First post. Today I visited Kinmen which sits just over five miles from the Chinese mainland. It's been a major flashpoint in Cross-Strait relations and was under martial law until 1992. The island is replete with museums and monuments vaunting efforts to repel Chinese incursions.
獅山 — Lion Hill. The emblem says everything about Kinmen's self-image.
Highlights included a live demonstration of soldiers loading and firing artillery blanks, a row of decommissioned tanks menacingly facing China's shores and a factory that converts spent PLA artillery shells into cooking knives and swords (might be time to cash in those birthday IOUs).
A fascinating example of a frontier territory defined by its geography. Should China decide to invade Taiwan this would likely be its first target, making it the perfect place to start my geopolitical tour of Asia.