Lieyu Township (Liehyu) (;

pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally writte ...

: ''Lièyǔ Xiāng'';

Hokkien The Hokkien () variety of Chinese is a Southern Min language native to and originating from the Minnan region, where it is widely spoken in the south-eastern part of Fujian in southeastern mainland China. It is one of the national languages ...

POJ: ''Lia̍t-sū-hiong'') is a rural township in Kinmen County (Quemoy),

Fujian Province 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 cap ...

Republic of China (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 northeast ...

. It mainly consists of Lesser Kinmen (; Pīnyīn: ''Xiǎojīnmén''), Dadan, and Erdan, three islands of the ROC located to the west of Greater Kinmen and immediately to the east of Xiamen (Amoy) of the

People's Republic of 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 ...

Name

According to tradition, Greater Kinmen/Kinmen Island and Lesser Kinmen/Lieyu were originally one island. Lieyu was split-off ( ''lie'') from Kinmen Island, hence the name Lieyu.

History

Xiamen Island, Lieyu Island and Kinmen Island

The first people arrived from the Central Plains of China during the

Tang Dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdom ...

and quickly developed the island. The population quickly multiplied. During the Tang Dynasty, a horse

pasture Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep, or sw ...

was set up on the island. During the

Song Dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

, a salt works was constructed. During the

Ming Dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peo ...

, a frontier command was constructed. During the

Qing Dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-spea ...

, a garrison was sent to protect against Japanese pirates. Badalouzi 20150103

On July 26, 1950, ROC forces on the

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 located ...

(Tatan), in total 298 soldiers, repulsed an attack ( 大擔島戰役) from a People's Liberation Army force of 700 soldiers that landed on the island. In January 1985, a boat of surrendered Chinese fishermen were executed on

Shi Islet Shi Islet (; also Shi Yu,, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency Shih Yü,, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency Shiyu, Shiyu Islet and Lion Islet) is an islet located northwest of Lesser Kinmen (Lieyu) in Li ...

by military orders. Donggang Bay was the site of another

1987 Lieyu Massacre The 1987 Lieyu massacre occurred on 7 March 1987, at Donggang Bay, Lieyu Island ("Lesser Kinmen" or "Little Quemoy"), Kinmen, Fujian, Republic of China. ROC military officially denied the massacre, and defined it as an incident of ...

Geography

The island of Lesser Kinmen is situated outside the mouth of mainland China's

Jiulong River The Jiulong River, formerly known as the Longjiang or Zhangjiang, is the largest rivers of China, river in southern Fujian and the second largest in the province. It has a length of and a basin of . Like all Fujianese rivers Ting River, but ...

and . The distance from mainland China at the closest point is only about and is located in a very strategic position. Lieyu Township includes numerous islands and islets. Some of the larger among those islands and islets include: *Lesser Kinmen (Hsiao Kinmen, Lieyu; ) *

( to the southwest of Lesser Kinmen) *

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 ...

( 二膽島) ( to the southwest of Lesser Kinmen) *Sandan, Sidan, and Wudan *

Fuxing Islet Fuxing Islet () (Fuhsing Islet, Hou-chai Hsü) is an islet located south of Lesser Kinmen (Lieyu) in Lieyu Township, Kinmen County (Quemoy), Fujian Province, Republic of China (Taiwan). The name of the islet was originally Phaktia (). Histo ...

(Fuhsing Islet; Phaktia) () * Menghu Islet (Tiger Island) () *Shi Islet (Lion Islet) () * Binlang Islet ('

Areca Nut ''Areca'' is a genus of 51 species of palms in the family Arecaceae, found in humid tropical forests from the islands of the Philippines, Malaysia and India, across Southeast Asia to Melanesia. The generic name ''Areca'' is derived from a name ...

Islet') ()

Administrative divisions

Lieyu Township is divided into five rural villages: * Linhu Village () * Shangqi/Shangchi Village () * Xikou/Sikou Village () * Huangpu Village () * Shanglin Village ()

Politics

The

government of the People's Republic of China The Government of the People's Republic of China () is an authoritarian political system in the People's Republic of China under the exclusive political leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It consists of legislative, executive, mili ...

claims Kinmen County (Jinmen County in ''

'') as part of Quanzhou City in its own

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 cap ...

province.

Infrastructure

* Xihu Reservoir

Tourist attractions

* Bada Tower *

* Hujingtou Battle Museum *

Jiugong Tunnel The Jiugong Tunnel () or Siwei Tunnel () is a tunnel in Lieyu Township, Kinmen County, Taiwan. It was used during the 1958 Second Taiwan Strait Crisis, when the island was heavily shelled by People's Republic of China China, officiall ...

* Landmine Museum * Lieyu Township Culture Museum * Lingshui Lake

Transportation

Water

The township houses one ferry pier named Jiugong Pier which sails to Shuitou Pier in

Jincheng Township Jincheng is a prefecture-level city in the southeast of Shanxi province, China, bordering Henan province to the south and southeast. It is an industrial city in an area where coal mining is an important industry. The entire city has a population ...

, Greater Kinmen Island.

Road

In the future, Lieyu Township will be connected to

Jinning Township Jinning District () is one of seven districts of the prefecture-level city of Kunming, the capital of Yunnan Province, Southwest China. The formation of the district was approved on November 24, 2016, after the dissolution of the former ''Jinn ...

in Greater Kinmen Island by

Kinmen Bridge The Kinmen Bridge () is a cross-sea bridge in Kinmen, Fujian, Republic of China (Taiwan). It connects Greater Kinmen Island and Lieyu Island. History On 28 February 2010, this project of constructing the bridge was approved by Council for Econ ...

which is currently still under construction.

References

External links

Kinmen County Government official website
{{Territorial disputes in East, South, and Southeast Asia