![Txu-oclc-6557994-index-456](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/60/Txu-oclc-6557994-index-456.jpg)
Qixingyan or Ch'ihsingyen (), also known as the Vele Rete rocks, is a group of
coral island
A coral island is a type of island formed from coral detritus and associated organic material. It occurs in tropical and sub-tropical areas, typically as part of a coral reef which has grown to cover a far larger area under the sea.
Ecosystem
...
s in the
Bashi Channel
The Bashi Channel is a waterway between Y'Ami Island of the Philippines and Orchid Island of Taiwan. It is a part of the Luzon Strait in the Pacific Ocean. It is characterized by windy storms during the rainy period, June to December.
The Bash ...
, located off the southern coast of
Pingtung County
Pingtung County is a county located in southern Taiwan. It has a warm tropical monsoon climate and is known for its agriculture and tourism. Kenting National Park, Taiwan's oldest national park, is located in the county. The county seat is Pin ...
,
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 ...
. The island group is composed by seven
coral reef
A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups.
Co ...
s. Qixingyan is shaped like the
Big Dipper
The Big Dipper ( US, Canada) or the Plough ( UK, Ireland) is a large asterism consisting of seven bright stars of the constellation Ursa Major; six of them are of second magnitude and one, Megrez (δ), of third magnitude. Four define a "bowl" ...
, hence the name "Seven Star Reef". It is about from the southernmost point 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 ...
,
Eluanbi
Cape Eluanbi or Oluanpi, also known by other names, is the southernmost point on the island of Taiwan. It is located in within the Hengchun Township in Pingtung County.
Names
''Éluánbí'' is the pinyin romanization of the Mandarin pr ...
. Due to strong currents and shoals in the area, many ships were wrecked and lives lost in the early to mid-19th century after the
Qing
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-speaki ...
court opened trade between the
West
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...
and
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 ...
. Notable shipwrecks include the 1867 US merchant ship ''Rover'' that resulted in the
Rover incident
The ''Rover'' Incident ( or ) occurred on 12 March 1867 when the American merchant ship ''Rover'', captained by Joseph Hunt who was accompanied by his wife Mercy G. ''Beerman'' Hunt, and en route from Swatow to Newchwang, was wrecked off the c ...
and the 1871 Japanese merchant vessel ''Ryukyu'' which resulted in the
Mudan incident
The Mudan incident of 1871 (、 Japanese: 宮古島島民遭難事件、 Japanese: 琉球漂流民殺害事件) was the massacre of 54 Ryukyuan sailors in Qing-era Taiwan who wandered into the central part of Taiwan after their ship shipwrec ...
.
詮達文教∣高中館∣Free區
See also
* Kenting National Park
* Eluanbi Lighthouse
Eluanbi Lighthouse is a lighthouse located on Cape Eluanbi, the southernmost point of Taiwan, which separates Taiwan's South Bay from Banana Bay and the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea from the Philippine Sea. It is near Eluan Village ...
* List of reefs
This is an incomplete list of notable reefs.
Reefs
See also
*Fringing reef
*Recreational dive sites
*Recreational diving
*Southeast Asian coral reefs
*''The Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs
''The Structure and Distribution of Cor ...
* List of Taiwanese superlatives
This is a list of Taiwanese superlatives.
Geography
Ecology
Demography
Structures
References
{{Asia in topic, Extreme points of, collapsed=yes
Lists of superlatives, Taiwanese
Taiwan-related lists, Superlatives ...
* List of islands of Taiwan
The islands comprising the Taiwan Area under the jurisdiction of the Taiwan, Republic of China (ROC) are classified into various island groups. The Geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as Formosa, is the largest island and the main c ...
References
Landforms of Pingtung County
Coral reefs
Reefs of Taiwan
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