Gangwei () is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

Longhai City Longhai District () is a District in Zhangzhou, in the south of Fujian province, China. Longhai spans an area of , and, as of 2016, it has a population of approximately 736,400. History Following the revocation of the sea ban (''haijin'') in the ...

, in

Zhangzhou Zhangzhou (), alternately romanized as Changchow, is a prefecture-level city in Fujian Province, China. The prefecture around the city proper comprises the southeast corner of the province, facing the Taiwan Strait and surrounding the prefec ...

Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capi ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

(PRC).

History

In the

Second Taiwan Strait Crisis The Second Taiwan Strait Crisis, also called the 1958 Taiwan Strait Crisis, was a conflict that took place between the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of China (ROC). In this conflict, the PRC shelled the islands of Kinme ...

in 1958, Daomei () in Gangwei was one of the areas from which PLA forces shelled

Kinmen County Kinmen, alternatively known as Quemoy, is a group of islands governed as a county by the Republic of China (Taiwan), off the southeastern coast of mainland China. It lies roughly east of the city of Xiamen in Fujian, from which it is separate ...

(Quemoy),

Republic of China 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 northeast ...

(Taiwan). The Daomei milita dug eleven trenches and built 136 air raid shelters. On September 8, Chinese Nationalist forces fired 1,285 shells at Wu Yu, destroying 151 homes and a granary. 37 members of the Daomei militia took eight boats to Wu Yu bringing 130,000 ''jin'' of food for the islanders. No one died or was injured. In February–March 1959, Huojian Commune ('rocket commune'; ) and Hongqi Commune ('red flag commune'; ) were combined to create Gangwei Commune (). In late 1984, Gangwei Commune became Gangwei Township (). On January 1, 1988, ten villages of Gangwei Township were transferred to Longjiao She Ethnic Township (). On December 29, 1988, Gangwei Township became Gangwei Town (). Railway development plans include the construction of a 45-km-long branch line from

Zhangzhou railway station Zhangzhou railway station is the main train station of the Zhangzhou metropolitan area in China's Fujian Province. The station is located in Hongtang Village () of Longhai District, about 10 km south of downtown Zhangzhou.Lin Jun (林君)� ...

eastward, across most of Longhai City, to terminate at the

China Merchants Group China Merchants Group Limited () is an international state-owned corporation (SOE) of the People's Republic of China. The company is operating under the auspices of the Chinese Ministry of Transport. Founded in 1872 China Merchants Steam Navig ...

industrial area () on the southwestern shore of Xiamen Harbor, opposite

Xiamen Island Xiamen Island, alternately known as Amoy Island from its Hokkien pronunciation, is an island in southeastern Fujian, China, on the Taiwan Strait. It is administered by the People's Republic of China as the Huli and Siming urban districts of th ...

(). The branch will be known as the Gangwei Railway (), and will support trains running at speeds up to 120 km/h. Its opening is planned for 2013.

Geography

Islands in Gangwei include: * Bai Yu () * Shuangyu Dao (), man-made island * Pozao Yu () * Qing Yu, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (Ch'ing Hsü, Chingyu; / , also ) (southwest of

Dadan Island Dadan Island (Tatan, Taitan Island, Tae-tan/Taetan) (, originally ) is an island in Lieyu Township, Kinmen County, Fujian Province, Republic of China (Taiwan). The island is in the Taiwan Strait, along the coast of Mainland China. It is locat ...

and

Erdan Island Erdan Island (Erhtan Island) (, also ) is an island in Lieyu Township, Kinmen County (Quemoy), Taiwan. The island has been called Seao-tan. Erdan Island is from Greater Kinmen Island and from Xiamen (Amoy) Island. History On February 21, 1 ...

Lieyu Township Lieyu Township (Liehyu) (; pinyin: ''Lièyǔ Xiāng''; Hokkien POJ: ''Lia̍t-sū-hiong'') is a rural township in Kinmen County (Quemoy), Fujian Province, Republic of China (Taiwan). It mainly consists of Lesser Kinmen (; Pīnyīn: ''Xiǎojīnmé ...

, Taiwan (ROC)) * Wu'an Yu () * Wu Yu, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (Wu Hsu; /) (south of

and

, Taiwan (ROC)) * Xiaopozao Yu ()

Administrative divisions

The town administers 1

residential community A residential community is a community, usually a small town or city, that is composed mostly of residents, as opposed to commercial businesses and/or industrial facilities, all three of which are considered to be the three main types of occup ...

and 15

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

s: * Meishi () * Tangtou () * Dongkeng () * Gucheng () * Shengshan () * Shibu () * Shangwu () * Meishi () * Chengwai () * Gelin () * Shatan/Shayun (/) * Kaohou () * Zhuoqi () * Doumei () * Shenwo/Shen'ao (/) * Wuyu (), centered on the island Wu Yu

Demographics

References

{{coord, 24.3204, N, 118.0073, E, source:wikidata, display=title Zhangzhou Township-level divisions of Fujian