We stayed one night at a traditional house at Shuitou Village, which is the hometown of many Kinmen Diaspora. The people of Kinmen emigrated all over the world due to the small size of the island and its historical poverty. I read a report that says that there are 100,000 Singaporeans of Kinmen descent - more Kinmen people in Singapore than Kinmen itself! There are many famous members of the Kinmen Diaspora, the most prominent of whom is Wee Cho Yaw, founder of the United Overseas Bank, one of the three Singapore banks. Shuitou's diaspora had showered the village with beautiful houses many of which were built of mixed architectural styles combining that of both Western and Eastern heritage noticed by the Diaspora in places such as Singapore and Malaysia. In fact, the Kinmen dialect contains many words from South East Asia, such as pasar for market. |
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