Matsu

Introducing Matsu

If you’re looking for an ‘off the beaten path’ experience, look no further; you can’t get much farther from Taiwan on an ROC visa than here. Matsu (Mǎzǔ) lies directly off the coast of mainland China’s Fujian province, and its people – though nominally schooled in Mandarin – speak a dialect mostly unintelligible to speakers of Taiwanese. And politically, though Matsu is a part of the ROC (with a serious troop presence to prove it), most Matsu folk identify with their kin across the narrow Straits separating them; people who, for over a generation, they could only watch through binoculars.

Matsu, like Kinmen, still retains much of its feel as a place perpetually on the military defensive. However, while both are still considered military posts, we find the Matsu vibe a bit more martial; for one thing, half the people you run into on Matsu are in uniform. For another, while Kinmen has a number of fine war museums, you’re unlikely to be serenaded by live-ammo drilling, a regular occurrence on Matsu (and on that note, mind where you wander there!).

Last updated: Feb 17, 2009