Lieyu Township (Liehyu) (;

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

: ''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 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 separa ...

(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 ...

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 List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

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 Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

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 res ...

, a salt works was constructed. During the

Ming Dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

, 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-speak ...

, 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 The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the China, People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five Military branch, service branches: the People's ...

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 Lie ...

by military orders. Donggang Bay was the site of another 1987 Lieyu Massacre.

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 ( 二膽島) ( to the southwest of Lesser Kinmen) *Sandan, Sidan, and Wudan * Fuxing Islet (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 Quanzhou, alternatively known as Chinchew, is a prefecture-level port city on the north bank of the Jin River, beside the Taiwan Strait in southern Fujian, China. It is Fujian's largest metropolitan region, with an area of and a popul ...

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 ...

province.

Infrastructure

* Xihu Reservoir

Tourist attractions

* Bada Tower *

* Erdan Island * Hujingtou Battle Museum * Jiugong Tunnel * 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 ''Ji ...

in Greater Kinmen Island by Kinmen Bridge which is currently still under construction.

References

External links

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