The 700-year-old community of Shuitou Village boasts one of the best collections of old houses, both Chinese- and Western-style, in all of Taiwan.
There are over 100 western buildings around Kinmen, all built by Kinmen emigrants who made a bundle across Southeast Asia during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Deyue Mansion (得月樓, Déyuè Lóu), probably the most famous, was built in 1931 by the Huang clan (the earliest settlers in Shuitou) and features an unmistakable four-storey gun tower that was for years Kinmen's tallest structure.
The Huang clan also built the rows of traditional Fujian houses near Deyue Mansion. Follow the signs from Deyue Mansion to Youtang Villa (酉堂, Yǒu Táng), a 200-year-old former school that is a fine example of traditional design.
