randyland

Woo Hoo!!

Back From Kinmen Island. For those of you who don't know, I went on a little sightseeing trip. I was gone for 3 days, and I went to Kinmen Island. It's a Taiwanese Island, but its about 200km from Taiwan and about 2 km from China. So nonetheless it has history....a ton of it, especially war history.
The first thing I found is that it is still very much a military island. From the moment I stepped off the plane until I landed back in Taipei, I was constantly reminded this is a military zone.

So I got to Kinmen around 11 am Sunday morning. My plan of attack was to find a
better map than the one i printed off the Internet. They happen to have a very7 nice Tourist information place in the small airport. I asked if they had a map, and they did, a nice clear one.in English and Chinese. Perfect.
Next I want to rent a scooter. I asked about that , and she said sure and gave me about 6 Chinese papers, all p[laces that will rent scooters. But none near the airport. So I need to take a taxi.

I asked how much it should cost to get there by taxi, she says, you need to negotiate with the driver...but normal is around 100 to 200 NT(CAD $3-7). Hmm OK kind of a big range....

I hop into a taxi and show him the ad for a place to rent a scooter he said OK. I ask how much , he says NT200. I try to negotiate like i was told, and he says, no but he will put on the meter. OK no problem...

We start to drive and he tries to talk to me, but I don't understand a lick of what he's saying...thinking man I thought my Chinese was a little better than that. He motions to look at the paper, And points to the scooter. I say yes, he says this place is no good,. This is where I start to understand what he's saying, I am pretty sure he was speaking Kinmenese...Like Taiwanese, but different. Gees I barely know Chinese, I don't know every dialect ever spoken in Asia....anyways, he switched to Chinese, and we got along. He says the place is no good he will take to his friends place... Sure no problem, It will either be a good deal, or a complete rip off...hopefully I can tell.

So He takes me into the small town of 金城鎮 (Jīnchéng) Or Golden City in English. He brings me to the very centre, and motions for me to get out. Hmm He pops into a building, and rambles off something, and motions for me to come in. I look around and notice the only English I can see on the street is on this building, and luckily it says "Kinmen Hotel".

OK well that's not so bad, English sign and a hotel, but that's not what I was asking for....Fortunately they also rent scooters. So what the heck i ask for the price of a room, also cheap and a scooter is delivered to the Hotel. Nice almost new 125cc. Nice. So for CAD 48 dollars I got a scooter and a hotel for a night. (NT400 or CAD13 scooter, and NT1080 or CAD 35)

So I drop my main pack in the hotel, grab my camera and head out.

I forgot about lunch, and kept going until supper time. I whizzed up the coast and down the coast.
Above the old look out tower is now in the middle of the river due to erosion.

Below: Notice the old anti-landing craft barriers in the water.


I continues along into the hills and came across an old bunker.




I peeked inside,it was small and eerie but the passages inside were blocked beyond the first room. I think it was a work in progress.

On my way back I stopped and admired some of the architecture. They are known for the old Fukien (Fujian) style houses. With the saddle style roofs, and the reddish-pink colored brick walls, they are truly a relic from the past.




Just to add these houses are being used. They are being lived in as normal houses. People were puttering around some kids playing, and some people hanging laundry etc. I tried not to disrupt their lives by intruding too much.

I took a new road and it led me to an artillery museum, and some tunnels.

and finally to some tunnels. This is pure granite, and it was dug out to give cover to troops and supplies that arrive under fire. It was very wide, not humid, but eerie.




Afterwards i traveled back to the beaches further along the island. I thought it was quite considerate that the government add the odd English sign, just to let me know not to go swimming, or poking around too much.




And i couldn't go very far without seeing various bunkers, fortresses, and etc around.


I went back to my Hotel for a nap. Later i went back out to some statues i had seen earlier and thought i might get some pictures at night.



I went back to the hotel with some local food from a bakery, ate it and went to sleep.


DAY 2

I was dreaming that a school of children were let into a giant kitchen and they had taken every pot and pan out of the cupboards, and were making one heck of a racket. Then I woke up to notice i was obviously very close to a temple and it was time for morning celebrations. Still sounded just like the dream but it wasn't school children....and it was only 6 am.

I got up and went down for some free breakfast that was included with the room. It was a torpedo shaped bun but the texture like a croissant with some sweet paste inside. It was fresh, but add to that some warm soy milk scooped from a big ol bag and I was eating local delights.

I left the hotel and decided to find Maestro Wu's shop. Its real name is the Chin Ho Li Steel Knife Factory, but the trademark name is Maestro Wu. I heard about his shop a few years back. He makes high quality knives from old bombs. So after some quick searching I found one shop.



But alas it was his old shop.

But I was told his new shop is nearby. So given directions I went and found it.

His family has been making knives since the Ching Dynasty. During WW2 there was a shortage of steel, so Mr. Wu began collecting artillery shells that had been dropped by the US and allied forces. Later after the August 23, 1958 Artillery Battle with China. The bombing left millions of shells, and abundant source of metal for his trade.

Since I showed up and was alone (no tour bus) and he saw i was eager to take some pictures, he invited me into the shop for a closer look.

He cut a piece of metal out of a bomb, and heated it up in the furnace.
Then he hammered it flat into a shape. Cut a slit on one side and bent it open for a tang.

Then he used the big press to pound it thin and shape the knife.

After forging the steel for a while it began to take shape, and then he moved over to the grinders, to clean and shape the blade.



And showing the basic finished blade. He said from start to finish one blade takes about 2 hours.

Here is his inventory to choose from for raw material.
The best shells to be used are the propaganda ones, which kept coming until 1989. Every so often they would send a shell over from China and it would explode 500 feet up, and rain food stuffs, propaganda, cigarettes, candy etc, kind of just to say we like you come to our side, but we can still shoot you. This game was played for many years.
Ive bought 3. One for in the kitchen, one for a keepsake and a small lock blade for my key chain.

Next i traveled to the far side of the island to the nearest point to China. There is an observation post there where you can checkout the view.

Long underground tunnels to it.


Then eventually you come to the area to spy on China.


With the binoculars it was amazing to be able to see as much detail as you could. Basically you can watch each other watch one another.

This post is still in use. Also close by is an old wall of megaphones used to scream messages at the other side. Big signs saying "One China, Two Systems" was lit up for a number of years. The Chinese government actually complained when Taiwan finally turned it off, because it was drawing tourists to the area in China.

Just in case your wondering how close I was, my cell phone sent me a message saying "WELCOME TO CHINA, PLEASE USE CHINA TELECOM FOR ALL YOUR NEEDS" It automatically switched my carrier to China. Kinda neat I thought.
You know your close to China when.....

Back through the low dark tunnels to the scooter and continue on.

Nearly all of the fields I saw still had anti-landing posts/ barriers up so that you couldn't land a glider or airplane on them.

Bunkers were adapted into peoples homes as an added room. Here is one as part of a barn.




Not all areas were scary and war like. Some places like Tai Lake were very peaceful, with lotus flowers blooming, and birds chirping.

My eyes saw war but my body and mind felt at peace and comfort in this place. It was a very strange experience, but one where I was very aware of everything. The people were very relaxed and laid back. The sights were a mixture of beauty and past wars.

I will never regret that trip.