With their natural beauty, rich history, and local cuisine, the Matsu Islands have long been popular among tourists from other parts of Taiwan. This year, the islands have become a particularly hot travel destination, as COVID-19 leads Taiwanese tourists to rediscover domestic attractions.
Come September, there will be yet another reason to pay the islands a visit.
They may not be quite as big or fancy as the Olympics, but Taiwan’s biennial “island games” do come with a kind of pomp and pageantry of their own. And, unlike the Olympics, the island games are at least still on.
These games highlight Taiwan’s three major groups of outlying islands—Penghu, Kinmen, and, this year’s host, Matsu. Contests will pit athletes from these island chains against one another. The eight official island games sports include slow-pitch softball, darts, and, because these are islands we’re talking about, rock fishing.
The games will take place from September 18-20. This week, the county heads from two of the island groups flew to Taipei to promote the event. The backdrop of this year’s games, Qinbi Village on Matsu’s Beigan Island, is reason enough to come. This village has been called “The Mediterranean of Matsu” for its seaside views.
And, of course, as the visiting county heads pointed out, after a long day of watching competitions, visitors can down an invigorating shot of the Matsu Islands’ famous sorghum liquor.