Former military fortresses Kinmen and Matsu were both opened to tourism back in 1994, and over the years Kinmen proved to be a much more popular destination than its northern counterpart. And in order to promote tourism in Matsu, the county's magistrate recently held a press conference in Taipei to introduce its beauty to a wider audience.

The island of Matsu not only has its share of beautiful sea view and landscapes, but also secret tunnels, canons, and other historical artifacts left from the war period.

Now visitors can even slide in wooden canoes down the tunnels, a major attraction for tourists.

However, while both Kinmen and Matsu islands opened up to tourism in the same year, Kinmen already has one million visitors per year, whereas Matsu only tallied up to 80 thousand people last year.

To catch up to Kinmen's numbers, the Matsu Lianchiang county magistrate has made a personal visit to Taipei City in order to promote Matzu.

He also took the opportunity to scope out the potential of starting a cross-strait three island hopping tour for Mainland Chinese tourists in the future.

Those who have been to Matsu are aware of the island's natural beauty, of the stone huts modeled after mountain peaks, and of the most well preserved Mindong village in the world, featuring an exotic Mediterranean atmosphere.

To promote Matsu, the Lianchiang administration also plans to renovate its airport to increase the accommodation of tourist passengers.

With this agenda in the works, Matsu's yearly tourist numbers are expected to reach 150 thousand.

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