Across the Strait in a Day: Xiamen and Kinmen Showcase a Divided World
Creatrip Team
2 months ago
Xiamen (厦门, Xiamen) in China’s Fujian Province and nearby Kinmen (金門, Jinmen) in Taiwan lie just 6 km apart but feel like different eras and systems. Xiamen is Fujian’s economic hub—an open port since the 19th century and an early economic special zone—known for trade, modern skyline, and the car-free historic isle Gulangyu (鼓浪屿, Gulangyu). Gulangyu, a UNESCO World Heritage site, preserves 19–20th century international architecture, hosts two piano museums (earning it the nickname “Piano Island”), bans cars to protect its heritage, and is a popular, slow-paced walking destination. From Xiamen you can take frequent short ferries to Kinmen, a Taiwanese island with well-preserved historical sites, coastal tunnels like the Zhaishan Tunnels (翟山坑道) built as secret wartime harbors, and wartime relics from the 1958 shelling (the “823 Artillery Bombardment”). Kinmen is also known for its beef dishes and for producing famous Kaoliang (sorghum) liquor; visitors can tour distilleries and taste multiple strengths. The two shores exchange people and commerce—weekenders from Xiamen shop duty-free in Kinmen while Kinmen residents do business in Xiamen—creating a unique, tense-but-tranquil frontier where shared language meets different political systems.
