Xitouxia Village, which covers an area of just 0.13 square kilometers, is located close to the picturesque Huandao Road in Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian Province. The silver of the beach, enchanting backdrop of the glistening sea and the distant islands seen through the enigmatic mist have made the village popular with tens of thousands of young couples. They come here seeking an idyllic location to take their wedding photos.

As the closest village to the Jinmen Islands, approximately 4,000 meters away, Xitouxia has witnessed rapid development of cross-Straits relations throughout its service as a battlefront for over 20 years. Then Message to Compatriots in Taiwan published on New Year's Day, 1979 called for the end of the cross-Strait military confrontation.

The normalization and warming of cross-Straits relations have brought peace back to Xitouxia. The villagers here have continued with their lives, making the daily journey along the coastline to the port to sell their seafood for a living.

In 2003, the first photo studio opened in the village. This was followed by many others, changing the once battlefront into a picture perfect resort for wedding photos. The stone houses which once accommodated villagers, who latterly lost their homes during the war, have been transformed into shops and stores to attract visitors from across China.

Since 2015, Xiamen has strived to renovate many of the old communities. With the support of the local government, the houses and roads in Xitouxia have been upgraded and reconstructed. Xitouxia village is now home to more than 90 photography workshops, 40 hotels, and numerous coffee shops, with annual visitor volume topping 0.5 million.

(Photos by Wang Xiang)

Copyedited by Craig Crowther

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