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China’s Closest Island to Taiwan Is a Monument to Reunification

Pingtan is marketed as mainland China’s “closest point to Taiwan.” Today, the cross-strait ties that once made the island a thriving location for exchanges have all but disappeared.

A sculpture in the shape of a postage stamp framing the view is a popular spot for tourist photographs at Pingtan Island’s 68 Nautical Mile Scenic Spot.

“This road will lead all the way to Taipei,” the taxi driver told me as we drove across a huge bridge leaving the mainland of China’s southeastern Fujian province to head to the small island of Pingtan. The Beijing-Taipei Highway is the road’s official name, and despite ending at this small fishing island, on Chinese map apps, it shows the road crossing the sea all the way to Taiwan. In many ways, this bridge-that-doesn’t-exist serves as a metaphor for the island I was about to visit.

Unlike other islands along Fujian’s coast, Pingtan is more than just a few sleepy fishing villages. It is touted by China’s tourism industry as “the closest point to Taiwan” and is covered in monuments – like the bridge – to an eventual reunification with the self-administered island that China claims as part of its territory.

Pingtan saw a strong military presence through much of the Cold War era, when the Chinese Nationalists who fled to Taiwan sought to retake the mainland. When tensions thawed and the two sides began dialogue in the early 1990s, Pingtan rebranded itself as a key link in cross-strait business, much of which current geopolitics has brought to a halt.

My first stop was the 68 Nautical Mile Scenic Spot. From here – as the name suggests –  it’s only 68 nautical miles to Taiwan. Near the tourist spot’s busy parking lot is a large military barracks. Next to a sign forbidding tourists from photographing any military installations, another sign asked Tesla drivers not to park their vehicles too close – presumably due to a fear that American-made vehicles may be compromised.

The spot is essentially a rocky outcrop on the far eastern side of the island, and it’s covered in various art installations dedicated to “peace across the Taiwan Strait” and “a swift return to the Motherland.” Many of the larger rocks have poems inscribed on them, written by Taiwanese writers with pro-China sentiments. 

During my visit, strong winds battered the outcrop as groups of mostly middle-aged Chinese tourists scrambled over the rocks to pose for photos. Most of them seemed oblivious of the deeper geopolitical implications of the place and were just looking for a fun day out. 

I was curious what these tourists think of life on the other side of this sea. Few of them were interested in talking to a foreigner about such a politically hot question. “They used to live better than us, but now we are developing fast, and our Taiwanese compatriots admire us,” one man in his 50s told me, adding that “reunification” was only a matter of time.

This is the standard response you would get if you ask any stranger in China their views on cross-strait tensions.

I had heard that Pingtan is also home to a community of Taiwanese, mostly running small businesses selling good here. I wanted to see if I could find any.

Tourists pose for photos by giant Chinese characters proclaiming Pingtang “The mainland Motherland’s closest point to Taiwan Island.” Photo by Cs haoh via Wikimedia Commons.

On the way to the main town, I passed by an almost abandoned looking shopping village built in the architectural style of Taiwan: round sloping orange tiles roofs over red brick walls. The town, which was signposted as Taiwan Town, is a vestige of a time when cross-straits relations were better, and many Taiwanese would come to the mainland to do business. Back then, selling various Taiwan products, such as tea, alcohol, medicinal products, and various cakes and cookies was incredibly profitable. 

Now only a large Chinese-state-run duty-free store and a few shops are still open. I thought this might be a good place to find some Taiwanese people to talk to. The duty-free store, while sweeping in size and seemingly never-ending, was almost totally empty. I decided to go to one of the smaller stores that was open. 

A lady approached me and asked if I could speak Chinese. I initially mistook her for a Taiwanese person by the way she spoke. She was from Pingtan, she said. I asked her why her accent sounded Taiwanese. “I lived on Kinmen Island for over ten years. All these products are from there,” she said.

Kinmen is an island south of Pingtan, one of only two islands off the coast of mainland China still held by Taiwan. It’s also the only part of Taiwan that mainland Chinese are able to visit in the current climate – and even then, only those from Fujian and Shanghai, and under strict conditions.

She recommended some Kaoliang liquor to me, a specialty........

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