Kinmen Travel

Walk 2 minutes through a park and down a hill from Kinmen's largest western-style house (Chen Jing-Lan House), and you'll come to this good example of a classic coastal defense stronghold. 

Built into granite rock, this served as both a coastal and civil defense tunnel.  While not as massive as some other tunnels in Kinmen, it's nevertheless well-equipped with a command post, howitzer base, pill box, anti-aircraft artillery base, dormitory and even a kitchen. 

In the tunnel, statues help bring to life how soldiers defended Kinmen in the era of martial law. There's also an M41 tank in the tank bunker for you to examine. The tunnel is 560 meters long, divided into two sections by the Zongxing Pavillion. The section towards the sea was controlled by the military to enable them to closely monitor Lialo Bay. The other section leads to the Zhongyi Village Office, and was used as an air raid shelter. This division of the tunnel's functions illustrates the close relationship between the military and civilians in the past.

Now normally a peaceful quiet beach, every year in July or August, it becomes a bit livelier during the Jinhu Beach Clam Season. Check the Events page for details, including the date of a music concert held at the beach.

If you're in Kinmen between April and June, another good reason to visit Chenggong Beach is to see the Sea of Stars natural marine phenomena.  Go at night, within three days before or after the first day of the lunar month, and when the wind is from the south. If the conditions are right, Chenggong Beach provides an easily accessible and safe place to view this spectacular natural light show.

More info about how to trace the sea of stars!