When you visit Kinmen, everywhere you can see old villages with their houses neatly lined up on a north-south axis. Civilian residences preserving traditional Fujianese architecture form tight little knots. Red tiles, stone walls, and elegant "swallow-tail" roof ridges bounce sunlight off the fresh green fields, creating a leisurely ambience of small-island warmth and security.

But turn another corner and enter Chu-kuang Street in the town of Chincheng, and a completely different picture meets the eye: decrepit old houses, made of earthen red bricks and overgrown with weeds and grass, hung with signs like "Loyalty to the leader, serving the three armed forces" and "Friendship service association for the soldiers of the Republic of China." Also there are several Western-style houses, built in the 1930s with money sent back by Kinmen natives who had emigrated overseas; they likewise are a vision of abandonment and disrepair.

"That's the fate of us Kinmen people," says Tsai Hsien-kuo, a photographer, historian, and writer who has lived his whole life in Kinmen and whose home still has scars from bullets and shrapnel. Standing by the side of the road, fists clenched in agitation, he says: "Every time the fighting has started, civilian homes are immediately taken over for military purposes, and the ordinary people of Kinmen have not been able to do anything but keep their mouths closed and accept it!"

"The strongest desire of the people of Kinmen is that the two sides do not go to war," declares Wu Cheng-tien, a New Party legislator just recently elected to represent Kinmen. Wu, who was born on the day before the 823 artillery duels began in 1958, and has grown up on Kinmen, adds solemnly: "If there are three days of fighting, we will suffer for three years. Kinmen's only hope is that both sides keep the peace."

Bastion of freedom

To be caught between war and peace has long been the destiny of this tiny island, with an area of less than the 150 square kilometers and a current population of only 50,000 or so. Whether as a frontier outpost or defense bastion, as a foothold for pirates or a base for government troops, Kinmen has always known what it is like to be caught up in war. Indeed, its very name is rooted in its fate as a location sacrificed on the altar of strategy.

Because of its importance to the defense of coastal cities Zhangzhou and Xiamen, and as a base for extending control over Taiwan and Penghu, the island was referred to in the Ming dynasty as "an impregnable fortress dominating the gateway to the seas." The word kinmen derives from an expression meaning "impregnable fortress" (kintang) plus the word for "gateway" (men). When the ROC came to Taiwan half a century ago, it posted a huge garrison to defend this island. Since then, numerous battles have been fought with the PRC here, making Kinmen the focal point of the defense of the ROC.

"In the past Kinmen has been seen as a strategic location, so there has been government construction but no private investment, and there are few private-sector employment opportunities," says legislator Wu, who is also deputy county commissioner. Since 1949, economic demand on Kinmen has depended on the garrison, and for a long time there were two soldiers to "feed" every civilian. But in recent years, the size of the garrison has been sharply reduced, and only about 10,000 troops remain. "Now Kinmen must position itself as an economic corridor between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. That's the only way it will be able to survive."

Does Kinmen have a future?

Its not surprising that military history has become a focal point for the development of tourism in Kinmen. Among the main attractions are the Kinmen Battlefield National Park (built at a cost of NT$4.3 billion), the 823 Museum, the Huchingtou Museum, and the three kilometer-long network of tunnels built by the self-defense forces with their own hands, and now open to the public. These all demonstrate that Kinmen certainly has what it takes to develop tourism around this theme.

But people come for many other reasons as well. Strolling through the streets and byways, it is surprising to discover many young women from Taiwan backpacking on their own in Kinmen. Meanwhile, in a pub we encounter two young students from Edinburgh University, who have selected Kinmen as the location for filming a documentary on Taiwan culture and war area literature. And recently, the popular Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki told Taiwan reporters that "if I travel in Taiwan the place I most want to see is Kinmen."

Kinmen has always excited admiration for its well-preserved traditional Fujianese-style rural architecture and its native plant species. Also, "the 'Wind Lion Lord' statues are really fascinating," says a Mr. Wang, a tourist from Taiwan. He adds that what he likes best about Kinmen is that "it's so small you never have to worry that you'll regret any decision, because if you don't like what you see, you can always just turn around, find another lane, and start over."

Both war and peace have left Kinmen with great character that is visible everywhere. But what about the future? What do the people of Kinmen want now? "The older generation is satisfied with stability, but the younger generation is really anxious, and insists on finding some option for development," says writer Tsai Hsien-kuo, revealing: "The most important question now is whether Kinmen should develop toward mainland China or toward Taiwan."

Joint development with Xiamen?

For many residents, Kinmen is much closer to Xiamen-not only geographically but in terms of life patterns-than to Taiwan. Chang Shih-liang, a Kinmen native working in the high-tech sector in Taiwan, feels that development will be problematic unless Kinmen can be linked to Xiamen. "For example, Kinmen's only airport, Shang Yi, cannot really be expanded, because there is not much land and the air traffic control system is not very complete. How much better it would be if people could just hop across the bay to Xiamen and take off from there." Chang says, weighing his words carefully, "As the two sides pursue a political settlement, the people of Kinmen are a critical minority." The fact that the pro-reunification New Party had its only electoral success in Kinmen shows clearly the locals' political orientation.

But many residents do not agree with a development model that would integrate Kinmen into Xiamen. "When you consider that Xiamen is after all the most important city in the southern Fujian region, how could Kinmen be anything other than marginalized by Xiamen?" Lin Tu-lung offers an alternative point of view: "Kinmen must find its own comparative advantages, so that there is commercial interaction between the two locations. That's the only way a 'Kinmen-Xiamen development framework' could succeed." In that case, what are Kinmen's strong points?

Cultural Kinmen

"Although brides from mainland China all say that 'Kinmen is even more backward than the countryside near Xiamen,' they feel on the other hand that life in Kinmen is more free and dignified, so you can see that Kinmen has its advantages," says a confident Wu Cheng-tien. "Kinmen has the strongest finances of any of the 25 cities or counties in the ROC, with public buses and kindergarten free of charge, and a comprehensive system of social services."

Kinmen's biggest asset of all is its culture. Just take a stroll around, and you will see exquisite craft work in the old houses, in the walls, windows, and eaves; feel the way people connect in the lanes and side streets; and witness the simple, slow-paced way of life. It is impossible to not feel relaxed here. Chang Hsiao-feng, an author who has studied the situation in Kinmen in depth, recommends that the Council for Cultural Affairs systematically repair the old houses, open them to writers in residence, and create an arts village. "If writers could live here for extended periods, and write the stories of Kinmen on the spot, this would promote cultural development in Kinmen."

"Historically, Kinmen was in fact a center of learning. But these days there is nothing in literature that conveys the cultural power of Kinmen to the outside world," says author Li Tung, who offers up Nantou's writer-in-residence program as an example for Kinmen to consider.

Wu Cheng-tien responds to such ideas by saying that Kinmen's local leaders do want to use culture to promote development. For example, there were plans to repair and clean up small villages and create bed-and-breakfasts, though these unfortunately ran into problems in practice. He admits that a writer-in-residence program is worth thinking about. Wu points out that the great Song-dynasty Confucian scholar Zhu Xi had an academy in Kinmen, and the artist Li Hsi-chi comes from Kinmen, so there are indeed opportunities for cultural development.

The kaoliang edge

Another thing Kinmen has long been famous for is its fragrant, sweet, yet powerful kaoliang (sorghum) liquor. Revenues from kaoliang have always been critical to Kinmen's economy, and, to meet market demand, in 1997 a second plant was built at the Kinmen distillery. Current products include premium kaoliang (commonly called baijinlong), aged kaoliang, low-alcohol kaoliang, damian liquor, and various medicinal and commemorative brews. All are highly competitive in the marketplace.

"The alcohol market is rooted in long-standing cultural habits," says Mr. Liao, a tourist from Taiwan whose favored tipple is Kinmen liquor. Every March and April Kinmen gets very chilly and foggy, but that's OK: That's just the right weather for a shot of fiery Kinmen liquor to let down your hair and lift your spirits. "Especially when you are thinking about your old girlfriend," says Mr. Chang, partly serious, partly shamefaced. "With the help of some Kinmen kaoliang, you can vent all the frustrations of being a Taiwan man, being restricted, regulated, and oppressed!"

Another of the favorite attractions for visitors is birdwatching. There are many cormorants near the Kinmen distillery and the mouth of the Wuchiang Creek. Nearly 1000 seabirds live around Lake Tsu at Kuningtou and around Lingshui Lake on Little Kinmen Islet. Ornithology expert Li Ming-chih explains: "About 24% of Kinmen's birds are permanent residents, while about 48% are migratory. A lot of them come from Siberia, or spend the winter in Kinmen after breeding north of the Yangtze River."

Birds can fly free across national boundaries, straddling the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. Can Kinmen, a land whose history is so closely tied up with war, also take wing toward a peaceful future?

Kinmen Facts and Figures

Kinmen has an area of 150 square kilometers, and a population of about 55,000. Besides the island of Kinmen itself, the rural township also encompasses 12 smaller nearby islands. Due to political and historical circumstances, Kinmen has long been heavily militarized. But changes in Taiwan's political situation, the passage in 2000 of special regulations for offshore island development, and the opening of the "little three links" between Kinmen and Matsu on one side and the mainland on the other, mark a new starting point in its history. A useful website is: www.kinmen.gov.tw/English/eng.htm

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Kinmen's old residences are famous far and wide, with a "swallow-tail" roof indicating the home of an official. In these homes you can see the fine aesthetic sense of the people of Kinmen.

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(opposite page, top) Kinmen has more than 60 statues of the "wind lion lord," each with its own character, protecting the people and warding off evil.

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Military history is the main focal point of much of Kinmen's tourism development, embodying the ambition to make the transition from militarized bastion

to tourist island.

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Kinmen kitchen knives, made from pieces of artillery shells or shrapnel, are all shaped by hand.

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The Kinmen pottery factory, open to artists from Taiwan, has enriched local culture and the arts.

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There is a huge market for Kinmen's kaoliang (sorghum) alcohol. One sip sends a fire right through your whole body!

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Once a year Kinmen's Chenghuangye (city god) takes an "inspection tour" of the county, and these rural folk come out in force to welcome him. Small town life is really heart-warming.