Atlas
Penghu Islands
A chain of basalt islets in the middle of the Taiwan Strait — fishing lights and ancient village houses, the historic relay station and forward fortress between the two shores.
Prefecture: Penghu County
Province: TaiwanA fishing boat rests beside Penghu’s curved stone tidal trap, below dark basalt columns and the low roofs of an island village.
Temple1
- Penghu Tianhou Temple
Taiwan's oldest Mazu temple and a national historic monument, Penghu Tianhou Temple holds the Ming stele recording Shen Yourong ordering the Dutch to withdraw.
Natural Wonder1
- Penghu Tongpan Columnar Basalt Reserve
Nicknamed the Yellowstone of Penghu, Tongpan Islet rings its shore with sea-carved basalt columns and a lotus-shaped rock platform.
Bridge1
- Penghu Great Bridge & Tongliang Banyan Tree
A grand bridge spans the turbulent Houmen channel, while nearby a three-century-old banyan spreads its aerial roots to shade the village of Tongliang.
Gate & Wall1
- Magong Shuncheng Gate & Jinguitou Fort
Magong's Shuncheng Gate is the last surviving gate of the Qing-era Penghu city walls, paired with sturdy Jinguitou Fort guarding the channel into Penghu Bay.
In its history4
- Marco Polo1254–1324 CE
Part of Penghu Islands's history: Quanzhou Zayton as Global Hub. Venetian merchant's son who travelled with his father and uncle to Khubilai's court, stayed some seventeen years in Yuan lands, and dictated the account of his journeys in a Genoese prison
- Ibn Battuta1304–1369 CE
Part of Penghu Islands's history: Quanzhou Zayton as Global Hub. 14th-century Moroccan explorer whose global travels documented Yuan Dynasty China and praised Quanzhou as the greatest port in the world.
- Yongzheng Emperor1678–1735 CE
Part of Penghu Islands's history: High Qing Era. Fifth Qing emperor, of the Yongzheng reign, who merged the poll tax into the land tax, replaced native chieftains with appointed officials, and created the Grand Council
- Qianlong Emperor1711–1799 CE
Part of Penghu Islands's history: High Qing Era. Sixth Qing emperor, of the Qianlong reign, who conquered the Dzungars and the Tarim oases, commissioned the Complete Library of the Four Treasuries, and abdicated after sixty years
Yuan2
- Quanzhou Zayton as Global Hub
Known internationally as Zayton, Quanzhou was a major maritime trade center linking Song-Yuan China to overseas networks from the tenth through fourteenth centuries.
- Yuan Establishes the Penghu Inspection Office1281 CE
In 1281, the Yuan established an inspection office at Penghu to administer Penghu and related island affairs.
Qing2
- High Qing Era
Across the Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong reigns, fiscal reform and cultivation supported growth while mounting population and governance pressures accumulated.
- Shi Lang Wins at Penghu1683 CE
In 1683, Shi Lang's Qing fleet defeated Zheng forces at Penghu, opening the way for the Qing takeover of Taiwan.
