Dongshan County is a county in Zhangzhou

Zhangzhou

Zhangzhou is a prefecture-level city in southern Fujian province, People's Republic of China. Located on the banks of the Jiulong River , Zhangzhou borders the cities of Xiamen and Quanzhou to the northeast, Longyan City to the northwest and the province of Guangdong to the southwest.Zhangzhou...

 Prefecture-level city

Prefecture-level city

A prefectural level city , prefectural city or prefectural level municipality is an administrative division of the People's Republic of China, ranking below a province and above a county in China's administrative structure. Prefectural level cities form the second level of the administrative...

，Fujian

Fujian

' , formerly romanised as Fukien or Huguing or Foukien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait...

 province, People's Republic of China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

. It is located to the south of the west coast of Fujian province along the Strait of Taiwan (longitude 117°17'33" E, latitude 23°33'33" ~ 47'11" N). There are 44 islands altogether in the county. The total area of all the islands is 194 km², and the population of the county is 200,000 residents. Dongshan County has jurisdiction over 7 towns, a nationally managed forest and an economic and technological development district.

History

In one of the islands, there are several ancient relics, including the Mountain of the Nine Immortals, and the Dongshan ancient city where two famous Ming Dynasty

Ming Dynasty

The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...

 generals, Qi Jiguan and Zheng Chenggong were based.

There is the ancient Tonghshan Castle situated in Tongling Town on northwestern Dongshan Island. This waterside castle was built of stone in 1387 by Zhou Dexing of the Ming Dynasty to protect against Japanese pirates. The gate tower still stands intact. Inside, there is a path linked by corridors and the exquisite Temple of Guan Yu. The entrance to the temple is flanked by ancient houses, the birthplace of Huang Daozhou, an official of the Ming Dynasty.

In 1950, at the end of the Chinese Civil War

Chinese Civil War

The Chinese Civil War was a civil war fought between the Kuomintang , the governing party of the Republic of China, and the Communist Party of China , for the control of China which eventually led to China's division into two Chinas, Republic of China and People's Republic of...

, the island was the scene of fighting

Battle of Dongshan Island

The Battle of Dongshan Island was a battle fought between the Nationalists and the Communists during the last days of the Chinese Civil War over the control of the Eastern Mountain Island at the southern tip of Fujian, China...

 between the nationalist

Kuomintang

The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...

 and communist forces, and again in 1953 during an unsuccessful attempt

Dongshan Island Campaign

Dongshan Island Campaign was a series battles fought on the Eastern Mountain Island, Fujian between the nationalists and the communists during the Chinese Civil War when the nationalists unsuccessfully attempted to retake the island from the Communists...

 by the nationalists to retake the island.

Economy

Dongshan County is conveniently situated between two economically vibrant cities of Xiamen and Shantou. Both of which are Special Economic Zones which have spillover economic effects for Dongshan County such as increased tourism. The total GDP of islands in 2003 was 3.62 billion yuan. The main industries are fishery, fish farming and asparagus farming. The tourism industry is based on rich ancient history, seaside resorts and breath taking scenery.

Towns (镇, zhen)

There are six:

• Tongshan (铜山), the county-town
• Tongling （铜陵）
• Xipu (西埔)
• Qianlou (前楼)
• Chencheng (陈城)
• Kangmei (康美)
• Zhangtang (樟塘)
• Xingchen (杏陈)

Climate

The climate of the Dongshan Islands is sub tropical. In winter, north-east winds, and in summer south-east winds prevail. The annual average temperature is 20.8 degrees Celsius. The coldest month of the year is February with an average temperature of 12.9 Celsius; the hottest, July, with an average temperature of 27.3 Celsius. Dongshan County have warm winters, cool summers, and no ice throughout the year. The annual average rainfall is only 1103.8 mm, which causes a shortage of fresh water. Additional water must be acquired in from outside for both domestic and industrial use.

Transport

Dongshan Port is one of the main ports in Fujian opened to foreign vessels and is the very near to Taiwan and Hong Kong. The port has large body of water, large hinterland, and a deep, sediment free harbour. The harbour is big enough for twenty-two 10,000 tons berths. Currently,the port has two deep water harbours built to accommodate 3,000 tons berths. These facilities provide Dongshan Port an important commercial link between Xiamen and Shantou. Dongshan Port has been opened to foreign vessels since 2003.

External links

• http://www.diedao.com/main.htm