Time for the second part of the Overlooked and Isolated series. In the first part, we took a look around the main town of Jincheng and some of the surrounding villages, shrines and monuments. This week, we going to see some more historical features, this time of a military flavor.

August 23 (823) Artillery War Museum on Kinmen, Republic of China ROC (Taiwan).

In 1949, with the defeat on mainland China of Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalists, they fled to Taiwan, managing to also hold the islands of Kinmen, Matsu and Penghu. In the early hours of October 25th, 1949, between 10000 and 20000 Chinese communist troops of the 10 Corps bordered 200 fishing boats for the short crossing to Kinmen. Supported by artillery fire, and using the tactic of human wave attacks, they landed on the beach at Guningtou. Two days of fierce fighting took place before the communist troops were killed, captured or forced to retreat and the nationalists could claim victory. In all, 15 000 lives were lost in 56 hours of fighting.

Military tank covered in overgrown flowers and leaves on Kinmen, Republic of China ROC (Taiwan).

Throughout the 1950s and into the 1960s, Chinese cannons pounded Kinmen with over one million rounds. A later major battle was the 823 artillery barrage in 1958, which lasted 44 days and had the US Air Force preparing for a nuclear strike against the People’s Republic of China.

Bullet and shell holes still mark a ruined building, Kinmen

Abandoned and eroded military bunkers on Kinmen, Republic of China ROC (Taiwan).

In the Kinsha district, on the northeastern edge of Kinmen lies the Mashan Observatory. Although it’s part of an active military base, visitors and tourists are permitted into the fortified observatory where there are powerful telescopes. From here, Xiamen on mainland China is only a couple of kilometers away and you can look through the telescopes at the Chinese coastal town.

Telescopes for spying on China. Mashan Observatory, Kinmen, Taiwan

Military tunnels. Mashan Observatory, Kinmen, Taiwan

Although tensions between Taiwan and China have eased dramatically over the past year or so, Kinmen is still home to a substantial number of soldiers. A lot of these are conscripts serving out their mandatory military terms. Kinmen is not a favored posting, as it is far away from most soldiers hometowns and families.

Taiwanese (ROC) soldiers in a military park, Kinmen

Coastal military bunkers and tunnels on Kinmen, Republic of China ROC (Taiwan).

For the military history buff, Kinmen is a must-visit place. It brings a cold war type feel to it, as it’s still very much on the front lines. The closer relations currently enjoyed between both sides of the strait go somewhat to lessening the chances of another conflict. It’s to be hoped that the two nations can continue to talk and work together and that these military sites remain for the tourist and historian only.