The military remains of the Kinmen Islands, a fortified territory of free China

In 1949, the Chinese Civil War ended with the partition of the country. Mainland China remained in the hands of Mao's communists.

Fort Soledad: one of the most remote military positions that Spain had
Momi Bay Battery, a former World War II coastal artillery position in the Fiji Islands

The Kuomintang nationalists, led by Chiang Kai-Shek, were forced to take refuge in Taiwan and other islands that, after the expulsion of the Japanese in 1945, had remained in the hands of the Republic of China, today also known as Taiwan because it is the main island of this country. In addition to it, the Kuomintang maintained in its power the Penghu Islands (Pescadores Islands), the Matsu Islands, two islands in the Dongsha and Spratly archipelagos and, finally, the Kinmen Islands, with an area of ​​153 square kilometers and located a few kilometers from mainland China. Communist China has never held these territories, but has claimed them since 1949.

Due to their location, the Kinmen Islands suffered harsh attacks from the communist dictatorship in Beijing. To counter the Mao regime's attempts to seize its control, the archipelago was fortified, becoming one of the most militarized territories in the world until the 1980s, when the military presence in the area diminished. Today, Kinmen is a bastion of free China a short distance from communist China. These islands are home to some 127,000 people and are the base of the 101st Amphibious Reconnaissance Battalion of the Republic of China Army. Many of their old fortifications are abandoned, and there are several military museums on the islands.

This Sunday, Exploring the Unbeaten Path published an interesting video visiting old military positions on these islands and showing what they look like today:

You can see some screenshots from this video here. At the beginning of the video, we see this M-42 Duster anti-aircraft artillery vehicle, which is very well preserved. It's a 1952 model that was used by the ROC Army and Marines.

An old M-48 Patton tank, also very well preserved. The ROC Army still maintains hundreds of tanks of this model in service, modernized in-house and converted into CM-11 Brave Tigers (450 units) and CM-12s (100).

A Lockheed TF-104 Starfighter and an F-5B Freedom Fighter on display at the old Rushan Fort. The ROC Air Force operated 115 F-5s of the A (single-seat) and B (two-seat) versions, and later licensed-produced 308 F-5E/Fs. Today, they have been replaced by more modern aircraft, such as the F-16 Fighting Falcon, the Mirage 2000, and the locally produced F-CK-1 AIDC fighter.

An old M18 Hellcat tank destroyer, a 1944 model, abandoned on a beach where it was used as a target for military maneuvers. It's curious to see how many military obstacles remain on the beaches of the Kinmen Islands.

An M-24 Chaffee tank tucked into a bunker at Fengshang Sanshao Fortress, an old coastal position now abandoned. This World War II tank was used as a coastal artillery piece.