The Wind Lion Gods of Kinmen

Kinmen was stripped of its trees over the centuries, and without them the northeast monsoon carried sand across the fields and into the villages every winter. The response was the fengshiye, the wind lion god: a stone figure, usually standing upright and often no taller than a person, set at the edge of a village facing the direction the wind comes from. Dozens survive across the island and no two are alike - some crudely cut and weathered smooth, others carved with detail and painted, many wearing a red cape tied on by villagers, with offerings left at their feet. Finding them is the pleasure, since they stand in fields and against walls rather than in any museum.

What you actually see

• The village guardians - stone lions standing at the windward edge of settlements.
• The capes - red cloth tied on and renewed by the villagers.
• The variety - figures ranging from crude blocks to detailed painted carvings.
• The offerings - food and incense left at the base of the older figures.

When to go

October to April, when the wind that explains them is actually blowing, which makes the point far better than a still summer afternoon. The figures stand outdoors and can be visited at any hour. Maps of their locations are available locally and are worth having, since several are hard to spot from the road at any speed.

Honest expectations

They are small and scattered, and hunting them across the island is a slow business that needs a scooter and patience; some stand on farm tracks with no signage at all. Individually each one is a five-minute stop. Replicas and souvenir versions are sold everywhere and muddle the picture. Kinmen flights are frequently delayed or cancelled by spring fog.

Nearby

Shuitou's old houses and the villages of the eastern half of the island.