Military Court and Kapok in Kinmen

Kin Men is an island just  2 km from Xiamen. You can reach it by ferry from Xiamen which is also an island itself. There are several ferry rides each day but it is also dependent on weather forecast. Sometimes the fog is so thick that the ferry does not go across. A ferry ride is quite an experience - people from all walks of life and loud tourists do not form a good pleasant  group. It is also useful to bring lots of Taiwanese dollars. If you can you should spend two whole days and stay a night at a fairly well recommended hotel.

Besides a nice oyster noodle lunch I enjoyed one spectacular place in Kinmen - the Qing Military Court Museum and its beautiful Kapok tree at the back.

Spring is a good time to visit Kin Men - temperatures are mild at about 18 degrees celcius...This gives you a good time to walk all over the places you wish to visit. Make sure you have a good taxi person or you have a good public transport schedule in hand.

Kapok flowers strewn on the clean back yard of the Military  Museum

Close up of two kapok flowers. (Mu Mien hua)

Photo from Wikipedia (in Punjab)

Kapok flowers on the roof of the Qing Military Museum

The kies are usually cloudy making it quite hard to form a good photograph. The tree is at least 150 feet tall.

It must have been quite a traumatic experience to approach the Qing Magistrate in those days. Ordinary folks had been known to be beaten in the court to confess. Beheading was a common punishment. It is not difficult to imagine the sorry plight of defenceless poor women and children because many TV drama series produced by both Chinese and Taiwanese today feature such stories...Chinese legal system and especially its punitive systems have been well documented . 

Photo from google...
In the back yard tourists can sit down and rest under this kapok tree..it was really a poetic and romantic moment for me. It makes me want to come back again to enjoy this dramatic scenario again.

I met two young English teachers at this point. They have come from the USA and Britain and would look forward to another year of work. What a good way to spend one's youth teaching English!!

Set in Qing architectural back ground and graced by beautiful kapok flowers this special visit makes me feel as if I am within a TV drama .

Kin Men will be one lovely COOL spot in my life's journey!!