Finance News / Moving to Kinmen to Explore the Warmth of Life

Text by Lan Yating Photography by Yang Hongxi

On the return flight, when the plane reached an altitude where the entire island came into view, the meaning of the word “life” gradually expanded in my heart and lingered on.

On the same flight, during the outbound journey, I truly couldn’t understand why anyone would choose to leave behind the convenience of a 7-Eleven downstairs, 24-hour bookstores, a variety of international cuisines available at any time, and the efficient transportation of Taipei life—just to move 500 miles away and start anew on an isolated island?

What is “life”? In truth, for most people, they seldom contemplate what “life” looks like, because the repetitive daily work and routines easily make them forget “what life actually is.” During several days of interviews, when asked why this group of men and women from Taiwan chose to relocate to Kinmen, they could all confidently say: because of life.

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Why open a homestay in Kinmen instead of Hualien or Taitung? Why come all the way from Taipei to Kinmen? With rooms priced at just over a thousand New Taiwan dollars a night, it’s much cheaper than in Taiwan. When you consider the number of rooms, it’s hard not to worry for the innkeeper.

Wang Yimei, a true-blue Taipei woman, has lived in Kinmen for over three years. The homestay she runs, “Knight Travellers,” is quite famous on Facebook. Thanks to the film “Paradise in Service,” which was shot in Kinmen, the large wooden table in the living room of the homestay, the rich coffee, and the stack of magazines in the corner became the ideal meeting space for the film crew. Guests who have stayed there say, “It feels like a café + homestay + free space. That’s Knight Travellers.”

Even after three years of living the slow life in Kinmen, Wang Yimei’s way of speaking and her efficient manner still reveal the driven nature of a Taipei native. Why did she want to open a homestay in Kinmen? Wang Yimei recounts from the beginning. Having been a career woman for many years—working as an insurance sales agent for over a decade—the busyness of juggling family and work never overwhelmed her, but her husband, due to overwork day and night, fell seriously ill five years ago and was once declared “critically ill” by doctors. After careful consideration, the couple decided to leave Taipei.

“At first, I went to Hualien to open a café, as a kind of transition. Then, seeing that my husband was still flying back and forth between Hualien and Xiamen in China for business meetings and projects, I considered my options and ultimately decided to move again—to Kinmen. Perhaps this is the most convenient way of life.”

Wang Yimei says that in her first year in Kinmen, she noticed that locals loved to “drop by her place.” At first, since they weren’t guests staying at the homestay and the café wasn’t even open, she was puzzled—why were people walking in without appointments? Gradually, Wang Yimei realized that in Kinmen, “there are no doors.” Everyone interacts like one big family. Whether passing by your house, her house, or mine, if someone has snacks or gossip, they’ll walk in or chat with neighbors. This is the “human touch” that Taipei lacks.

Now, with her husband frequently traveling between Kinmen and Xiamen, Wang Yimei’s perspective has broadened. She laughingly describes her life in Kinmen as a “mobile lifestyle.” She usually lives in Kinmen, sometimes goes to Xiamen for massages on weekends, or accompanies her husband to check on project sites. When the kids are on summer break, she even takes them to Shanghai for trips.

“Kinmen is like a springboard. I don’t know why others choose to live in Kinmen, but for me, this mobile lifestyle is great. It not only gives me, as a homestay owner, things to talk about with guests, but also broadens my children’s horizons, gradually helping them develop a more global outlook.”

When asked about her happiest moments, she paused for a moment and said: “When Kinmen is foggy or raining, everything comes to a stop, and everyone rests while waiting for the rain to pass.” During those times, she and her husband go out to admire the fog. “Yes, we literally admire the fog,” because it’s then that they truly enjoy a moment of peace.

(Excerpted from Issue 475 of Wealth Magazine)

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