The Ancient City of Kinmen (Quemoy) is one of the most historically rich places in Kinmen and in Taiwan. Not to be confused with Kincheng (the largest city in Kinmen) this walled city was built in the 1300's during the Ming Dynasty as a defense for the region, a role that it has played throughout its history. Although most of the original gates and walls have been destroyed, all of the citiy's four gates have recently been rebuilt. Walking through these ancient streets you can feel hundreds of years of history speaking to you.
Background: This city was originally constructed at the time of the Hongwu Emporer during the Ming Dynasty in 1387, and was originally called the Kinmen Guard City of 1000 Households (金門守禦千戶所城). The city was damaged in the fight between Kongxia and the Qing Dynasty in 1680, but was later repaired. However the Qing military headquarters of Kinmen were later moved to Houpu, which meant the city was left to ruin. When the ROC retreated to the island in 1949, they tore down what remained of the walls for other uses, leaving only parts of the foundations. In1997 thanks to donations from the Kinmen Kaoliang Liquor Inc. at the south of the city, the Kinmen Government was able to rebuild the ancient gates of Kinmen City. Hours: 24/7 Price: Free! How to get there: By Car/Scooter: Take Xihai Road Sec. 2 to Shuitou Village, then turn left onto Zhushui Road. You will drive right through the city! Map: Please see below.
0 Comments
The Luku Incident Memorial is a reflective arch statue in Shiding District of New Taipei that commemorates what is known as "the largest political event of the nation’s White Terror era." The incident involved two brothers that had started a communist party holdout in the mountains of Shiding. The resulting response, from the then martial law-era ROC government under then Dictator Chiang Kai-Shek, was thousands of police officers arresting hundreds of innocent people, with many of the people being falsely imprisoned and executed.
Historical Background: Two brothers, Chen Pen-chiang and Chen Tung-ho (陳通和), created an armed communist party holdout in the Luku village of Shiding District. They also organized a youth group consisting of underage villagers, however this group did not participate in any illicit activity. In response, on Dec. 28th, 1952, about 10,000 police officers and ROC armed soldiers raided the village over the space of four months, blocking off roads and arresting everyone while trying to remove the communists. Around 400 people in the surrounding areas were arrested, with 200 of those people being tortured and 35 killed. According to the Taipei Times: "Among the 200, 12 were not indicted or released for turning themselves in, while 98 were given prison sentences, 19 of whom were underage." Due to the terrible injustice dealt to the village and the surrounding people, the Luku Incident Memorial was erected in the year 2000. For more information on the incident, check out the articles written by the Taipei Times here andhere. You can also check out the Wikipedia article in Chinese here. How to get there: Travel south on Academia Sinica Road in Nangang, and then take Jiuzhuang Street Sec. 2 (舊莊街二段) all the way up the mountain. The memorial sits at the border between Taipei City and New Taipei City. Map: Please see below: |
Author 作家We are US Expats that have extensive experience living, working, and travelling in Taiwan. In our day, we had to learn many things about Taiwan the hard way. But we have come to learn that Taiwan is one of the best places in the world for Foreigners to live. Our blog does not represent the opinions of every foreigner in Taiwan. We are just trying to help others learn more about this beautiful country. Tutor ABC - World's No. 1 Online Platform for learning English and Chinese. Get 10% off all Tutor ABC website listed prices with promo code: FOREIGNERS10 Tutor ABC - 世界第一英語和中文線上學習平台 使用促銷代碼: FOREIGNERS10 可享有 Tutor ABC 網站上列出的所有價格 10% 的折扣 Archives 檔案
March 2024
Tutor ABC - World's No. 1 Online Platform for learning English and Chinese. Get 10% off all Tutor ABC website listed prices with promo code: FOREIGNERS10 Tutor ABC - 世界第一英語和中文線上學習平台 使用促銷代碼: FOREIGNERS10 可享有 Tutor ABC 網站上列出的所有價格 10% 的折扣 Categories
|