My Kinmen Trip Diary
by Hsu Kai-en · Oct 2026
Monday, April 14 — I'm writing this in a hotel room in Kinmen. Our class flew here from Taipei this morning, and it only took about an hour. I have visited many places in Taiwan, but I have never been to an island which is so close to China. From the beach, we could see the tall buildings of Xiamen across the water. It felt strange.
Tuesday, April 15 — Today we learned a lot about the island's past. In 1958, Kinmen was hit by hundreds of thousands of bombs in about six weeks. Our guide, Mr. Weng, showed us a long which was dug by soldiers inside a mountain. Boats could hide inside it. It was dark and cold, and our voices echoed off the walls. No one joked around in there. Later we visited a shop which turns old bombs into kitchen knives. The man who works there has made knives for over forty years. It was the most thing I have ever seen.
Wednesday, April 16 — We rode bikes through an old village with red-roofed houses. Some of them are more than a hundred years old. In front of many homes, there were stone lions with funny faces. They are called Wind Lion Gods. Local people pray to them for from strong winds. I bought a small one as a for my grandma.
Thursday, April 17 — Last day. On the plane home, I kept thinking about the tunnel. Kinmen was once a place of , but now it is quiet and . Before this trip, history was just a subject in a textbook to me. Now it has become something real, something I have touched with my own hands.