An old military tunnel on Taiwan's outlying Kinmen islands, built decades ago in preparation for war with China, now hosts an annual music festival.
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00:00A moving performance inside an old military tunnel, now the site of an annual two-day
00:13music festival in Taiwan's outlying Kinmen Islands, just a few kilometers from China.
00:19A venue as integral to the show as the music.
00:43Off the coast of China, but governed by Taiwan, Kinmen is the front line between the two sides.
00:50With China claiming sovereignty over Taiwan.
00:53When China bombarded these small islands with shells in the 1950s, this tunnel was built
00:58for boats to transport military supplies.
01:01But now, its thick granite walls serve as a natural echo chamber, creating acoustics
01:07perfect for concerts, and leaving those that witness them in awe.
01:19Though now showcased by the music festival, this old tunnel is not the only reminder of
01:37war here.
01:38Kinmen's past as a frontline battleground is still palpable across the island today,
01:44and its history brings in tourists.
01:46Several former military sites like this tunnel are now open for people to visit.
01:51But unlike the island's other sites, where tourists revisit history, music has given
01:56this tunnel a new life, selling out over 1,500 tickets for this year's festival in just
02:02two minutes.
02:03And for the first time, pieces were composed specifically for this festival.
02:20Performing his original poem, poet Xiang Yang emphasizes the need for peace.
02:33From the confines of this wartime tunnel, a call for peace and a celebration of life.
02:49With poetry and music transforming reminders of a difficult past into a beacon for the
02:55future.
02:56Ryan Wu, Pichi Zhuang, and Keynes Coranta for Taiwan Plus.