Remnants of the military conflict surround Teo’s cafe.
The coffee shop is housed in an abandoned military fortification, with the entrance surrounded by rusty tanks.
It’s a scene familiar to residents of Taiwan’s remote Kinmen Island. The cafe is separated from mainland China only by 6 miles of rough water and a row of anti-intrusion spikes along the beach.
Despite long-standing tensions between Taiwan and China, visitors from the mainland have been the cafe’s main source of revenue since it opened in 2018.
“In the beginning, we had a regular group of tourists – probably at least two or three buses from travel agencies every day,” Zhang said.
But five years on, things look very different.
A row of anti-intrusion spikes lines Golden Gate Beach, with mainland China in the distance.
Source: Jan Camenzind Broomby
Chinese tourists have been banned from traveling to Taiwan for years despite China’s claim to the island.
In August 2019, Beijing banned individual tourists from traveling to Taiwan, citing poor cross-strait relations. In 2020, tour groups were prohibited from visiting due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
For many in Kinmen, the lack of Chinese tourists is devastating.
“We haven’t had mainland tourists for many years,” Zhang said. “Kinmen’s tourism industry has relied heavily on Chinese tourists for a long time, so the impact will definitely be huge.”
From tanks to tourism
In the mid-20th century, Kinmen was on the front line of the conflict between China and Taiwan.
Soldiers trained on the beaches, towns were filled with anti-communist propaganda, and bomb shelters were hidden in gardens.
The streets of Kinmen are lined with unopened shops.
Source: Jan Camenzind Broomby
But as Kinmen’s military presence receded, the island turned to tourism.
Residents don’t shy away from the island’s conflict-ridden past. Like Zhang, many have opened cafes in former military fortifications, sold “war rations” in restaurants, or made specialty “bomb knives” from old Chinese artillery shells.
A short boat ride away
Kinmen is about 1.8 miles from mainland China, but more than 110 miles from mainland Taiwan, according to the Kinmen County government.
As a result, “Kinmen’s business usually relies heavily on… connections with mainland China,” said local tour guide Chen Huasheng. Half-hour cruises connecting Kinmen Island to mainland China are running again, but since Chinese tourists are not allowed to visit Kinmen, most of the passengers are Taiwanese.
With the COVID-19 pandemic over, many hope the ships can once again ferry Chinese tourists back to Kinmen.
However, on February 14, a Taiwan Coast Guard vessel collided with a Chinese vessel, killing two Chinese citizens and escalating tensions.
Chinese tourists are now traveling to some of Taiwan’s remote islands, but tourists from Kinmen have been slow to return. Data from Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council show that the number of Chinese citizens entering Kinmen by boat dropped from more than 400,000 in 2019 to less than 18,000 in 2023.
Wu Tsang-yun, chief executive of the Kinmen-Matsu Joint Government Service Center, said the lack of tourists could be interpreted as punishment from Beijing.
struggling under pressure
with (cut?) Local business owners are already feeling the impact of the loss of Chinese tourists, who previously contributed nearly $200 million to Kinmen’s annual economy.
Noodle shop owner Beddy Chang said Chinese tourists once accounted for 80% of her customer base. Without them, she said, she would now turn to exporting her products abroad.
Others, such as Wu Tsang-yun, whose family once made and sold Kinmen “bomb knives” to tourists, have turned their business to the main island of Taiwan.
“Without mainland tourists, our business will disappear,” Wu explained. “We regularly hold events in department stores across Taiwan.”
But others are not so lucky.
After the restaurant closed, former restaurant owner Lu Wenxiong began fishing and providing boat tours to supplement his income. But it’s also difficult, he said.
After Lu Wenxiong’s restaurant in Kinmen closed, he turned to fishing and boating.
Source: Jan Camenzind Broomby
After the incident on February 14, the Chinese Coast Guard significantly increased its presence in the area, entering the Kinmen Restricted Sea several times, holding military exercises in May, and even boarding a Taiwanese cruise ship in February.
Standing on his boat in the narrow strait between Kinmen and China, Lu said he witnessed the escalations firsthand.
He showed a video he shot on his mobile phone of a Chinese Coast Guard vessel approaching him as he drove through the waters near Kinmen.
“A little worried that if we get caught in our waters, we might get some unusual treatment,” Lu said, gazing at the waves.
continuing hope
In late July, Taiwan and Chinese authorities reached an agreement regarding the February 14 boat incident, allowing the bodies of the dead Chinese fishermen to be returned to the mainland.
At the end of August, Kinmen local councilor Chen Yuren went to Beijing to discuss the restoration of Kinmen tourism. She was told the Chinese tourists would be back soon.
A military post on Kinmen Island, Taiwan.
Source: Jan Camenzind Broomby
The first batch of mainland tourists Arrive at Kinmen late September, According to local media reports.
The arrival of 22 people for a two-day visit does not represent a full return of Chinese tourism, but it is a start. However, some in Kinmen are skeptical that things will return to their old state.
But local tour guide Mr. Chen expressed optimism.
“We hope that mainland people can visit Taiwan and Kinmen again to promote cross-strait economic development.”
— Translated by Alex Huang and Edison Tseng contributed to this report.
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