Magong ( POJ: ''Má-keng'') is a

county-administered city A county-administered city is a unit of administrative divisions of Taiwan, administrative division in Taiwan. Under the administrative structure of Taiwan, it is at the same level as a township (Taiwan), township or a district (Taiwan), district ...

and

seat A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but also headquarters in a wider sense. Types of seat The following are examples of different kinds of seat: * Armchair (furniture), ...

Penghu The Penghu (, Hokkien POJ: ''Phîⁿ-ô͘'' or ''Phêⁿ-ô͘'' ) or Pescadores Islands are an archipelago of 90 islands and islets in the Taiwan Strait, located approximately west from the main island of Taiwan, covering an ar ...

County,

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 northe ...

. Magong City is located on Penghu's main island.

Name

The settlement's

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called church (building), churches), Hindui ...

honoring the Chinese Goddess

Mazu Mazu or Matsu is a Chinese sea goddess also known by several other names and titles. She is the deified form of the legendary figure Lin Mo or Lin Moniang, a Fujianese shamaness whose life span is traditionally dated from 960 to 987. ...

, the deified form of Lin Moniang from medieval Fujian Province, is usually accounted the oldest in all of Taiwan and Penghu. The town was originally named Makeng () but was changed to during Japanese rule in 1920, and was the center of the

Mako Guard District The was the major navy base for the Imperial Japanese Navy in Taiwan before and during World War II. Located in at Mako , (present-day Makung, Pescadores Islands, Republic of China), the Mako Guard District was responsible for control of the s ...

. After 1945, the Wade-Giles romanization Makung was used. Taiwan officially adopted

Tongyong Pinyin Tongyong Pinyin () was the official romanization of Mandarin in Taiwan between 2002 and 2008. The system was unofficially used between 2000 and 2002, when a new romanization system for Taiwan was being evaluated for adoption. Taiwan's Ministry of ...

in 2002 and

Hanyu 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 for ...

in 2009, leading to the

romanization Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, an ...

Magong.

History

The island's Mazu temple was erected in the late 16th or early 17th century. The city Magong'ao began to grow around 1887, during the rule of the Qing dynasty. Under Japanese rule, the settlement was renamed Makō and organized as a

subprefecture A subprefecture is an administrative division of a country that is below prefecture or province. Albania There are twelve Albanian counties or prefectures, each of which is divided into several districts, sometimes translated as subprefectures. ...

of Hōko. The area was a major base of the

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...

. It was an embarkation point for the

invasion of the Philippines Philippines campaign may refer to various military campaigns that have been fought in the Philippine Islands, including: Spanish colonial period (1565–1898) *Numerous revolts against Spain during the Spanish colonial period; see Philippine revo ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

Republic of China

On 25 December 1981, Makung was upgraded from an urban township to a

Administration

Magong City contains 33 municipal villages (): : ''(Romanizations are in

)'' * Fuxing () * Chang'an () * Zhongyang () * Qiming () * Chongqing () * Zhongxing () * Guangfu () * Guangming () * Guangrong () * Chaoyang () * Yangming () * Chongguang () * Xiwei () * Xiwen () * Dongwen () * Anshan () * Guanghua () * Qianliao () * Shiquan () * Caiyuan () * Dongwei () * Anzhe () * Xingren () * Wukan () * Tiexian () * Suogang () * Shanshui () * Wude () * Jing'an () * Shili () * Fenggui () * Hujing () centred on Hujing Islet (; Hóo-tsínn-sū) * Tongpan () centred on Tongpan Island (; Tháng-puânn-sū)

Government institutions

* Penghu County Council

Education

* National Penghu University of Science and Technology

Energy

The city is powered by the Hujing Power Plant located on Table Island.

Climate

Magong has a very warm humid subtropical climate under the Köppen system. Due to the maritime influence,

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 ...

is very low, but in spite of being right on the boundary with the

tropics The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred ...

and having winter lows it falls short of being such a climate. This is courtesy of the influence of the cool Asian landmass and prevailing winds in winter. As a result, the coldest month just falls short of the isotherm. In summer, Magong receives monsoonal rainfall with moderated but hot temperatures. While afternoons most often stay in the low 30's Celsius, nights remain above for several months. It is drier than many mainland areas of Taiwan, although it still frequently is cloudy.

Tourist attractions

* Central Street * Chang Yu-sheng Memorial Museum * Erdai Art Hall * Fenggui Cave * Fengguiwei Fort * First Guesthouse *

Four-eyed Well The Four-eyed Well () is a historical water well in Magong City, Penghu County, Taiwan. History The well is thought to have been dug during the Yuan or Ming dynasties. It is registered as a class 3 historical monument in Penghu. Architecture ...

* Jinguitou Fortress *

Magong Beiji Temple Magong Beiji Temple () is a temple in Magong City, Penghu, Taiwan. The temple is dedicated to Xuantian Shangdi. Because the location of temple is at the eastern side of ancient Magong city, so Beiji Temple is more widely known as "Dongjia Temple ...

Magong Old City Wall The Magong Old City Wall () is an old defensive wall in Magong City, Penghu County, Taiwan. History The construction of the wall started in 1887 and completed in 1889 during the Qing Dynasty rule. During the Japanese rule, the south wall, bo ...

* Mazu Temple *

Ocean Resources Museum The Ocean Resources Museum () is a museum in Magong City, Penghu County, Taiwan. History The construction of the Gallery A of the museum was completed in 1994 and was opened in the same year. It was done by Jyun-han Design and Construction. Th ...

Penghu Living Museum The Penghu Living Museum (PHLM; ) is a museum about the customs and culture of Penghu in Magong City, Penghu County, Taiwan. History In 2001, the Taipei National University of the Arts was commissioned to do the preliminary study and to lay ...

Penghu Reclamation Hall The Penghu Reclamation Hall () is a museum in Magong Township, Penghu County, Taiwan, dedicated to the history of settlement in Penghu Islands. History The museum building was originally constructed in 1935 as the official residence of the Hō ...

Shigong Temple The Shigong Temple () is a temple in Magong City, Penghu County, Taiwan. It was founded between 1683 and 1696 around, for commemorating Shi Lang (Chinese: 施琅,1621-1696), a famous general of the Navy during the Qing dynasty, who defeated Liu ...

Suogang Fishing Port The Suogang Fishing Port () is a fishing port in Suogang Village, Magong City Magong (Pe̍h-ōe-jī, POJ: ''Má-keng'') is a county-administered city and county seat, seat of Penghu County, Taiwan. Magong City is located on Penghu's mai ...

Transportation

Penghu Airport operates domestic flights and

Magong Harbor The Magong Harbor () is a harbor in Magong City, Penghu, Taiwan. History In 2015, Taiwan International Ports Corporation invested NT$1.1 billion to create the Penghu Pier to accommodate cruise liners, to make Magong Harbor a world class cruise ...

hosts ferry connections to Kaohsiung,

Tainan Tainan (), officially Tainan City, is a special municipality in southern Taiwan facing the Taiwan Strait on its western coast. Tainan is the oldest city on the island and also commonly known as the "Capital City" for its over 200 years of hi ...

Chiayi Chiayi (, Taigi POJ: ''Ka-gī''; ), officially known as Chiayi City, is a city located in the plains of southwestern Taiwan. Formerly called ''Kagee'' during the late Qing dynasty and ''Kagi'' during the Japanese era (), its historical nam ...

and

Kinmen 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 se ...

Notable natives

* Chang Yu-sheng, former singer, composer and producer * Pan An-bang, former singer, TV presenter and actor *

Tsai Chih-chan Tsai Chih-chan (April 28, 1900 – April 21, 1958; ) was a Taiwanese poet and educator known for her work during the Japanese colonial period. Biography Tsai Chih-chan was born in 1900 on Magong in the Penghu islands, which were occupied by J ...

, poet and educator

References

External links

* {{Authority control County-administered cities of Taiwan Populated places in Penghu County