Kinmen
This professional centre, across little Shuangli Lake from Beihai, has bilingual introductions to the region's flora and fauna, notably the cormorants, egrets and other birds that you can see by walking the trail directly south between a series of shallow dyke-divided ponds.
Don't miss the basement coffee shop: half submerged in the lake, fish swim right up to its windows.
6.05 MILES
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…
4.71 MILES
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…
4.62 MILES
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)…
13.93 MILES
This Buddhist temple complex on the southern side of Xiamen is one of the most famous temples among the Fujianese, and is also considered a pilgrimage…
21.85 MILES
This quirky temple is dedicated to Manichaeism, a religion originating in Persia in the 3rd century, combining elements of Zoroastrian, Christian and…
0.84 MILES
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,…
3.54 MILES
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…
8.46 MILES
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,…
0.27 MILES
Along with equally antique Nanshan (南山; Nánshān), a few hundred metres across Shuangli Lake, Beishan (北山; Běishān) is a settlement that retains a high…
0.84 MILES
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,…
0.9 MILES
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'…
2.88 MILES
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…
2.92 MILES
This handsomely restored walled complex was originally built as a centre of learning in 1780. The two main shrine-like study rooms honour Chu Hsi, a…
3.01 MILES
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…
7. Kincheng Civil Defence Tunnels
3.02 MILES
Claustrophobes beware: Kincheng has 2.6km of wartime tunnels and you can walk 1.2km of them, but they're not much wider or taller than a large man. What…
3.03 MILES
Originally raised in the Qing dynasty, this Taoist delight is all you'd hope for in a fanciful Chinese temple, complete with ornate roof embellishments,…