"It was said that about 100,000 soldiers used to be posted in Kinmen. When I was young, soldiers were frequently seen in the streets. Now you seldom see them."

A concrete tunnel in Kinmen [file photo]

The shelling stopped in 1979. The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) issued the "Message to Compatriots in Taiwan," published as a headline article in the Beijing-based People's Daily, on Jan. 1, 1979. It appealed for an end to hostile confrontation and tension across the Strait.

In 1987, the Taiwan and mainland authorities allowed civilians to visit relatives on either side.

The history of confrontation has become a tourist attraction on Kinmen. Military tunnels and bunkers as well as four sections of civil defense tunnels have been opened to the public.

One of the island's best-selling souvenirs is a strong spirit, made from a type of millet, produced by Kinmen Kaoliang Liquor, which uses former army tunnels as cellars.

The island, of 80,000 people, is 160 nautical miles from Taiwan Island and just 18 nautical miles from the mainland. It has become a bridge between the two sides.

In 2001, direct passenger and cargo shipping services began between Kinmen and the mainland's Fujian Province. To avoid flying via Hong Kong, as required at the time, many mainlanders took the boat to Kinmen and then flew to Taiwan Island.

Last year 1.28 million people traveled across the Strait via Kinmen and the number reached 710,000 in the first half of this year. A tourist guide for 15 years, Huang has seen great changes in her business.

"A decade ago, most tourists were from Taiwan Island, but now many are from the mainland," she says. "After mainland people were allowed to travel to Taiwan in June 2008, the number more than tripled."