The main language spoken here is Mandarin Chinese. Surprisingly, Mandarin became the main language spoken here only about 70 years ago. Before then, the local langauge was a Chinese dialect known as Minnan. Almost all people I've met who were raised here in Kinmen are able to speak or at least understand Minnan as well as Chinese because this language is still used at home and commonly among older residents. Even though Minnan is considered a Chinese dialect, I cannot understand it at all!
We use the Taiwan dollar here. You can use the same symbol as the U.S. dollar ($) or, to be more specific, you can write NT$. In Kinmen, many places will accept only cash. Some places will accept a local Visa card, but it seems that only international companies such as clothing brands in the mall will accept a foreign credit card! 1 US$ is about 32 NT$, so I can do quick conversions by remembering that 3 US$ is about 100 NT$.
