crowd.
Wudao City God Temple
City God (or Chenghuang) temples are typically found in places that were historically significant loci of power, and they tend to have busy interiors staffed with all the celestial bureaucrats that a community needs to oil the workings of daily life. Jincheng’s Wudao City God Temple is no exception, but it’s the temple’s annual festivities that have earned it a mention in Taiwan’s list of the Top 100 Religious Scenes (taiwangods.moi.gov.tw). The Chenghuang Festival in Kinmen kicks off on the 26th day of the third lunar month with cash offerings from parents seeking protection for their children. Over the following days, donations are sought, neighboring gods are formally invited, and children rehearse their parts in preparation for the grand procession on the 12th day of the fourth lunar month. The parade files around the historic town gates and is famed for its photogenic performances, such as the “centipede troupe,” in which dozens of youngsters – dressed as characters from Chinese legend and lore – are borne aloft on wooden carts.
Wu Jiang Academy
Wu Jiang Academy was the penultimate stop of our self-led walking tour, before heading to Mofan Street for some shopping. As the name suggests, it was built as an educational facility for the people of Jincheng. The interior’s simple decorations evince studious solemnity – an atmosphere upheld by the statue of Song dynasty scholar-official Zhu Xi gazing beatifically over rows of desks and plaques attesting to local scholars who got into the world’s top universities.
Souvenir Shopping
Mofan Street
If you’re looking for souvenirs from your Kinmen journey, you’ll want to head over to Mofan Street. The two-story arcade buildings along this street were built by a consortium of local business owners in 1924, and feature broad brickwork arches fronting a covered walkway of the style popular in Southeast Asian colonial architecture. Here, behind the plant-fronted columns, you’ll find vendors selling all the region’s top specialties.
Tianyi Tribute Candy
For easy-to-transport, snackable souvenirs, you can’t do much better than Kinmen’s tribute candy. Made by combining ground peanuts and maltose, the bite-sized candies have a light sweetness and a crumbly texture similar to a peanutty shortbread. Tianyi Tribute Candy – located towards the north end of Mofan Street – sells several variations on the theme, and visitors can sample the wares before choosing their preferred sweets. Those without such a sweet tooth can peruse the store’s other offerings, such as flavorful Kinmen-grown peanuts or kaoliang-infused beef jerky.
Chuen Shin Kaoliang Handmade Cake
Situated directly opposite Tianyi Tribute Candy, Chuen Shin Kaoliang Handmade Cake is famed for producing a Taiwan foodie souvenir staple – egg rolls. These flaky, cylindrical treats are generally made using eggs, wheat flour, and sugar, but this store has replaced some of the regular flour with sorghum flour (sorghum being the grass from which Kinmen’s famous kaoliang is made). Packs of various flavors – coffee, matcha, strawberry, and more – can be purchased to take home, but just be aware that these are not the sturdiest of confections and will need to be carefully packed in your hand luggage. While you’re there, be sure to treat yourself to the store’s most popular item, a jumbo egg roll filled with kaoliang ice cream. A light note of the notoriously strong liquor is detectable, balanced out by the sweetness of the egg roll it’s encased within.
Jin Yong Li Steel Knives
Finally, no discussion of Kinmen’s souvenirs would be complete without mentioning Jin Yong Li Steel Knives. The company embodies a Kinmen twist on the adage “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade” – that is, when history gives you a surplus of spent artillery shells, make great big knives. I’ll concede that this doesn’t have the same charmingly upbeat sentiment of the original saying, but it’s certainly an ingenious way of repurposing the hundreds of thousands of artillery rounds that fell on the island. (For context, during the August 23 Artillery Bombardment in 1958, and in the six weeks that followed, 470,000 or so shells were thought to have fallen on Kinmen.) The company operates two premises in the town center. In the modern, brightly lit store on Mofan Street, display cases glint with everything from pocket knives to massive cleavers, while in the original premises – just a short distance from the Chastity Arch for Qiu Liang-gong’s Mother – you can see rows of shell casings lined up and waiting to begin their new lives as high-end kitchenware.
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