Matsu
Qinbi is by far Beigan's most complete traditional village, with its array of interconnected stone homes built on a steep slope, facing the curved bay and…
Must-see attractions in Taiwan Strait Islands
Penghu Islands
Those desert island paradise photos you probably saw on Penghu's promotion brochures and websites were most likely taken at Jibei Sand Tail, a dazzling…
Penghu Islands
This celebrated 17th-century Matsu temple sports high, sweeping swallowtail eaves and a wealth of gorgeous Chaozhou-style woodcarvings, mostly from a 1922…
Matsu
This 700m of sea tunnel took three laborious years to carve out with many soldiers losing their lives in the process. Completed in 1971, it was used as a…
Matsu
Until the start of this century, Beigan's steep eastern peninsula housed a slew of defensive military emplacements. Many have been preserved as part of…
Penghu Islands
This large, family-friendly experience is home to an engrossing collection of living sea life, from a rescued three-legged turtle and magical family of…
Kinmen
Blasted out of solid granite by soldiers in the 1960s, this V-shaped arc of sea tunnels was designed to protect boats from bombs during the war years…
Penghu Islands
Penghu's most photographed icon is a double hoop of stone walls linked to breakwaters in an ocean bay. Built with narrow openings, they were designed to…
Kinmen
Also known as Jiugong Tunnel (九宮坑道), this four-entrance network of wide sea tunnels was blasted out of the gneiss in the 1960s to provide bomb shelters…
Matsu
At a towering 28.8m, this serene 2009 statue is said to be the world's tallest image of the sea goddess Matsu (Mazu). As well as facilitating many a 'See…
Shuitou Village
Built in 1931, this is Kinmen's most famous 'western' building thanks to the 11m-tall gun tower in its yard, erected to ward off (or at least spot)…
Penghu Islands
In the west coast fishing village of Zhongshe, over 130 small, traditional houses survive, most tightly packed in two photogenic huddles. Made of local…
Penghu Islands
Magong's cute if minuscule historic heart is a forked alley of old-style shops directly east of the Tianhou (Matsu) Temple.
Matsu
This colourful temple is considered one of the most sacred spots in Taiwan, featuring as it does the purported grave of Lin Mo-niang (林默娘; b 960) who…
Matsu
Though lacking Qinbi's architectural integrity, Qiaozi (Ciaozai) gains a great deal of charm from its setting, nestled around a rocky harbour with…
Kinmen
For domestic tourists, this is one of Kinmen's top sights due to the pivotal nature of a battle fought here over 56 hours in October 1949. For outsiders,…
Matsu
Barely five minutes by boat from Qiaozi harbour, a two-hour visit to this windswept, uninhabited island is one of Matsu's great joys – but only when the…
Kinmen
This three-storey tower, built in classical Chinese form, is an iconic local landmark that has often featured on Taiwanese stamps. Yet it only dates from…
Kinmen
With a fine setting in a bowl of green slopes, Shanhou is one of the island's prettiest old villages with dozens of classic tile-roofed Fujian homes,…
Penghu Islands
This large modern museum offers an excellent introduction to Penghu's history, culture and changing lifestyles. Memorable features include the explanation…
Kinmen
This stern, 9m statue of Koxinga (鄭成; Zheng Cheng) gazes towards China from a tiny islet connected to the rest of Kinmen by a pedestrian causeway, which…
Kinmen
Yongshi (Warriors') Fort is one of a pair of 1970s military bunkers in Huangtso. Descend through a 200m-long tunnel that now contains a museum about…
Penghu Islands
Penghu's only really 'complete' traditional village, low-slung Erkan oozes charm and is appealingly set on a grassy plateau raised above the sea…
Kinmen
This vertical slab of concrete punched with 48 circular holes looks like a forgotten work of 1970s abstract sculpture set on a very low seaside 'cliff'…
Fengkuei Cave & Youfu Pavilion
Penghu Islands
At the southernmost tip of Fengkuei is Fengkuei Cave, where strong waves create long rectangular spaces under the coastal basalt. When the tide rises,…
Penghu Islands
Come to this relaxing park for one of Magong's most quintessential experiences: watching the gilded sunset colours spreading across the sea, framed by the…
Kinmen
All a-twitter with birdsong, Zhushan is Kinmen's traditional village core, chock-a-block with low-rise, tile-roofed homesteads built in archetypal Fujian…
Kinmen
By day it looks a little over-gentrified, but at night the junction of Juguang and Zhongxing roads is one of Kincheng's most atmospheric corners. The so…
South Penghu Marine National Park
Penghu Islands
Comprises a series of small but beautiful islets and sea stacks between Wang'an and Chimei, plus over 35,000 hectares of surrounding waters. The four…
Kinmen
Considered Kinmen's finest 'western-style' residence, this 1921 two-storey villa features stone arcade balconies from which you gaze down through parkland…
Matsu
Jinsha is Nangan's most attractive old village. Its central core is a series of tile-roofed stone buildings – many now B&Bs – forming a tight-knit unit…
Kinmen
Kinmen's famous super-sharp knives are still fashioned from bomb casings at a display workshop at the back of this stylish Banglin boutique. Each shell…
Military Brothel Exhibition Hall
Kinmen
This museum examines the rarely mentioned subject of officially-sanctioned prostitution to entertain military personnel. Euphemistically known as a …
Kinmen Qing Dynasty Military HQ
Kinmen
The oldest surviving Qing government building in Taiwan, this three-courtyard structure doubles as a passably interesting museum explaining Kinmen's place…
Memorial Arch to Qiu Liang-Kung's Mother
Kinmen
Kinmen's only national-level heritage site, this 1812 carved arch across Juguang Rd was built from Fujian granite and bluestone by a Kinmen native who had…
Kinmen
This charming little street is lined with attractive shops behind brick-arched facades dating back to 1924.
Kinmen
Peaking at 253m, Taiwu is less a mountain than an attractive hill ridge that forms Kinmen's east–west backbone. Knobbly patches of beige rock show through…
Matsu
Most of the information is in Chinese, but if you're visiting Matsu outside the summer season, this three-room interactive museum is the only place you'll…
Penghu Islands
The little town of Suogang is dominated by the extraordinary Ziwugong, a gigantic temple topped by a three-storey statue of the Jade Emperor (玉皇太帝; Yù…
August 23 Artillery War Museum
Kinmen
Set in a beautifully peaceful garden of banyan trees, this engrossing bilingual museum documents the horrific 44-day bombardment in 1958 during which…
