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Matsu Islands
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The Matsu Islands (also Mazu Islands) are a minor archipelago of 19 islands and islets in the Taiwan Strait administered as Lienchiang County (or Lianjiang) (?? Pinyin: Liánjiang), Fujian Province of the Republic of China (ROC). Not all of what is historically part of Lienchiang county is under the control of the ROC. The People's Republic of China controls the part of the county adjoining the mainland and has a separate administration for that jurisdiction, Lianjiang County, which claims the entire archipelago to be its Mazu Township.
They are named after the goddess Mazu.
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Encyclopedia
The Matsu Islands (also Mazu Islands) are a minor archipelago of 19 islands and islets in the Taiwan Strait administered as Lienchiang County (or Lianjiang) (?? Pinyin: Liánjiang), Fujian Province of the Republic of China (ROC). Not all of what is historically part of Lienchiang county is under the control of the ROC. The People's Republic of China controls the part of the county adjoining the mainland and has a separate administration for that jurisdiction, Lianjiang County, which claims the entire archipelago to be its Mazu Township.
They are named after the goddess Mazu. Kinmen is the other archipelago on the Fujian coast controlled by the ROC.
History
Fujianese Mainlanders started migrating to the islands during the Yuan Dynasty. Most people on Matsu came from Houguan (today Changle County, Fujian).
Some crewmen of Zheng He temporarily stayed on the islands. In early Qing Dynasty, pirates gathered here and residents temporarily left.
As part of Fujian, Matsu Islands were not colonised by Japan, as the island of Taiwan and Penghu were.
After the Kuomintang (KMT) retreated to Taiwan in 1949, the ROC retained the part of Lienchiang County offshore (and the entire Kinmen County as well).
The phrase "Quemoy and Matsu" became part of U.S. political language in the 1960 U.S. presidential election. During the debates, both candidates, Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy, pledged to use U.S. forces if necessary to protect the Republic of China from invasion by the People's Republic of China, the mainland, which the U.S. did not at that time recognize as a legitimate government. Vice President Nixon charged that Senator Kennedy would not use U.S. forces to protect the ROC's forward positions, Quemoy and Matsu.
In April 2003, the county government started considering changing the name to Matsu County to avoid confusion with the county of the same name on the mainland. This is the first example of a local government officially wishing to change its name. Some locals opposed the name change because they felt it reflected a Democratic Progressive Party Taiwan Independence viewpoint.
Townships
Lienchiang County (of the Republic of China) is currently divided into four townships:
- Nankan Township (???; Nángan; literally "Southern Fishing Pole")
- Beigan Township (???; Beigan; literally "Northern Fishing Pole")
- Chukuang Township (???; Juguang; literally "Brilliance of the Ju Kingdom")
- Dongyin Township (???; Dongyin; literally "Welcoming the East")
Altogether, there are 22 Lienchiang villages, which are further divided into 137 neighborhoods (? lín).
All townships, except Chukuang, are named after the largest island in its jurisdictional area, but most townships also include other islets.
Geography
The Matsu Islands include five major islands: Nangan, Dongjyu and Sijyu (both in Jyuguang Township), Beigan, and Dongyin. Minor islands include Liang, Gaodeng, Daciou, and Siaociou -- all belong to the Peikan Township.
- North: 26º18' N
- South: 25º56' N
- East: 120º1'20" E
- West: 119º51' E
Another set of coordinates: 119°51'-120°31' E, 25°55'-26°44' N.
Dongyin is the northernmost and Dongjyu is the southernmost.
- Dongyin is 100 nautical miles (190 km) from Keelung, Taiwan, 180 to the Penghu islands, and slightly over 10 nautical miles (19 km) from the Chinese Mainland.
- The soils are not ideal for farming.
- The highest point is on Peikan, 298 metres.
Areas:
- Nangan: 10.43 km²
- Beigan: 8.86 km²
- Dongyin: 4.35 km²
- Jyuguang islands: see Jyuguang
Average annual temperature is 8.9°C, with the lowest point being 1.3°.
The total number of islands and islets is 19.
Demographics
The language spoken by Matsu residents is Fuzhou dialect, a dialect of Min Dong Language.
Chen is the most common surname, then Lin, Wang, Tsao, and Liu.
Several islands are not inhabited permanently, some of which are stationed by Taiwan soldiers.
Economy
Farm products include rice, sugar cane, tea plant, orange. Sea animals, such as fish, clams, and jellyfish, are also popular exports.
Tourism
Matsu islands are famous for its historical sites and beautiful sceneries. Due to its size, traveling by motorized scooter is an ideal way to get around the main islands such as Nankang and Beikang.
Both Nankan and Beikan have airport, but because the main airport is located and Nankang, travel between the island are frequently done by boats. In fact, boats are the main form of transportation between the Matsu islands.
Nankan is the capital of Matsu is famous for its mesmerizing granite tunnel as well as the Iron Fort. The island is accessible by motorized scooters. It has two interconnected main road, each roads leads to different sites and but because they are connected, it doesn’t take long to visit all of the sites on the island.
The Bei-Hei tunnel are manmade granite tunnel the marvles its visitors. One is located in Beikan while the other is located in Nankang. Both are tunnels are amazing for their time, and took great efforts to be made. The tunnel in Nankang was made in 1968, the completion of Bei-Hei tunnel took the effort of thousands of man. The 700 meters tunnel has the width of 10 meters and height of 16 meters. Completed with shovel, spades, and explosives; the tunnel took 820 days to complete, but it also took the life of a platoon of soldiers. The tunnel was considered a military location and was not open until 1990. The tunnel’s structure and precision still amazes visitors today and is the must see of Matsu.
The Iron Fort is located on the Southwest side of Beikang island. Located by a small cliff; due its location, it is a vulnerable spot for outside attacks or illegal smuggling of materials. With that in mind, the fort was build for defence. It is equipped with multiple machinegun rooms, and completed with rudimentary living facilities. It is now open to the public, and although the machineries are removed from site, the site itself brings back a vivid image of what it was like for the soldiers at that time.
Chin Be is located in Nankang, it was renowned for its style of architecture and history. Much of the buildings were made in late 1800s to early 1900s. However the village was abandoned by the fisherman due living conditions, once occupied by over one hundred households; the village was reduced to less than 20. Luckily by 1960s, the village was restored by the local government. Chin Be is situated beside beach, overlooking China. It is ideal for an early morning or late evening stroll.
Other famous sites include the 88 Tunnel distillery, Matsu temple, Fu-Au seaport, and many different kinds monuments.
Natural reserves
Since 1990, the county controls the Matsu Islands Bird Sanctuary (?????????), which spreads across eight islands and islets in Nangan, Beigan and Tongyin Townships. It contains 30 species in 15 orders, mostly gulls and terns. In 2000, four pairs of the critically endangered Chinese Crested Tern, previously thought to be extinct, were discovered nesting on the Matsu Islands, giving them global conservation importance.
There are also mosses and ferns rare or absent elsewhere in the PRC and Taiwan.
Connection to the goddess
Matsu, though named after the goddess Matsu, is written with a different character that has a different tone. But the Matsu Islands are not the birthplace of the goddess as the human Lin Muoniang -- Meizhou Island is -- but her death place (on a seaport named after her on Nangan Island).
The Matsu Nangan Heavenly Empress Palace (???????), a temple dedicated to the goddess, contains the sarcophagus of Lin Muoniang. It is, however, not as popular as the Meizhou temple.
Most Taiwanese pilgrims to Meizhou start off their journey in the Matsu Islands because they are the closest Taiwan-controlled base to Meizhou, which is controlled by the PRC.
See also
External links
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