Xiamen & Gulangyu

After spending two days in Kinmen, we are off to Xiamen for a three day visit, mostly because of Gulangyu. I read about that little island a few years ago, and have been wanting to see it in person. But first, we must take the fast cat across from Kinmen which takes an hour.



Xiamen is a city of about 4 million people, a nice city but nevertheless crowded and air quality is surprisingly poor for a coastal city.

Shopping and street browsing at night on Zhongshan road, similar to Nanjing Road in Shanghai.

Xiamen zoo: watch the very beginning of the video again..yes, the horses were mating, caught on camera!

Xiamen zoo has a safari, with tigers, lions, and brown bears. We have never seen animals so close and we were a bit nervous, especially with the bears just inches away, face to face.

Frankie took a ride on a horse, a first for her.....

Next day, we went to Gulangyu, a very small island only 10 minute ferry ride from Xiamen city. Perhaps my expectations were too high, but this once island paradise has fallen victim to commercialism just like most Chinese cities have in recent years. Tacky tourists rip offs, over priced restaurants, admission to every thing including pay toilets, and worst of all, dirty streets littered with cigarette buttes, spits, and unrecyclable garbage.

Nevertheless, we saw some beautiful heritage western architecture, and had lunch twice at a bistro which served the most fantastic pasta dishes and tiramisu to die for.

A very nice beach on Gulangyu.....

Back to Kinmen and a visit to small Kinmen island.

After two days on Gulangyu and a day in Xiamen city, we headed back to Kinmen.

A typical Kinmen village which has all of the characteristics of a typical Fujian style homestead from hundreds of years ago. Earliest recorded inhabitants arrived here in the Tang dynasty about 1600 years ago.

More Kinmen landmarks........

Best dumblings right here in Kinmen!

Where's the beef? Kinmen raises its own cattles, free range style. Although a little chewy and very lean, its not gamey like Aussie beef. Yes, chewy and lean beef is perfect for making beef jerky and Kinmen beef jerky with Sorghum liquor (高梁酒) is one nice treat.

Kinmen is also known for its knives. But a tiny island like this, where would all the steel come from? Apparently, there were over one million mortars dumped on the island by the communists during a twenty year period when Kinmen island was bombarded on a daily basis as Red China tried hard to invade Taiwan but failed obviously; anyways, some very smart folks in Kinmen began salvaging the steel from these shells and made knives and cleavers. To this day, there are still thousands upon thousands of unexploded bombs on the island and the steel industry has a long way to go.......Yes, some areas of Kinmen are roped off with warning signs of landmines......Naturally, with so many soldiers and civilians killed in fierce battles, there are abundant ghost stories.

From small Kinmen, we can see Xiamen city clearly. We hired a cab and toured the whole island in less than a day. Cost was $35 US. With Chinese new year just days away, we picked the perfect time to visit as we were the only tourists everywhere we went. Apparently the busy season starts a few days after the new year begins as most Chinese are too busy with their families before and during the new year celebrations. Good to know.

If you are interested to see more about Kinmen, here is a good video shot by a couple of fellows:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MevF6pR93gg&feature=player_embedded#

Winter vacation - Kinmen and Xiamen

Frankie began her three week winter holiday and we will enjoy winter vacation together.
First, we go to Rebecca's father's birth place, Kinmen, which is an island off the coast of Fujian, mainland China. She has many relatives here, and it is an hour plane ride from Taipei.

We spent our first night at a local B&B which is a 150 year old traditional house, just like those we see in the movies.

Kinmen was and still is a special military base and it is Taiwan's frontier holding off the communists from invading the Taiwan islands. It was only about 15 years ago that Kinmen revoked its martial law and civilians were allowed on and off the tiny island at their own free will.

We drove by a vegetable field......Kinmen, like most Taiwan islands are agricutural.

Known for its 廣東粥, we had some at breakfast. Very good.

Here we visit Rebecca's grandmother's school which is now a tourist attraction.

Beautiful ancient buildings all over the island, with historical importance scarred by evidence of pirateship and wars. Due to the fact that Kinmen was off limits to the outside world until recently, tourism is still at its developing stage while Taiwanese government has begun a slow and painful process of restoration. In due time, Kinmen will undoubtly become a major tourist destination with its incredible history, strategic location between the reds and the blues, its gentle and friendly people, and its unique character carved from years of war weariness and yet showing very little of mental scars by its citizens.

Rebecca's uncle showed us more ancient homes which are now under restoration, and destined to become more B&Bs, which are leased to private operators.

Next stop is Kinmen national park........

Kinmen has many tunnels, built originally for military purposes, and now stops for sightseers.

Fresh oysters! We passed by an elderly woman in one of the villages as she was shucking fresh oysters by the hundreds, getting ready for Chinese new year in a few days. She told us to eat as much as we wanted! Even Frankie decided to try one and they were delicious. These oysters grow among the rocks just off the oceanside and they are quite small but succulent.

Here you see a war tunnel and it was eerie walking thru it. Finally we saw the light at the end of the tunnel..........

Our new home in Hualien, finally!

After a few months of interior decorating, our new home is finally ready.
We moved in on 12/31, just in time for the new year.

It has three floors plus a basement, with a total space of 250 sq meters, or 2800 sq ft.

Downstairs is our media room, which doubles as a guest suite.

First floor is living room, kitchen and dining room.

Second floor is master bedroom and office.

Third floor is Frankie's room and library.

We have our first guests today visiting from Victoria, staying with us for a few days.

We welcome all of you (not at the same time please) to come visit and stay with us, soon.