Penghu

Penghu Islands 澎湖縣 Pescadores
County
Penghu County
Clockwise from the top: A night view of Xiying Rainbow Bridge, Zhongyang Old Street, Qimei Double-Heart of Stacked Stones, Baisha Beach, Penghu Tianhou Temple, Budai Harbor
Flag Logo
Coordinates: 23°34′03″N 119°34′39″E / 23.56750°N 119.57750°E / 23.56750; 119.57750
Country	Republic of China (Taiwan)
Province	Taiwan Province (streamlined)
Seat	Magong City
Largest city	Magong
Boroughs	One city, five rural townships
Government
• Body	Penghu County Government Penghu County Council
• County Magistrate	Chen Kuang-fu (DPP)
Area
• Total	141.052 km2 (54.460 sq mi)
• Rank	22 of 22
Population  (December 2014)
• Total	101,758
• Rank	21 of 22
• Density	720/km2 (1,900/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+8 (National Standard Time)
ISO 3166 code	TW-PEN
Website	www.penghu.gov.tw
Symbols
Bird	Small Skylark (Alauda gulgula)
Flower	Firewheel (Gaillardia pulchella)
Tree	Chinese Banyan (Ficus microcarpa)

The Penghu (/ˈpʌŋˈhuː/ PUNG-HOO,^[1] Hokkien POJ: Phîⁿ-ô͘  or Phêⁿ-ô͘ ) or Pescadores Islands are an archipelago of 90 islands and islets in the Taiwan Strait, located approximately 50 km (31 mi) west of the main island of Taiwan across the Penghu Channel, covering an area of 141 square kilometers (54 sq mi). The archipelago collectively forms Penghu County of Taiwan and is the smallest county of Taiwan. The largest city is Magong, located on the largest island, which is also named Magong.

The Penghu islands first appear in the historical record during the Tang dynasty and were inhabited by Chinese people under the Southern Song dynasty, during which they were attached to Jinjiang County of Fujian.^[2] The archipelago was formally incorporated as an administrative unit of China in 1281 under Tong'an County of Jiangzhe Province during the Yuan dynasty.^[3] It continued to be controlled by Imperial China with brief European occupations by the Dutch Empire (1622–1624) and Second French colonial empire (1885), until it was ceded to the Japanese Empire in 1895. Since the end of World War II, Penghu has been governed by the Republic of China (ROC). Under the terms of the Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty and the subsequent Taiwan Relations Act between the ROC and the United States, Penghu is defined and geographically acknowledged as part of Taiwan.^[4][5]

Penghu Islands rely solely on sea and air transportation, with air transport having a significant role in outside access. The islands are served by three local domestic airports: Penghu Airport, Qimei Airport, and Wang-an Airport. The Penghu National Scenic Area comprises most of the islands and islets of the archipelago. It is also renowned for its unique natural feature of columnar basalt landscape. Tourism is one of the main sources of income to the county.