Quemoy Island | island, Taiwan - Encyclopedia Britannica

Quemoy Island, Chinese (Wade-Giles) Chin-men Tao or (Pinyin) Jinmen Dao, also called Kinmen, island under the jurisdiction of Taiwan in the Taiwan Strait at ... QuemoyIsland TableofContents QuemoyIsland Introduction FastFacts RelatedContent Quizzes Media Images More MoreArticlesOnThisTopic Contributors ArticleHistory Home Geography&Travel PhysicalGeographyofLand Islands&Archipelagos QuemoyIsland island,Taiwan Actions Cite verifiedCite Whileeveryefforthasbeenmadetofollowcitationstylerules,theremaybesomediscrepancies. Pleaserefertotheappropriatestylemanualorothersourcesifyouhaveanyquestions. SelectCitationStyle MLA APA ChicagoManualofStyle CopyCitation Share Share Sharetosocialmedia Facebook Twitter URL https://www.britannica.com/place/Quemoy-Island GiveFeedback ExternalWebsites Feedback Corrections?Updates?Omissions?Letusknowifyouhavesuggestionstoimprovethisarticle(requireslogin). FeedbackType Selectatype(Required) FactualCorrection Spelling/GrammarCorrection LinkCorrection AdditionalInformation Other YourFeedback SubmitFeedback Thankyouforyourfeedback Oureditorswillreviewwhatyou’vesubmittedanddeterminewhethertorevisethearticle. JoinBritannica'sPublishingPartnerProgramandourcommunityofexpertstogainaglobalaudienceforyourwork! ExternalWebsites FederationofAmericanScientists-Quemoy(Kinmen) BritannicaWebsites ArticlesfromBritannicaEncyclopediasforelementaryandhighschoolstudents. QuemoyIsland-StudentEncyclopedia(Ages11andup) Print Cite verifiedCite Whileeveryefforthasbeenmadetofollowcitationstylerules,theremaybesomediscrepancies. Pleaserefertotheappropriatestylemanualorothersourcesifyouhaveanyquestions. SelectCitationStyle MLA APA ChicagoManualofStyle CopyCitation Share Share Sharetosocialmedia Facebook Twitter URL https://www.britannica.com/place/Quemoy-Island Feedback ExternalWebsites Feedback Corrections?Updates?Omissions?Letusknowifyouhavesuggestionstoimprovethisarticle(requireslogin). FeedbackType Selectatype(Required) FactualCorrection Spelling/GrammarCorrection LinkCorrection AdditionalInformation Other YourFeedback SubmitFeedback Thankyouforyourfeedback Oureditorswillreviewwhatyou’vesubmittedanddeterminewhethertorevisethearticle. JoinBritannica'sPublishingPartnerProgramandourcommunityofexpertstogainaglobalaudienceforyourwork! ExternalWebsites FederationofAmericanScientists-Quemoy(Kinmen) BritannicaWebsites ArticlesfromBritannicaEncyclopediasforelementaryandhighschoolstudents. QuemoyIsland-StudentEncyclopedia(Ages11andup) Alternatetitles:Chin-menTao,JinmenDao,KinmenTao By TheEditorsofEncyclopaediaBritannica • EditHistory TableofContents APQuemoyIsland,Chinese(Wade-Giles)Chin-menTaoor(Pinyin)JinmenDao,alsocalledKinmen,islandunderthejurisdictionofTaiwanintheTaiwanStraitatthemouthofmainlandChina’sXiamen(Amoy)Bayandabout170miles(275km)northwestofKao-hsiung,Taiwan.Quemoyistheprincipalislandofagroupof12,theQuemoy(Chin-men)Islands,whichconstituteChin-menhsien(county).Whilemostofthesmallerislandsarelowandflat,QuemoyIslandishilly,withbothatablelandandrockyareas.Theclimateismonsoonalsubtropical.Farming,themainoccupation,producessweetpotatoes,peanuts(groundnuts),sorghum,barley,wheat,soybeans,vegetables,andrice.Thegovernmenthasimprovedproductionbybuildingdamsandreservoirs,undertakingreforestationefforts,anddevelopingfisheries.Quemoyisnotedforitssorghumliquor(kao-liang).Tourismhasbeenpromotedsincetheearly1990s.Theall-weatherportofShui-t’ou,situatedonthesoutherncoast,servesthemaintown,Chin-men(Quemoy). NewfromBritannica In2011acatnamedLarrywasofficiallynamedchiefmouserof10DowningStreet,inchargeofcatchingrodentsattheU.K.primeminister’sresidence.Larryhasnowoutlastedtwoprimeministers(andcounting). SeeAllGoodFacts Oncepartofthemainland’sFujianprovince,QuemoyandtheotherislandsinthegroupwereoccupiedbytheNationalistChinesewhentheyweredrivenfromthemainlandtoTaiwanin1949.Thereafter,Quemoy—whichatitsclosestpointisonlyabout1.5miles(2.4km)offtheFujiancoast—wassubjecttoperiodicartilleryexchangeswithcommunistforcesonthemainland.Onesuchincident,in1958,(whichalsoincludedMatsuIslandtothenorth)provokedaninternationaldiplomaticcrisis,whenthecommunistsheavilybombardedbothislandsanddemandedthattheNationaliststheresurrender.ThestandoffwasdiffusedonlyaftertheUnitedStatesinterposedthe7thFleetbetweenthemainlandandTaiwan.Theisland,heavilyfortifiedanditsownershipcontested,remainedunderNationalistmilitaryadministrationuntil1992,whencivilianrulewasrestored.KinmenNationalPark,establishedin1995andsituatedonQuemoyandthreeneighbouringislands,preservesareasofhistoricalinterestandnaturalbeauty.AreaQuemoyIsland,51squaremiles(132squarekm).Pop.(2003est.)county,60,183. BritannicaQuiz IslandsandArchipelagos WhataretheislandsoftheMaldivesmadeof?Whatistheworld’slargestarchipelago?Sortoutthefactsaboutislandsacrosstheglobe.