Xiaoliuqiu

Coordinates: 22°20′19.12″N 120°22′11.34″E / 22.3386444°N 120.3698167°E / 22.3386444; 120.3698167

Liuqiu Township
Township
Liuqiu Township in Pingtung County
Satellite image of Xiaoliuqiu
Country	Republic of China (Taiwan)
County	Pingtung County
Government
• Township Chief	Chen Lung-chin
Area
• Total	6.8 km2 (2.6 sq mi)
Population (December 2014)
• Total	12,675
• Density	1,900/km2 (4,800/sq mi)
Website	https://web.archive.org/web/20141015005508/http://liuqiu.pthg.gov.tw/liuqiu/

Xiaoliuqiu, Little Liuqiu, or Lamay Island (Chinese: 小琉球; pinyin: Xiǎo Liúqiú) is an island belonging to Taiwan administered as Liuqiu Township^[1] (琉球鄉; Liúqiú Xiāng) of Pingtung County. It has an area of 6.8 km² and lies 15 km (8 nautical miles) west of Donggang; it is Taiwan's only large coral island. The eight villages on the island are populated by approximately 13,000 residents with 10 shared surnames.

Etymology and names

"Lambay insel" (German) on an early 20th century map

Xiaoliuqiu has been known by a number of names in its history.

Lamay (also Lambay or Lamey), formerly the most common English name for the island, is a name that most probably originates from a Taiwanese aboriginal language. Golden Lion Island is another historical English name for the island.^[2][3] Two years prior to the beginning of Dutch rule in Taiwan, a Dutch ship named the Golden Lion (Early Modern Dutch: Gouden Leeuw) was wrecked on the coral reefs of the isle. After the Dutch took control of the island, they renamed it Gouden Leeuwseylant ("Golden Lion Island") as a memorial to the crew who were killed by the native inhabitants.^[4]

In Chinese, Liúqiú (琉球) originally referred to the island that is today Taiwan according to the History of Yuan. However, in the Ming Dynasty the term Liúqiú came to refer to the Lamay Island, the island that is today Xiaoliuqiu. The Chinese name of the Ryukyu Islands between Taiwan and Japan is also Liúqiú (also 琉球), so due to confusion between the two Liúqiús, the name Xiao Liuqiu (Chinese: 小琉球; pinyin: Xiǎo Liúqiú; Wade–Giles: Hsiao³ Liu²-ch'iu²; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Sió-liû-khiû; literally: "Lesser Liuqiu"; Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: Séu Liù-khiù) has been commonly used since the Japanese era although the island is officially Liuqiu Island (Chinese: 琉球嶼; pinyin: Liúqiú Yǔ; Wade–Giles: Liu²-ch'iu² Yü³; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Liû-khiû-sū; Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: Liù-khiù-yí). Variants of this name include Little Liuchiu, Hsiao Liuchiu and Liouciou.

After the Republic of China took control of Taiwan, the island was administrated under the name Liuqiu Township (Chinese: 琉球鄉; Hanyu Pinyin: Liúqiú Xiāng; Tongyong Pinyin: Lióucióu Siang; Wade–Giles: Liu²-ch'iu² Hsiang¹; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Liû-khiû-hiong; Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: Liù-khiù-hiông) as a part of Pingtung County, the only island township of the county.

Geography

Little Liuqiu seen from Dapeng Bay, Linbian Township, Pingtung

Located at the southwest coast of Taiwan, Xiaoliuqiu is bordered by the Taiwan Strait to the west and the South China Sea to the South. It is one of Taiwan's largest coral islands and the only one with significant population and human activities. There are no rivers so farming is very difficult. Most residents make their living by fishing. In recent years the island has become noted for cage aquaculture.

Climate

Xiaoliuqiu has a tropical monsoon climate, with warm temperatures year round with a rainy season from April to October and a dry season with cooler temperatures from November to March of the following year. The sea temperature of the island is above 25 degrees Celsius year round, making it one of the best locations for swimming activities during the winter in Taiwan, as well as allowing up to thousands of species of coral reefs to inhabit the area.

Tourism

Flower Vase Rock, a popular tourist spot

Sanmin Old Street

The Biyun Temple during Taiwan's Ghost Festival

Efforts for planned development received a boost after Xiaoliuqiu was included in the Dapeng Bay National Scenic Area in 2004. Tourism gradually got popular mainly since the late 2000s, with increasing media exposure and advertisements. There are hundreds B&Bs or hotels on the island providing service for the tourists, many of which includes packages such as bicycle renting or scuba diving. According to Pingtung county's statistics of tourism, the number of visitors to Xiaoliuqiu reached 400,000 per year in 2014,^[7][8] a relatively large amount for an island that is only 6.8 km² in size.

Some of the best-known local sights include Black Dwarf Cave (烏鬼洞), Beautiful Maiden Cave, Houshih Rock Formations, and Venice Beach.

Xiaoliuqiu is a popular tourist destination and is well known for its ghost stories and rumors of haunted caves. The most famous is Black Dwarf Cave. Carved on the entrance of the cave is this story:

It was in 1661 (the 15th year of the Yong Li Ming Dynasty) national hero Koxinga (Cheng Chen-kung, 鄭成功), knighted as Yen Ping King, drove the Dutch and restored Taiwan and the Pescadores (Penghu). During the Dutch escape, some Negroes were separated from their unit and arrived at this island. They lived in this cave. Some years later, a British boat with soldiers landed at the place northeast of the cave. As they were enjoying the scenery, those Negroes robbed their food and other things, burned the boat and killed all the British. It was discovered by the British warship that they landed this island and sought the murderers while the Negroes hid in the cave. In spite of many threats, they refused to surrender. Finally, the British burned the cave with oil. Then, all the Negroes died there in the cave. Later it was named as the Black Spirit Cave, which means the cave in which the foreign Negroes had lived before.^[9]

Many have doubted the accuracy of this story and have instead related the "Negroes" to members of the local Siraya tribe, who were massacred in the Lamey Island Massacre.^[9]

Beautiful Maiden Cave (美人洞) has a tragic legend attached to its history. The cave is named after the young daughter of a Ming loyalist who was exiled from China by the Manchus. According to legend, the loyalist lived with his daughter in the cave, surviving on plants and small fish. When the father eventually died, his daughter was so stricken with grief that she bit her own tongue off and died.

List of scenic spots

Administrative divisions

Baisha Port, the only port on Xiaoliuqiu

Liuqiu Airport runway

Liuqiu Township consists of 8 villages, while Zhongfu Village is the administrative center of the township.

Transportation

The only transportation to Xiaoliuqiu is by ship from Donggang in mainland Pingtung County.^[10] Although there is an airport that once had passenger service with direct flights between Kaohsiung international airport and the island, it is now used for helicopter only. The island is 8-9 nautical miles from the Taiwan mainland, which is about a 25- to 30-minute boat ride.

Education

The island only provides education from primary to junior high school. Senior high school and university students need to attend schools on the Taiwanese mainland.

Primary School

• Pingtung Baisha Primary School
• Pingtung Liuqiu Primary School
• Pingtung Tiannan Primary School
• Pingtung Quande Elementary School

Junior High School

• Pingtung Liu-chiu Junior High School

Temples

Xiaoliuqiu is famous for its 38 temples^[11]—six per square kilometer. The most important temple on the island is Piyun Temple, dedicated to Guanyin, the Buddhist Bodhisattva of Mercy. On Guanyin's birthday, the nineteenth day of the second lunar month, a festival is held in Piyun Temple.

Taiwanese opera troupes perform twice a day in front of the major temples for 40 to 50 days.

Wildlife

Xiaoliuqiu is well known for its diverse ecosystem. Chung Au Beach, a popular tourist destination, is a shell sand beach abutting waters that are home to approximately 176 species of fish and numerous coral species. It is also home to sub-adult and adult green sea turtles, with adult females coming ashore to nest during the summer months.

Notable natives

• Lee Shu-chuan, Secretary-General of Kuomintang

See also

• List of islands of the Republic of China
• List of islands of Taiwan
• List of islands in the East China Sea
• Lamey Island Massacre

References

External links

• Tapeng Bay National Scenic Area (Chinese)
• Liuqiu Township Office (Chinese)
• Liuqiu official tourism website (English)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lamay Island.

Cities and townships of Pingtung County
County seat: Pingtung
Cities	Pingtung
Urban townships	Chaozhou Donggang Hengchun
Rural townships	Changzhi Checheng Fangliao Fangshan Gaoshu Jiadong Jiuru Kanding Ligang Linbian Linluo Liuqiu Manzhou Nanzhou Neipu Wandan Wanluan Xinpi Xinyuan Yanpu Zhutian
Mountain indigenous townships	Chunri Laiyi Majia Mudan Sandimen Shizi Taiwu Wutai

Administrative divisions of outlying islands of Taiwan
Kaohsiung	Qijin (Pratas Islands and Taiping Island)
Kinmen	Jincheng3 Jinhu Jinsha Jinning Lieyu Wuqiu
Lienchiang1	Nangan3 Beigan Dongyin Juguang
Penghu	Magong3 Baisha Huxi Qimei Xiyu Wang'an
Pingtung	Liuqiu
Taitung	Lanyu Lüdao
Yilan	Toucheng (Guishan Island and Diaoyutai Islands2)
1 Lienchiang County commonly known as Matsu. 2Diaoyutai Islands are controlled by Japan, (called Senkaku Islands). 3Seat of the outlying islands' counties