Chin-men Travel Guide

 
by THLIN
 
  •   Chin-men
    by THLIN
  • Main Street in Shanwai
      Main Street in Shanwai
    by THLIN
  • Tahou
      Tahou
    by THLIN
  • Internet Cafe
      Internet Cafe
    by THLIN
  •   Tourist Traps
    by THLIN
 

Explore Chin-men

Things to Do  

Internet Cafe a place for a day...

Internet Cafe a place for a day..., Chin-men

 THLIN Says:  For most of soldiers in Kinmen, they (we) like to waste our time in Internet Cafe since they have nothing much to do. This one is our fave, you can always find someone from my unit. The pirce here perfectly suits to soldiers' holiday, from Monday to Saturday, the price is... 

Living & Shopping

Living & Shopping, Chin-men

 THLIN Says:  Basically the town is exsited for soldiers. In the place, you can see the a lot of soldiers walking around; most of soldiers in Kinmen are from Taiwan, therefore, they come to Shanwai to shop for their daily equipment. On Sundays, it's the only time soldiers are on leave in... 

Transportation  

Air way is the best...

Air way is the best..., Chin-men

 THLIN Says:  There are few ways to arrive Kinmen...1. Fly from Taiwan...there are many domestic flights flying between Taiwan and Kinmen. Price are about NTD4,000. (round trip, USD 120+)2. Take a ship...I think only those who live in Kinmen are allowed to take free government ship;... 

Buses are cheap!!

Buses are cheap!!, Chin-men

 THLIN Says:  The easiest way to move around in Kinmen is to take a bus, if you take from Shanwai, largest town in the east, to Jingcheng, in the west, it only cost you NT20; if you are a local, you don't need to pay anything for any public transportation. Kinmen is one of the richest... 

Shopping  

Tiangong: Magic Peanut Dessert
THLIN profile photo

2.5 out of 5 starsHelpfulness

THLIN 341 reviews
me and little Hu

This shop is welcomed by the local Kinmenese. Their flavour is more traditional while still taste good. Unlike some of not-so-nice company, their peanut-made candy is soft and not sticky. You can enjoy the feeling of something melting in your mouth. The pack I was holding on my hand is green tea, their newest flavour; to be honest, I don't like green tea as a candiment, but their greentea candy is perfect, I bought many packs last time when I went home. Their other hits are Rou-song(pork), zhu-jiao(pork hoop, it looks like pork hoop not made from pork hoop), and ginger flavoured.

What to buy: They sell not only candy but also wine, noodles, beef jerky and other local dishes. In my opinion, just buy candy in a candy shop since they are good at it. If you are lazy shopping around, then basically you can buy anything local here. They also provide home-dilevery between Taiwan and Kinmen, you can pay when stuffs reach home.

What to pay: Credit card, and cashes.

Updated Apr 4, 2011

Was this review helpful?

Warnings and Dangers  

Superstition?! Or...
THLIN profile photo
THLIN 341 reviews

Due to the reason that it was our frontier, there were many casualties from late 1950s to 1960s. The most famous battle between Kinmen and Xiamen is 23rd August 1958. I've heard a lot about this kind of stories before I was recruited, and if you ever have a chance to visit here during the Ghost Month (Lunar July), PLEASE don't go certain places where the battle took place. A lot of Kinmenese has warned me about this also. My personal experience? Luckily I didn't encounter anything unexplainable, but I did feel bizarre quite a few times when I worked overtime in a tunnel. Well, it is my opinion to respect "them" instead of ignoring everything.

Written Aug 21, 2007

Was this review helpful?

Tourist Traps  

NEVER go online on Sundays
THLIN profile photo

3.5 out of 5 starsHelpfulness

THLIN 341 reviews

Since Sundays are holidays for soldiers in Kinmen, everything become more expensive than it should be on Sundays. iN kinmen, local shop owners saperate prices into three different parts: local, tourists and soldiers. Needless to say, those for soldiers are very uncheap, especially Internet Cafe.
Make sure you DON'T go such places on Sundays...

Written Dec 29, 2006

Was this review helpful?

Off The Beaten Path  

Mr. Yu Ta-wei Museum

Mr. Yu Ta-wei Museum, Chin-men

 THLIN Says:  Dr. Yu Ta-wei is one of the most intellgent person through out recent Chinese history. He grew up in a tradtional Chinese family, however he received modern Western education after he left China. Thanks to this genius, we kept Kinmen after severe bomb attack from China. This... 

Kinmen Folk Culture Village

Kinmen Folk Culture Village, Chin-men

 THLIN Says:  This place was built by oversea Chinese Wang Kuo-jen, who was a successful business man. After earning a lot, he returened to his homeland and built this village for his people. This houses here are geniune southern Fu-jiang archtecture. From these building, you can explore... 

Ambling in the Street

Ambling in the Street, Chin-men

 THLIN Says:  There are many villeges in this island. Unlike its counterparts in Taiwan, these villege look more exotic to us since it's southern Fujian style.The most significant feature is its swallow-tailed shaping, while some are shaped like a box. If you ever have time visiting here,... 

Ma-shan Observation Point

Ma-shan Observation Point, Chin-men

 THLIN Says:  This is the closest place between Kinmen and China. When it is at ebb, the distance between these two places is 1800 meters. If weather allows, you can even see Xiamen (around 4~5KM away) with telescope. The day when I was there was a rather blury day, sadly, I saw Chinese... 

Favorites  

Reminicent Amble in Kingcheng
THLIN profile photo

3.5 out of 5 starsHelpfulness

THLIN 341 reviews

Favorite thing: To my great surprise, I saw some very old-time things in Kingcheng (Jincheng), like you can use a coke can to swap caramal cookies with a street vendor. I really could not believe that, because I read such "trade" on book describing early 20th century. Or you can see a herbalist shop established in 189X, every shelf in shop looks very ancient. (Yah, you can see this in Taipei but much more commercialised)

Written Dec 29, 2006

Was this review helpful?

Comments

Map of Chin-men