Sea change: Fishermen and villagers go from conflict to cooperation

As the nearest Chinese mainland village to Taiwan-administered Kinmen Island, the fishing village of Weitou in Quanzhou, Fujian province, has had a unique role as a witness to cross-Strait history.

"Our village has been like a barometer of the changing relations between the two sides since the founding of New China," said Hong Shuiping, the village chief of Weitou. "We used to be enemies with the other side, but now we are family."

The village is located on a peninsula and is only 5.2 nautical miles (9.6 kilometers) from Kinmen. It takes just 15 minutes by speedboat to get to the island from Weitou.