Mashan Observatory, Kinmen

The Mashan Observatory is a fortified observation station on Kinmen which is 2 km (1.6 miles) from main-land China. Once in the tunnel, you wind your way to an area where you can view China across a stretch of water. At one time, broadcasts were made from this structure to the people in China. The ties to China are still very strong because of the geographic closeness but also because many of the Kinmen residents have family still in China's Fujian Province.