Dongji Island / Dongji Islet / Tungchi Island () is an island in Dongji Village (), Wangan Township,

Penghu County The Penghu (, Hokkien POJ: ''Phîⁿ-ô͘'' or ''Phêⁿ-ô͘'' ) or Pescadores Islands are an archipelago of 90 islands and islets in the Taiwan Strait, located approximately west from the main island of Taiwan, covering an area ...

(the Pescadores),

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

. Dongji Island has also been known as ''Nandongyu'' (). The island is the site of the Dongji Island Lighthouse (Dongji Lighthouse).

History

Txu-pclmaps-oclc-6550512-to-kichi-to-2016-iv

A temple for

Wang Ye worship Wang Ye worship () is a Fujianese and Taiwanese folk religion, frequently considered an aspect of the Taoist belief system. Wang Ye is particularly worshipped in Southern Taiwan and also among Minnan speaking communities worldwide. The customary ...

on the island was built during the Jiaqing era and restored in 1872. Dongji Island Lighthouse was built in 1911 during the period of

Japanese rule of Taiwan The island of Taiwan, together with the Penghu Islands, became a dependency of Japan in 1895, when the Qing dynasty ceded Fujian-Taiwan Province in the Treaty of Shimonoseki after the Japanese victory in the First Sino-Japanese War. The shor ...

. In June 2012, fisherman Wang Chiu-tang (王秋堂) discovered a fossilized ivory tusk in a trench near the island below sea level. In June 2014, Dongji Island was made part of the new

South Penghu Marine National Park South Penghu Marine National Park () is a national park of Taiwan in the south of Penghu Islands. The marine park includes the islands of Dongjiyu, Xijiyu, Dongyupingyu, Xiyupingyu, other smaller islets and surrounding waters. It is managed by t ...

. In May 2016, a

ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...

service between

Tainan Tainan (), officially Tainan City, is a Special municipality (Taiwan), special municipality in southern Taiwan facing the Taiwan Strait on its western coast. Tainan is the oldest city on the island and also commonly known as the "Capital City" ...

and Dongji Island had its maiden voyage. The trip to Tainan takes about two and a half hours. On July 1, 2016, the

Hsiung Feng III missile mishap On 1 July 2016, a Hsiung Feng III missile was accidentally launched from a Republic of China Navy vessel from waters off Kaohsiung towards Penghu. The missile hit a fishing boat at 8:40 a.m., killing one person and injuring three. Chronology ...

occurred in the waters southeast of Dongji Island. In June 2017, a tornado-like twister was reported in the waters off Dongji Island, which is an occasional occurrence in the area's weather patterns. On January 10, 2018, the Chia Ming Lun (嘉明輪) cargo ship ran aground and sank near Dongji Island. The ship and its cargo was left unsalvaged. On October 4, 2019, over of abandoned fishing nets were removed from coral reef near Dongji Island.

Geography

Dongji Island's village is located near the middle of the island in an area that was previously underwater. There are two mountains on the island- in the north is (), in the south is (). The smaller formerly inhabited Chutou Islet (, ; ) is located to the immediate northwest of Dongji Island. The marine area of

Taijiang National Park Taijiang National Park () is a national park in Tainan, Taiwan. History Taijiang National Park was established in October 15, 2009. Geology The majority of the park is within the city of Tainan. In total, the park's planned area stretches from ...

covers a band extending from the shore of Taiwan Island and long from Yanshui River to Dongji Island, an area of .

Climate

Dongji Island has a

tropical climate Tropical climate is the first of the five major climate groups in the Köppen climate classification identified with the letter A. Tropical climates are defined by a monthly average temperature of 18 °C (64.4 °F) or higher in the cool ...

close to the

humid subtropical A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

boundary. Being an offshore island in the shallow

Taiwan Strait The Taiwan Strait is a -wide strait separating the island of Taiwan and continental Asia. The strait is part of the South China Sea and connects to the East China Sea to the north. The narrowest part is wide. The Taiwan Strait is itself a s ...

, the location has lower

diurnal temperature variation In meteorology, diurnal temperature variation is the variation between a high air temperature and a low temperature that occurs during the same day. Temperature lag Temperature lag is an important factor in diurnal temperature variation: peak d ...

than either mainland Taiwan or the Asian continental landmass to its west. The island is also a lot drier and sunnier than the Taiwanese mainland. The vast majority of rain falls in summer as the East Asian monsoon penetrates the high-pressure systems otherwise dominating the area. Winters are dry with comfortable weather for outdoor activities, although cloudier than the low rainfall amounts would suggest.

Gallery

File:東吉島聚落.jpg, Dongji Fishing Harbor File:澎湖望安東吉嶼燈塔.jpg, Dongji Island Lighthouse

References

External links