Did You Know That ...?
- Kinmen County covers a total of twelve islands, including Kinmen Island, Lieyu Island, Dadan Islet, and Erdan Islet, encompassing about 151km².
- Kinmen is narrow in the center and wide on the eastern and western ends, stretching about 20km between the two ends. The widest part of the island from the north to the south end lies on the east side at about 15.5km. The narrowest part of the island is the central area at only 3km.
- The Kinmen site includes war remnants such as the Zhaishan Tunnel and the Jiugong Tunnel, as well as a 7.7km² area that covers the 10 traditional villages of Qionglin, Shuitou, Guningtou, Zhushan, Shanhou, Oucuo, Pubian, Houputou, Bishan, and Houpu.
Read more about Kinmen's Battlefield Culture here or scroll down for pictures.
Since the start of the 4th century, members from different prominent clans in the Central Plain of China found refuge in Kinmen. Military personnel from the imperial Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties as well as Nationalist troops in 1949 were all stationed here. The culture, economy, and political history of Kinmen are closely tied to regional migration trends throughout the past 1,500 years. Such cultural heritage stands testament to early migrant development and illustrates a significant stage in human history, thereby meeting the second and fourth criteria of UNESCO's world heritage register.
The unique Kinmen Battlefield Culture also encompasses elements from both negative world heritage (confrontation, war, tragedy) and positive world heritage (reconciliation, peace, relief). The site ultimately represents the universal value of mankind’s pursuit of peaceful co-existence, thereby meeting the third criterion for inclusion.