Text and photos by Michael McCarthy
September, 2012 Vol. 16, No. 10
When the first barrage of anti-aircraft fire exploded next to my head, I jumped so hard I bumped my head on the roof of the tunnel. This wasn’t so hard to do, as the tunnel was only six feet high and I am taller than that. Then the lights in the tunnel went out, followed by the recorded sounds of another artillery barrage, this one a blast of vicious propaganda in a strange language that I took to be Chinese. I looked around for the hidden speakers, buried somewhere in the walls. The tunnels of the underground world of Taiwan’s Kinmen Island can be described in many ways, and authentic is certainly one of them.
“Everybody OK back there?” yelled our guide, Mr. Ho.
“No problem,” I yelled back. “Bring on Chairman Mao, I’m ready.”
Kinmen, a remote island just off the coast of mainland China, features one of the most unique tourist attractions in the world. Hidden beneath the island’s surface is an underground world of tunnels, streets, hospitals, schools, and even a marina. There is one city above ground, and a secret one under your feet. It’s no place for claustrophobics, but if you want to experience unlike any other, Kinmen is just the place for you.
We crept carefully through the tunnel gloom. Holding on to my yellow hard hat with determination, I had already whacked my head on the ceiling several times. We came to an “intersection” in the tunnel system, complete with street names and directional arrows pointing the way to various destinations. Other signs along the tunnel pointed towards the exits. Aside from being a very different tourist attraction, the tunnels of Kinmen Island appear to still be used as streets for local people.
In 1949 China underwent a civil war, and the capitalist forces of General Chiang Kai Shek were driven off the mainland by the communists and sought refuge on the island of Formosa (now Taiwan). Some settled on Kinmen Island, just a shot away from the mainland. A decade later the victorious forces of Mao Tse Tsung, backed by the armed might of the Soviet Union under Josef Stalin, decided to flex their muscles and take over Formosa. The communists first line of attack was to invade Kinmen, an event that unleashed what was to become known as the Cold War, but on Kinmen the war was red hot and the embers still simmer today, because the Chine are once again threatening Taiwan.
“You bang your head yet, Michael?” shouted Mr. Ho.
“Yes, thanks, several times,” I replied, banging my helmet again on a doorway. “How far until we reach the end of the tunnel?”
In 1958 the Chinese commenced a massive bombardment of Kinmen, then known as Quemoy. The shelling continued unabated for 44 straight days and then Chairman Mao sent in the troops. Alarmed at the threat to its ally, the U.S. Navy sent in the 7th fleet to patrol Taiwan Strait. The armed standoff between communism and capitalism continued for 20 years. To this day spent artillery shells are still being dug up all over the island.
When Chairman Mao unleashed all hell, rather than be blown to bits the Taiwanese army dug in deep. And dig they did. They built barracks, streets between the barracks, and an underground naval base. For many years, the Taiwanese lived a normal life underground.
A few years ago someone came up with the idea to re-open the entire underground city as a tourist attraction. Loudspeakers have been placed in the tunnels to re-create the sound and feeling of a massive bombardment, a sound system that comes complete with recorded communist propaganda. The ground seems to shake. It’s an intense physical and psychological experience that will give warmongers (and claustrophobics) sober second thoughts.
After an hour underground it was a relief to emerge from the deep tunnels into fresh air, but we turned a corner and it was another surprise to walk into the shop of Maestro Wu, blacksmith and master artist, who is in the business of turning bombshells into fine art. The back of his shop contains a veritable mountain of bombshells (hopefully none still armed) and a factory where Maestro Wu crafts the artillery shells into knives and swords, exquisite works of art that fetch high prices at specialty stores around the world.
“Watch,” said Mr. Ho, “he starts with a raw bomb that he places in an oven.”
“What happens if it blows up?” I asked.
“Then we never know what happen next,” Mr. Ho said with a big smile.
We stood and watched as Maestro Wu turned a bombshell into a fancy sword in just under 18 minutes. First he inserted the shell into a furnace, then hammered the molten metal into shape, and finally finished off with a fine polish on a wheel. The entire time I kept waiting for things to go “bang.”
As of 2012 China is once again doing some political sword rattling, threatening to take over the straits of Taiwan, so thousands of Taiwanese troops (all young men are required to do a tour of duty) are sequestered on Kinmen. They can be seen on the streets of the villages of the island, mostly engaged in the ancient practice of kids everywhere, which is hanging out. Cafes, retail shops and restaurants draw Taiwanese tourists as well as soldiers, making a visit to Kinmen Island well worth the while, as long as World War Three doesn’t break out while you are slurping your chop suey.
When we were leaving the retail shop, I asked Master Wu to pose for a photo, and he assembled all the shop girls together for a group shot. He reached behind the counter and handed me a big shiny knife to take home as a souvenir, a memory of a very different day on a very different island. It wasn’t until we got to customs in Taipei that I realized this was one memento that wasn’t going to cut the mustard, but somehow it went through security in my luggage undetected. Whenever I use it at home, I keep expecting something to go “bang.”
If you go:
Taiwan is semi-tropical, with warm winters and very hot and wet summers. The summer and fall are also typhoon (hurricane) season. The best months to visit are November to May. The south end of the island is much hotter. Much of the central island is mountainous, and cooler.
Log on to the official government website for detailed information (in English) about Taiwan at http://eng.taiwan.net.tw.
Getting there and getting around is easy. Taiwan is well served by many airlines, including EVA Air and China Air. All international flights land at the capital of Taipei, and there are several regional airports for domestic flights. It is possible to circumnavigate the entire island by train. Check train schedules and information at http://railway.hinet.net.