Magong ( POJ: ''Má-keng'') is a

county-administered city A county-administered city is a third-level administrative divisions of Taiwan, administrative division in the Taiwan, Republic of China (Taiwan) below a Counties of Taiwan, county, which in turn is below of a Provinces of China, province. Under t ...

and

seat A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but may also refer to concentrations of power in a wider sense (i.e " seat (legal entity)"). See disambiguation. Types of seat The ...

Penghu The Penghu ( , Hokkien Pe̍h-ōe-jī, POJ: ''Phîⁿ-ô͘'' or ''Phêⁿ-ô͘'' ) or Pescadores Islands are an archipelago of 90 islands and islets in the Taiwan Strait, about west of the main island of Taiwan across the Penghu Ch ...

County,

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

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

Name

The settlement's

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

honoring the Chinese Goddess

Mazu Mazu or Matsu is a sea goddess in Chinese folk religion, Chinese Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism. She is also known by several other names and titles. Mazu is the deified form of Lin Moniang (), a shamaness from Fujian who is said to ...

, 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. After 1945, the Wade-Giles romanization Makung was used. Taiwan officially adopted Tongyong Pinyin in 2002 and Hanyu Pinyin in 2009, leading to the

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

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 Counties of Albania, Albanian counties or prefectures, each of which is divided into several Districts of Albania, district ...

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, Potsdam Declaration, when it was dissolved followin ...

. It was an embarkation point for the invasion of the Philippines during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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 Hanyu Pinyin)'' * 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 A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

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, also known as thermal inertia, is an important factor in diur ...

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, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

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 * Jinguitou Fortress * Magong Beiji Temple * Magong Old City Wall * Mazu Temple * Ocean Resources Museum * Penghu Living Museum * Penghu Reclamation Hall * Pier 3 * Shigong Temple * Suogang Fishing Port

Transportation

Penghu Airport operates domestic flights and Magong Harbor hosts ferry connections to

Kaohsiung Kaohsiung, officially Kaohsiung City, is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsiung City has a population of approximately 2.73 million p ...

Tainan Tainan (), officially Tainan City, is a Special municipality (Taiwan), special municipality in southern Taiwan, facing the Taiwan Strait on its western coast. Tainan is the oldest city on the island and commonly called the "Taiwan Prefecture, ...

, Chiayi and

Kinmen Kinmen, alternatively known as Quemoy, is a group of islands governed as a county by the Republic of China (Taiwan), only east from the city of Xiamen in Fujian, located at the southeastern coast of the People's Republic of China, from wh ...

Notable natives

* Chang Yu-sheng, former singer, composer and producer * Pan An-bang, former singer, TV presenter and actor * Tsai Chih-chan, poet and educator

References

External links

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