Welcome to Kinmen!
Kinmen (金門 Kim-mn̂g in Minnan, Jīnmén in Mandarin, literal meaning "golden gate", also known as Quemoy) is a county comprising a number of outlying islands near the People's Republic of China (PRC), but is controlled by the Republic of China (ROC) on Taiwan.
The main islands in the county are Greater Kinmen and Lesser Kinmen. Administratively, Kinmen is split into six townships, four of which are on Greater Kinmen. Another has Lesser Kinmen plus its neighbouring small islands, and the sixth is a couple of more remote small islands.
Kinmen, alternatively known as Quemoy, is a group of islands governed as a county by the Republic of China (ROC) based in Taiwan, off the southeastern coast of mainland China. It lies roughly 10 km (6.2 mi) east of the city of Xiamen in Fujian, from which it is separated by Xiamen Bay. Kinmen is located 187 km (116 mi) west from the shoreline of the island of Taiwan across the Taiwan Strait.
The county consists of the major island of Kinmen along with several surrounding islets, as well as Wuqiu Township located 133 km (83 mi) to the northeast of the rest of the county. Kinmen is one of two counties that was part of the now-defunct Fujian Province, the other being Lienchiang county (Matsu).
Kinmen's strategic location in the Taiwan Strait has led to numerous confrontations, making it a tangible embodiment of political change on Cross-Strait relations. In August 1958, Kinmen was heavily bombarded by the People's Liberation Army during the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis. Travel restrictions between Kinmen and the main island of Taiwan were lifted in 1994 following the end of decades-long military administration over Kinmen. A direct ferry route to Xiamen was inaugurated in January 2001 following the establishment of the Three Links.The People's Republic of China claims Kinmen as part of Fujian Province and considers Wuqiu to be a separate territory of Fujian apart from Kinmen itself, for its part, the ROC claims the Dadeng Islands (Tateng) as part of Kinmen, even though they were effectively transferred to the control of Xiamen by the PRC.