Verdant View

A beautiful landscape typical of the island of Juguang in the Matsu archipelago in Taiwan.

Before I'd ever heard of the island chain of Matsu, I was well aware of the natural beauty of the island of Taiwan. However, it came as a complete surprise to me to see how pristine and untouched most of the islands were in Matsu. Despite the presence of tourism infrastructure, the islands are a complete secret to most non-Taiwanese nationals. There is the occasional story of a foreigner finding his way to these islands but not remotely close to the numbers that should be here were people to be aware of its rewards.

The Matsu island chain is only about 5km from the Chinese mainland. The interesting bit is I discovered yesterday that not only Taiwanese nationals are allowed to cross the sea border to and from the mainland. Foreign passport holders who already have a Taiwan visa are allowed to make the 30 minute jump to Matsu to enter Taiwan from the Chinese mainland. As always, check with local consulates about the current conditions at border crossings before you go.