The Matsu Islands (馬祖列島) are an archipelago of small islands, owned by Taiwan but very close to the Chinese coast, to the northwest of Taiwan proper. They are an excellent few days away from Taipei or any other big city, have some great attractions, and a very laid back vibe. The only negative, which really isn’t a problem at all, is that the islands are heavily militarized. But other than seeing the old bunkers everywhere (And I mean EVERYWHERE) the military presence really doesn’t affect the mood, in my opinion. In fact, I had several great conversations with solders, some of which said they really didn’t mind being stationed on those remote islands!
The Matsu archipelago is made up of 19 islands, but only a few are accessible to tourists. Of those, I visited the “main” island of Nangan, Dongyin (and it’s very close neighbor Xiyin), and Beigan (and it’s very close neighbor Daqiu). There are two that I would have loved to see called Dongju and Xiju, but they’ll have to wait for a different visit.
Before I go any further, let me highly, highly recommend Richard Saunder’s guidebook “The Islands of Taiwan”. I would have been totally lost without it. I’ve placed some links as to where you can buy it below.
Also, I’ve uploaded these pictures in a different way from before, so if you want to see them bigger (and sharper), just click on it.
Sunset over Turtle Island from Qinbi Village on Beigan Island, Matsu.
