Taiwan’s Fujian Province

Flying to Kinmen

I woke early again at 0500, continued to lay down a bit before tidying up and having breakfast at 0730. I was out the door at 0750 for the metro to Songshan Airport. I’m bound for Kinmen where one of my great-grandfathers originated from.

Before planning this trip, I thought Taiwan consisted of the “breakaway province of Taiwan”. But in my readings, I learnt that it also includes two small part of Fujian province that’s not included as part of Communist China, namely Kinmen and Matsu islands.

Commuting at peak hours, it was interesting seeing people queue at the station for the escalators rather than just merging into it. I got to the airport within 30 minutes, meaning I had over 2 hours till departure.

The kiosks were only set-up in Mandarin and I think only locals can use them (perhaps they have to put their identity card in). There was no queue for the counter and I was done in seconds, and headed airside to wait.

Songshan is an old airport but very well-maintained and pleasant. It wasn’t very busy despite any flights, perhaps because people come just-in-time for their flight without waiting for long. Interestingly, they also operate a unified standby system between the three domestic airlines back on the landside.

My flight was called in Mandarin, Hokkien and English while others were only in Mandarin. We headed out by foot to the plane nearby for an ontime departure to Kinmen (Jinmeng). Hot and cold drinks were served on the 1h20 flight.

Chua (Chai) Village

Upon arrival, I took a 15min taxi for TWD300 (NZD15) to Grace Homestay in Shuitou village. It was a delightful old Chinese mansion. My room had a bedroom, living room and bathroom all separate! Pictures at the end of this post.

The people running the place were helpful and chatty, offering me lots of information. I mentioned that my great-grandfather was from the island with the surname Chua. I showed him the information that my cousin Ping had given me and she told me that she was headed there in the afternoon and could give me a ride!

We set off at 1400 on a 20 minute ride to Qionglin, the village that my great-grandfather was from. It is the ancestral home of people with the surname Chua (also pronounced as Chai in Mandarin).

I had a wander around the old homes in the area. It was very pretty. The next bus back to Kincheng was in about 15 minutes. I toyed with the idea of hopping on it as the sights were “more of the same”. The one after would be an hour later. I thought I should stay and explore more since I have come such a long way for this.

There were more lovely homes and more shrines and temples. I visited a small museum dedicated to a famous Chai who had made it big in Singapore. Finally, I visited the underground tunnel which took me across to the edge of town.

I exited back to ground level to a Wind Lion (a monument to protect the village against strong winds which hampers agriculture) and waited for the bus back to Kincheng.

: Scenes around Qionglin. Homemade meesua noodles drying in the sun.

: Scenes around Qionglin. Homemade meesua noodles drying in the sun.

: Scenes around Qionglin.

: Scenes around Qionglin. Zhongyi Temple.

: Scenes around Qionglin. Temple.

: Scenes around Qionglin. Chai clan ancestral hall.

: Beautifully decorated temple doors.

: Not all mansions are in a good state.

: Temple roof.

: Inside a temple.

: Beautifully decorated temple doors.

: Scenes around Qionglin.

: Underground tunnel as it was a defence area being so close to China.

Exploring Kincheng

Back in Kincheng (Jincheng in Mandarin) around 1600, I did a big walk of the old town and saw everything of interest. I grabbed a simple dinner of fried noodles before taking another bus back to my homestay. A realisation here (and also back in Taipei), is that cash is still used a lot for a relatively developed country. As a visitor, I haven’t got a MRT/bus tap-and-go card, so I’m always making sure I have small change (going to the extent of buying something to ensure I have change). Whereas in some other countries, I avoid buying things so I don’t end up with change!

: Buddhist temple in Kincheng.

: Kuei Pavilion, for the worship of the god of literature

: Buddhist temple in Kincheng.

: Inside the Buddhist temple.

: Inside the Buddhist temple. Countless illuminated Buddhas.

: Mofan Street, built in 1924 in the then fashionable westernised Japanese style.

: Nice cafes.

: Another temple.

: Yet another temple.

: Evening sun on decorated wall and roof.

: The old and the new behind it.

: Old home with Western influence.

: Nanmen Matsu Temple, to the patroness of the sea.

: Nanmen Matsu Temple, to the patroness of the sea.

: At the Nanmen Matsu Temple, to the patroness of the sea. Someone tells me the sedan chair is for the deity of the temple.

My homestay

In Kinmen, I stayed at the very delightful Grace Homestay in Shuitou Village. I’ll let the pictures of the property and location speak for themselves.

: Shuitou has the largest collection of grand mansions. Some are built on a fusion western style by returnees from South East Asia who have made it big there.

: Shuitou has the largest collection of grand mansions. Some are built on a fusion western style by returnees from South East Asia who have made it big there.