Deeply resonant: Taiwanese opera singer Wei Hai-min performing on a raft inside the Zhaishan Tunnel during the annual Kinmen Tunnel Music Festival in Kinmen. — Reuters
Built during the height of the Cold War to shelter supply boats from shells, one of Taiwan’s most well-known wartime attractions last weekend echoed with a different sound – cellos and violins for the annual Kinmen Tunnel Music Festival.
The Zhaishan Tunnel on Kinmen, which sits on the Chinese coast next to the cities of Xiamen and Quanzhou, was hewn by hand out of tough granite in the 1960s and originally designed for military purposes, sitting right on Taiwan’s frontline with China.
Kinmen has been controlled by Taiwan since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949, and was regularly bombarded with artillery, though today Kinmen is a popular tourist destination.
Over two days last weekend, the tunnel hosted six shows with 200 people attending each one, the 17th year in a row the festival has been held.
Performers sat on a small boat, which was gently paddled around the tunnel, itself lit up in bright colours, playing a selection of music that included Mozart and Beethoven as well as traditional Taiwanese and Chinese tunes.
“The music tells the story of this tunnel, music that speaks of the preciousness of peace, and music that carries its message to the world,” festival art director and cellist Chang Chen-chieh said.
Tickets for this year’s festival, in one of Kinmen’s most dramatic locations, sold out in just two minutes, organisers said.
Martial law in Kinmen only ended in 1992, five years later than Taiwan itself.
Kinmen retains a heavy military presence, though many sites, like the tunnel, have long since been retired and made part of the national park which covers much of the island.
Audience member Cheng Kai-hsiang said he was deeply moved by the performance.
“Not only by the sound and the echo from the tunnel, but also because I could hear the waves coming from outside,” Cheng said.
“That powerful, overwhelming feeling is really hard to put into words.
“It’s something you can only experience by being there in person.” — Reuters
