Overview

Located 25 to 40 kilometers outside the mouth of the Minjiang River. It has a total area of about 20 square kilometers and a population of about 10,000 people. It is under the jurisdiction of Lianjiang County. During the Yuan Dynasty, fishermen from Fujian and Zhejiang coasts used to moor their fishing boats here. At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, fishermen settled on the island one after another. Matsu was named after Matsuo on Nangan Tang. The Matsu Islands consist of three larger islands, namely Nangantang (also known as Matsu Island), Beigantang, and Gauteng, as well as 13 small islands in the vicinity. Matsu Island is the largest, with an area of 10.4 square kilometers and a coastline of 23.5 kilometers. The terrain is higher in the west and northeast, with Mount Yuantai being the highest at 249 meters above sea level. Qingshui'ao on the north coast and Mazu'ao on the west coast are where ships dock. Beigan Tong, also known as Cheung Lantau Island, covers an area of 7.13 square kilometers, with the central walled hill at 297 meters, the highest point on the island. Gordon Island, also known as Beisha Island, is only 9.2 kilometers away from Huangqi Peninsula, with an area of 1.25 square kilometers. The terrain is wide in the south and narrow in the north, and the terrain is high in the south and low in the north, and the 177-meter Shimome Mountain in the south is the highest point of the whole island. Between the south and north pole ponds is the Matsu Strait, with water depths of up to 40-50 meters. The Matsu Islands have a subtropical maritime climate, with small temperature differences and high winds. The Matsu Islands are rocky islands with steep coasts, and sandy beaches develop on the western and southern shores of Beigan Tong. There is little arable land on the island, and the residents are mostly engaged in fishing, with major seafood products such as yellowtail, pomfret, eel, and clove fish. In 1999, the Matsu National Scenic Area, which covers the Matsu Islands, was established. In addition to its topography and cultural features, Matsu's geographic location makes it a transit or wintering area for migratory birds. 2000 saw the establishment of the Matsu Islands Tern Reserve, which mainly targets seven species of birds, including white-browed terns, red terns, pale terns, crested terns, black-tailed gulls, rock herons, and pied rain terns, etc. The black-billed end-crested terns, which are classified as threatened with extinction in the world's Red Book of Birds, were spotted here in June 2000*** Four pairs of black-billed terns are found here each year, which is the best place to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the island. *The best season to see terns is from May to August.

The prevailing language in Matsu is Eastern Min dialects with a Changle accent, known locally as Pinghua, Matsuhua, or Fuzhouhua.

History Matsu Islands

The development of Matsu began in the Yuan Dynasty as a place for mainland fishermen to rest and escape the winds of the sea, and during the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, the area was colonized by Japanese invaders. It was only in the early Qing Dynasty that fishermen from the coast of Fuzhou migrated to the area and gradually formed villages with blood relations, with Chen, Lin, Cao, Wang, and Liu as the major ethnic groups. Today, Nangan is the largest and most populated island in Matsu, and is the county seat of Lianjiang County, which is the political, economic, cultural and educational center of Matsu. The local language is Fuzhou (with a predominantly Changle accent), which is often referred to by locals as "Pinghua" or "Matsuhua", and is inherited from the eastern Fujian region on the mainland. Because Matsu is surrounded by the sea and is windy, local residents often use granite blocks to build along the slopes of the mountains, and their structures are mostly square, double-story, single-floor buildings with small windows that open to high places, window panes made of stone as a skeleton, and a curved ridge that looks like a burning flame like a "fire-sealing mountain wall," and the roofs are covered with red or gray tiles with stones pressed into the seams to prevent the strong winds from blowing and attacking them. The roofs are covered with red or gray tiles and stones are pressed on the joints to prevent strong sea winds from blowing. Some of the houses are influenced by the European architecture of the South Seas, and are commonly known as "yanglou" or "hanhuanjia" (囝搭).

Geography Matsu Islands

The islands begin in the north at the north shore of Dongyin Township (26 degrees 23 minutes); in the south at the south shore of Lin'aoyu Island in Juguang Township (25 degrees 56 minutes); in the extreme east at the east shore of Shimeishan Mountain in Dongyin Township (120 degrees 30 minutes); and in the extreme west at the west shore of Tsusha Village in Nangan Township (119 degrees 51 minutes). It is 114 nautical miles from Taiwan Island, 152 nautical miles from Kinmen, 180 nautical miles from Penghu, 54 nautical miles from the mouth of the Minjiang River, and more than 10 nautical miles from the coast of Fujian. The land area of the islands is 29.52 square kilometers, and the total length of the coastline of each island in the county is 133 kilometers. Geologically, the islands are granite cones with steep and undulating terrain. Beigan Island's Pi Shan has an elevation of 294 meters, making it the highest peak on the Matsu Islands. The first peak of Nangan is Yuntai Mountain, which is 248 meters high, and has been listed as one of the "Little Hundred Mountains" in Taiwan.

The terrain of many valleys, bay澳, coastal areas of granitic rocks, weathering and wave erosion, more avalanche cliffs, reefs, sea caves, sea doors and other terrain, part of the bay of Australia after the alluvial and accretion to form sandy beaches, gravel beaches, pebble beaches. The county's four townships only Dongyin has no sandy beaches.

Climate Matsu Islands

The Matsu region has a subtropical oceanic climate, with four distinct seasons, cold and wet winters, foggy springs and summers, and a more stable average climate in the fall. The latitude of Matsu is slightly higher than that of northern Taiwan (about one degree), but because of the continental climate close to mainland China, the temperature is lower than that of Taipei, with an annual average temperature of 18.6 degrees Celsius, and a big difference between the morning and evening temperatures, with the lowest temperatures from December to February each year, and a slow rise in the months of March and after; the highest temperatures in July and August, with an average temperature of about 29 degrees Celsius, and a gradual decline thereafter, with the lowest average temperature in February, at only about 10 degrees Celsius. Wind speed between October and March of the following year, the mainland cold air masses southward, there is a strong northeast monsoon blowing, so the wind speed is the largest; especially between March and May, began to blow the south winds to form cloudy foggy weather, that is, stratospheric fog. Every spring, the southerly winds bring warm and humid air from the Taiwan Strait, and when it comes into contact with the cooler ground and waters of Matsu, thick fog is formed. The thickness of the stratospheric fog can reach more than 700 or 800 meters, and on a good day, the sun's radiation can only eliminate a portion of the top of the clouds at most. Therefore, if the stratospheric fog does not dissipate for a long period of time, the visibility plummets, which is why flights in the Matsu area often stop and start during this season.

The annual rainfall in Matsu is concentrated between April and May, with typhoons occurring in July and August. The average annual rainfall is about 1,060 kilograms, which is less than half of Taiwan's rainfall, and the rainy season is centered on the plum rainy season and typhoon season from April to September.

Produce Matsu Islands

Specialty food: Matsu's cuisine includes steamed yellowtail, tamarind, pennyroyal, Dongjuguang clams, fish noodles, golden dumplings, shredded radish cakes, seaweed, and Jiguang cakes, etc. Specialty products include Baiba Kengdao sorghum, Dongchong Chen Gao, fish noodles, yellowtail, red dregs, rice vinegar, Matsu crisps, hibiscus crisps, golden dumplings, and honeysuckle tea. According to legend, Qi Jiguang, a great general of the Ming Dynasty, once guarded Matsu to clear out Japanese invaders. In order to fill his stomach while carrying out his mission, General Qi Jiguang poked a hole in the middle of a round-shaped pastry, so that the baked pastry could be tied to his waist or chest through a rope, making it convenient for soldiers to eat while marching and carrying out their mission, hence the name.

Mai onions, commonly known as wild onions in Matsu, are commonly grown on hillsides in Beigan Township, and in winter and spring, when they are at their peak, they are most plentiful and easy to pick on the hillsides next to Huaidolou (former 831) and next to Juguang Fortress.

Sightseeing resources Beigan Township: Matsu Islands

Tang Hou Dao Beach: Beigan Township's most famous attraction, this beach was an important road linking Tangqi and Houao villages on Beigan Island in the early years, and the beach was flooded with seawater during high tides, making Houao village an isolated overseas island. The present Tang Hou Dao beach, in order to contact the convenience of the two villages, especially paved concrete roads, but this also makes the original Tang Hou Dao beach flooded at high tide of the characteristics of the disappearance of the Tang Hou Dao beach; Tang Hou Dao beach also has a characteristic, the south coast belongs to the beach, the north coast belongs to the mud flats, the same sand beach sand quality there are two kinds of difference.

Houao Village

Houao Village is still largely a military stronghold, dominated by the War and Peace Memorial Park and the Luobeng Mountain Nature Ecology Trail; inside the War and Peace Memorial Park, there are a lot of Taiwan's early use of military equipment, and inside the War and Peace Memorial Exhibition Hall, there are Taiwan's early use of light weaponry, the mainland of China's heart of the war and propaganda and other equipment.

Seribi Village

Matsu Islands

Considered to be the most beautiful village in Beigan, it preserves a large number of stone houses from the ancient pirate period. As most of the residents have moved away, the stone houses are not managed by anyone, resulting in the destruction of those that have been destroyed and those that have crumbled, while the Beigan Township Office has made efforts to not only preserve some of the original stone houses, but also to repair the damaged ones one after the other, and to convert them into a private residence.

Wusha Village

Between Shangcun and Tangqi Village, it is a small village next to the beach. Before the opening of Baisha Harbor, it was an important military port, and most of the Beigan Township's supplies were shipped in from here, but after the opening of Baisha Harbor, Wusha Harbor has lost its importance, and after the lifting of the wartime government, the Wusha tunnels that were used as a wartime shelter are also unblocked, and the Beigan Township Office is now setting up internal lighting, communication, and other lines in order to restore and repair the damaged stone houses.

Banli Village

Banli Village is located between Ban Mountain and Lishan Mountain, and it is one of the rare plains in Beigan Township, where agriculture used to provide a lot of food for the people of Beigan Township, and the specialty of Banli Village is the open sandy beach.

Nangan Township

Tian Hou Gong: The name Mazu comes from Mazu. According to legend, Mazu's body, which was lost when she went into the sea to rescue her father and brother, drifted to the mouth of Ao in Nangan's Mazu Village, where incense has flourished for thousands of years, and has been distributed throughout the four townships and five islands, making it a major center of faith for the residents.

Dong Ju

Dapu Colony: The Dapu Colony preserves the most complete stone houses in Matsu. Not only are the stone houses well preserved, but also the nets used by the early fishermen, and the beds, closets, and kitchen utensils of the inhabitants all retain their ancient flavor.

Matsu Islands

Dapu Stone Carving: The stone carving was made by Dong Yingtai, the governor of Fujian Province in the Qing Dynasty, in order to praise Shen Youyong, who was stationed in Dong Juguang, for his wisdom in leveling 60 Japanese invaders without spending a single soldier (a national third-grade monument). Fuzheng Settlement: The stone houses are well-preserved, but the style and scale of construction is very different from that of the Tai Po Settlement. The most important feature of the Fuzheng Settlement is the centuries-old lighthouse, the Dongdug Lighthouse, which was constructed by the foreigners in order to ensure the safety of commercial ships. It is currently being restored by the Juguang Township Office and is open for public tours.

Dongdog Lighthouse: Founded in 1872, Dongdog Lighthouse was one of the first foreign-style lighthouses in Taiwan to be constructed of granite, with a four-story tower, consisting of a body, a light, and a tower, all of which have been preserved over the years, and whose spatial structure is very distinctive, making it an important example of a foreign-style lighthouse from the Qing Dynasty. East dog lighthouse, tower base is made of granite masonry, hollow cylindrical plane, the seat body upward slightly closed, within the screw turned stone ladder, disk turned straight up. The top of the stacked eaves, set up a working platform, the outer cast iron railing, the top of the tower An arched cast iron lampshade as well as the round label. The total height of the East Dog Lighthouse from the ground to the wind marker is 64 feet, or 19.5 meters. Its base is rectangular in shape, about 184 meters long and 61.5 meters wide. Five meters, an area of about one twenty-three sixteen square meters.

Matsu Islands Dongyin Township

Dongchong (Dongyin) Lighthouse: built in 1904, designed by the British, supervised the construction of the tower is three-storey high, by the tower body, the tower light and the top of the tower and so on the composition of the three parts. The body of the tower is made of one meter thick red bricks, and the tower light is constructed of cast iron. Lighthouse facing the Taiwan Strait, built in the northeast of the island of Dongyin Shimei Mountain cliffs, its shape and ancillary premises are inherited from the 18th century British architecture of simple, elegant style, known as "Dongyin villa" of the name.

Lie female righteous pit: Legend has it that in the late Qing Dynasty, a fisherman was killed by pirates, the fisherman's wife did not want to be humiliated, and committed suicide by jumping off the cliff here, and the descendants remembered the martyrdom of the martyrdom of the woman, and named it Lie female righteous pit. Cliffs from the sea up to dozens of feet, magnificent, is one of the best spots to take pictures.