Kinmen promotes local specialties—dig up free taro on Little Kinmen

By Li Xinyi, reporting

Everyone knows Kinmen’s kaoliang liquor is famous, but you shouldn’t miss the taro that melts in your mouth either. Lieyu (commonly known as Little Kinmen), located near Kinmen, boasts red clay soil and high-quality water. Ask the locals about the texture of the taro? Most will say, “It’s fragrant and fluffy—you don’t even need to chew.” Now, to boost tourism, a taro festival has been launched. From October 24 to November 6, visitors to Little Kinmen can dig taro and take it home for free.

Sun Wenliang, who has been growing taro on Little Kinmen for 30 years, used to grow it for his family and to give to relatives and friends. After tourism developed locally, he now sells over 2,000 kilograms of taro each year. Taro on Little Kinmen is harvested from August and continues until January or February the following year. Trying taro dishes on Little Kinmen is a real treat—taroy congee, seaweed taro strips, and caramelized taro threads. Taro has been a popular ingredient in dishes since Kinmen was a military zone, when it was mixed with canned meat to create a dish called “Taro-Loving Meat.” Today, you can still enjoy this delicacy at restaurants, though it now uses fresh pork instead of canned meat.

The “Taro Meets 100. Fragrant Taro. Purple Love Lieyu” event, launched by Lieyu Township Office, allows visitors to get an agricultural experience voucher worth NT$150 after collecting stamps at attractions like Jiugong Tunnel, Hujingtou War History Museum, Lieyu Cultural Hall, and Wu Xiucai’s Former Residence, and presenting the completed voucher. With the voucher, you can visit local farmers’ taro fields to dig taro and take it home for free.

To coincide with the taro festival, Uni Air has launched the “Winter Love Song – Meet (Taro) in Kinmen” package, starting at NT$4,999 per person for a three-day, two-night trip. The package includes round-trip flights (travelers can choose to depart from five destinations: Taipei, Taichung, Chiayi, Tainan, or Kaohsiung), taro-flavored meals, accommodation, and a travel itinerary.