Large numbers of tourists have visited Jiangong Islet (建功嶼) in Kinmen County since it was reopened to the public, and its rich ecosystem has amazed visitors as they walk the stone path in the islet’s intertidal zone.
New wooden platforms, viewing decks and seashore trails have been constructed for tourists to explore the area, Kinmen County Tourism Bureau Director Chen Mei-ling (陳美齡) said, adding that tourist information is available in Chinese and English.
The 500m2 islet, at the mouth of the Wujiang River (浯江溪) in Jincheng Township (金城), is 500m from Kinmen Island. It reopened to the public late last month following reconstruction from Dec. 20.
Photo: CNA
In 1949, it was taken by the Republic of China’s (ROC) armed forces, which built stronghold W038 on it in the face of Chinese attacks from the other side of the Taiwan Strait.
It was renamed Jiangong in 1960 and remained under military control until 1997, when troops were all withdrawn as part of a military streamlining program.
The islet gradually became dilapidated until 2002, when the county government started renovating the area with the aim of turning it into a tourist attraction.
Photo: CNA
In addition to erecting in 2009 a 9m-high stone statue of Cheng Cheng-kung (鄭成功), a Ming Dynasty hero also known as Koxinga, who led the resistance against the Qing Dynasty and the Dutch, a pathway of stone slabs was laid, making it accessible for visitors at low tide and separating the surrounding water into two parts.
In 2013, two 6m-high iron statues of local oyster farmers wearing bamboo leaf hats were erected on each side of the pathway — an impressive scene that has become a popular attraction for tourists.
In the intertidal mudflat zone, visitors can also see a vast oyster field and a variety of sea creatures, including horseshoe crabs — sometimes described as prehistoric living fossils — fish, shellfish and shrimp.
The bureau carried out a two-phase reconstruction after parts of the islet were devastated by Typhoon Morakot in 2009. It completed rebuilding work on areas near the Cheng Cheng-kung statue at the end of 2016 and finished the second-phase reconstruction at the end of last year.
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