Pingtan County () is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

comprising 126 islands in the

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 ...

, it is under the administration of the

prefecture-level city A prefecture-level city () or prefectural city is an administrative division of the People's Republic of China (PRC), ranking below a province and above a county in China's administrative structure. During the Republican era, many of China ...

of Fuzhou, the capital of

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 ...

, China. Now it is also the subject of newly founded Pingtan Comprehensive Pilot Zone (). The main island is Haitan Island (; Hāi-tàng Dō).

History

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 ...

, Pingtan ''Ting'' () was created. In 1913, Pingtan County was established. On September 27–28, 2016, Typhoon Megi brought torrential rains across Pingtan. Bus lines resumed normal operations on September 29.

Geography

Pingtan County has a total land area of , comprising 126 islands, and covers of sea. The main island, Haitan Island, covers an area of , or 72% of the county's land area, and is the largest island in all of Fujian.

Niushan Island Niushan Island, also known as Niushan Dao,, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency Niushandao, Kiushan Tao or , is an island in Nanlai Village (), Aoqian Town (), Pingtan County, Fuzhou, Fujian Province in the People's Republic of ...

is located in the eastern part of the county. To the east is the Taiwan Strait. The area is the closest place in mainland China (PRC) to the main island of

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 ...

Climate

Pingtan, by virtue of its maritime location, has a moderated climate, with high humidity and minimal

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 da ...

. Under the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

, it has a humid subtropical climate (''Cfa''), with mild winters and hot, humid summers, though much cooler than inland places. The monthly daily average temperature ranges from in February to in July. The bulk of the rainfall annually occurs in spring and early summer, while autumn and early winter is the driest time of the year. The area experiences windy weather, with an average wind speed of , and wind directions are consistent. Freezing temperatures have never been recorded here.

Administrative divisions

The county executive, legislature and

judiciary The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...

is in Tancheng Town, colloquially called ''Pingtan'', together with the CPC and PSB branches. The county administers 7 towns and 8 townships, accounting for 200 neighbourhood and

village committees 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 ...

Towns

* Tancheng () Tàng-siàng Déng * Su'ao (Su-ao; ) Sŭ-ó̤ Déng * Liushui (Liu-shui; ) Làu-cuōi Déng * Aoqian () Ó̤-sèng Déng * Beicuo () Báe̤k-chió Déng * Pingyuan () Bìng-nguòng Déng * Aodong () Ngò̤-dĕ̤ng Déng

Townships

* Baiqing () Băh-chăng Hiŏng * Yutou () Sê̤ṳ-tàu Hiŏng * Dalian () Duâi-liêng Hiŏng * Luyang () Lù-iòng Hiŏng * Zhonglou () Dṳ̆ng-làu Hiŏng * Dongxiang () Dĕ̤ng-siòng Hiŏng * Lancheng () Làng-siàng Hiŏng * Nanhai () Nàng-hāi Hiŏng

Economy

Agricultural products include sweet potatoes and peanuts among others. To the east of the county is the Niushan fishery which produces yellow fish () and

cutlassfish The cutlassfishes are about 45 species of predatory fish in the family Trichiuridae of the order Scombriformes found in seas throughout the world. Fish of this family are long, slender, and generally steely blue or silver in colour, giving ris ...

in abundance among others. ''Tangyu zicai'' () is a local speciality. Mineral resources include coal, iron, and quartz. Industries include mining, salt making, fishery processing, seafood processing, machinery, and

shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to befo ...

. Handicrafts include

scrimshaw Scrimshaw is scrollwork, engravings, and carvings done in bone or ivory. Typically it refers to the artwork created by whalers, engraved on the byproducts of whales, such as bones or cartilage. It is most commonly made out of the bones and teeth ...

References

External links

Pingtan,China
Pingtan Government official website
【大陸尋奇#1829】福建平潭海上絲路 20190825
( Dalu Xunqi'' #1829: Fujian Pingtan, an Oceanic Silk Road- August 25, 2019')
平潭综合实验区管委会办公室关于印发平潭综合实验区（平潭县）乡镇行政区划调整突发事件应急处置预案的通知
{{Authority control Fuzhou Island counties of China County-level divisions of Fujian