Taiwan: Nangan, Matsu Islands (November 2018)

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Maps. Left: Location of Matsu Islands relative to Taiwan and China. Right: Annotated map of Nangan.

Nangan is the largest of the Matsu islands. It lies approximately 200km from Taipei and 20km from the China coast. It is connected to the main Taiwan island by direct flights and ferries. Although small, the island is hilly with a highest point of 250m (Yintai Shan) and rather diverse with a number of small villages spread out. It boasts numerous former military installations often connected by tunnels. The earthly body of Matsu, the goddess of the sea and the protector of the fishermen, is believed to have washed ashore on the western side of Nangan near the village of Matsu and to be buried in the village′s temple.

Arrival from Taipei at the small, quiet Nangan airport, located on the eastern edge of the island.

Jieshou village:

It is the largest village on the island, where most of the shops and restaurants are concentrated.

The village surrounds the Vegetable Park, a large area where local people grow vigetables and some fruits.

House with a stone wall reminiscent of the past. There are more stone houses in other villages on Nangan, but the best place to see such houses is by far in the village of Qinbi on Beigan island (see here).

Matsu temple:

- Illuminated facade at night.

- Stone carving on the left-hand side of the stairs.

- Inside the temple.

Matsu distillery:

Located between the Jieshou and Nioujiao villages, this distillery produces Kaoliang sorghum liquor (38 to 63 percent alcohol by volume) and Laojiu rice wine (about 30 percent).

Beautiful Kaoliang liquor bottles. The one on the left represent the goddess Matsu.

Near the distillery, Tunnel 88, a former military installation, is now used to age liquor and wine. ″Tunnel 88″ has become the brand name of the Kaoliang liquor produced in Nangan (see the bottle shown in the rightmost photo above).

Nioujiao village:

This village built on a steep slope facing the sea mixes old stone houses (some remodeled, some crumbling) and new buildings.

Wulinggong temple:

- Bright red facade. The Nioujiao villagers like to say that they gave all the colors to their temple rather than to their houses.

- Wood carvings on the front doors.

- Inside the patio, behind the front doors.

- Statues of gods.

- The two traditional guards of the gods.

Fuao village and harbor:

The Fuao port concentrates ferry traffic between Nangan and Taiwan′s main island and other Matsu islands.

Ferries in the port. The power plant that serves the Matsu islands, located on the other side of the bay, is visible near the center of the photo. The large statue of Matsu (see further down in this page) located on the western side of the island is also visible on the right of the photo.

Old traditional fishing boat leaving the port.

Statue of Chiang Kai-shek looking toward China.

Sign on the hill facing China, above the statue of Chiang Kai-shek. It says ″We are sleeping on our guns waiting for the sun to rise″, meaning ″We are ready and will attack soon″. The sign is supposed to be big enough to be readable from the China coast.

White-Horse General temple. It enshrines a Qing-dynasty general who fought a large fish that was killing people. The general killed the fish, but also died during the fight. The statue on the right (actually located in Jieshou) shows the general on his horse. Like Matsu temples, there are many White-Horse General temples.

Yintai Shan (250m):

Nangan culminates at the summit of Yintai Shan, the second highest point in all the Matsu islands, just behind Bi Shan (298m) on Beigan island. Not surprisingly, the summit is occupied by an operational military installation.

View from Yintai Shan toward the North-East. Fuao harbor is visible on the right and Beigan (with Bi Shan in the middle of it) on the center-right. Unfortunately, the weather was quite bad.

Matsu village (also called Magang) and around:

Matsu temple where the goddess is believed to be buried. The legend has it that Matsu drowned while trying to save her father, who was a fisherman, and that her body was recovered by villagers of Matsu. Matsu is venerated as a protector of fishermen.

Entrance to the temple and detail of one of the carved stone column.

Main altar. The Matsu body is believed to be buried in the floor in front of the altar.

Close-up on the small statues on the right of the altar. The Matsu statue in the middle of the photo, mounted on a support with a bright red stone, was carried to the summit of Everest in May 2009 by Lee Hsiao-shih, a native of the Matsu archipelago.

Intricate painted wood carving.

Fraction of the right-hand side of the wood panel.

Stone statue of Matsu. The statue is 27m high.

Former fort on the bay of Matsu harbor.

Jinsha village:

The village consists of several stone houses. Unfortunately, some have been over-restored, while others are still crumbling. Despite an scenic location in a small bay, the village lacks harmony and is not very appealing.

Entry to a small former military tunnel connecting positions along the coast. The signs are slogans like ″iron blood″ (at the top) and ″death to Mao Zedong and the communists″ (on the sides)

Mural.

Matsu temple.

Statue of one of the god guardians in the temple, who seems to pose for a photo in front of a painting

Between Jinsha village and Ren-ai village (also called Tieban):

Steep rocky coast typical of most of the coastline of the Matsu islands, one of the reasons why they have been so difficult to attack and capture.

Remains of fort 53. (Every fort on the island has a number.)

Iron fort, a bunker dug into a small rocky outcrop. It consists of a central tunnel giving access to living quarters and several sniper rooms located on both sides of the outcrop. The entrance of the tunnel is located on the right of the small green building at the end of the bridge. (This bridge was added after the fort was decommissioned as a military installation to allow visitors to more easily access the bunker.)

Ren-ai village:

Beihai tunnel:

It was built in 1969-1971 by the Taiwanese military using only explosives and hand tools. Aimed at protecting small naval vessels against attacks by the PRC army, the tunnel forms an impressive underground waterway of 640m in length, 18m in height and 10m in width. Two branches of the waterway provide access to/from the sea. Another side tunnel gives foot access. It was open to the public in 2000.

Entrance of the foot tunnel. The accesses from the sea are hidden in the rocks.

Monument commemorating the soldiers who built the tunnel. A number of them lost their lives in the process.

Representation of a typical scene during the construction (displayed in the foot access tunnel).

Map sketch of the tunnel. The numbers 1, 2, and 3 and their associated arrow show the locations and orientations where I took the three photos below.

Photo #1.

Photo #2.

Photo # 3.

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