Jincheng Township (金城) has been selected as one of Taiwan’s 30 classic towns for this year, the Kinmen County Government said on Monday.
Jincheng is the county’s second town to receive the designation after Lieyu Township (烈嶼) was selected in a Tourism Bureau poll last year, Jincheng Mayor Lee Cheng-chih (李誠智) said.
The designation is part of the bureau’s “Small Town Ramble 2.0” campaign, which highlights the cultural and lifestyle characteristics of 20 mountainous communities and 10 small towns.
Jincheng is home to numerous historic military sites and traditional villages, but it also has an abundance of natural resources, Lee said, adding that it was picked largely due to its traditional and innovative cultural characteristics.
For example, wildlife conservation elements were last year introduced for the first time into an annual religious festival celebrating the traditional Chinese folk deity Cheng Huang (城隍), the city god, he said.
An activity to raise public awareness for efforts to conserve the Eurasian otter was highlighted during the festival to increase people’s understanding of the crisis facing the species, he added.
Lee also touted the wide diversity of tourism resources and attractions in Jincheng, such as a mangrove forest around the Wujiang River (浯江溪) estuary, picturesque sunsets and white sand beaches.
The central government is to grant the selected 30 communities at least NT$1 million (US$33,398) in subsidies to promote tourism and improve tourism infrastructure, Lee said, adding that he plans to use the funds to upgrade facilities at tourist sites.
This year marks the 340th anniversary of the Cheng Huang Festival — the largest religious activity in Kinmen — and Jincheng Township Office plans to work with the Wudao City God Temple to seek funding from the central and county governments to expand the event.
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