Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
good introduction to the culture and lifestyle on Matsu. The displays are visually appeal-
ing and there are now more English explanations than before.
Activities
Matsu Distillery
DISTILLERY
(Mǎzǔ Jiǔchǎng; 208 Fuxing Village; 8.30-11.30am & 1.40-5pm Mon-Fri, 1.40-4.40pm holidays,
last tour 40min before closing)
The factory produces two of Matsu's best-loved
products:
Gāoliáng jǐu
(Kaoliang liquor), made from sorghum, and
làojiǔ
(medicinal rice
wine). There's honestly not much to see, but tagging along a Chinese-language tour al-
lows you to partake of the samples that are given out liberally at the end of each session.
Bird- & Butterfly-Watching
Matsu's offshore islets attract thousands of breeding terns in the spring and summer
months. In 2000, the area around Snake Island, a tiny bit of land off the northwestern
shore of Xijju, was declared a
tern reserve
and serious twitchers can hire boats to take
them around this and other locations. See
www.birdingintaiwan.org
for more.
Matsu is one of the best places in summer to see a variety of Taiwan's large and ex-
quisite
swallowtail butterflies
. You don't need to search for them because there are
colonies literally everywhere. Most of what you'll see are common species such as
Great
Mormons
but the sheer numbers floating about roadside will astound anyone with the
slightest naturalist impulses.
Some places to see them swarm in the hundreds are the coastal road past Jinsha Vil-
lage, the road up from the
Chiang Ching-Kuo Memorial
, and the road to
Yuntai Moun-
tain
(
Yúntái Shān; 248m
), Nangan's highest peak. Butterflies are for the most part quite
used to people and you can get up pretty close for photos.
Sleeping
Homestays are springing up in the villages of Fuxing, Jinsha and Qingshui, which have
restored their traditional houses to make the towns a better match to the lovely surround-
ings. There are also a few inns and hotels in Nangang should you prefer staying in con-
ventional accommodation.
Matsu 1st Hostel
HOSTEL $
(1, Mǎzǔ Qīngnián Mínsù;
23353;
www.matsuhostel.com
; 71 Jinsha Village, 71; per person
NT$900;
)
Housed in a beautiful Fujian-style stone house, this hostel offers capsule-
