Jiangong Islet

The Jiangong Islet is a tidal island in Jincheng Township, Kinmen County, Fujian Province, Republic of China.

History

The islet was originally named Chu Islet. In 1949, the Republic of China Armed Forces occupied the islet and built the Lion Fort, Andutou and Koxinga Shrine Barracks. In 1960, the Ministry of the Interior approved the renaming of the islet to become Jiangong Islet.
On 20October1997, the Kinmen Defense Command withdrew military personnel from the islet and Kinmen [County Government] resumed control of it. In 2002, the county government began restoring the area and opened to promote tourism. In September2016, the islet was damaged by Typhoon Meranti. It was subsequently repaired with a cost of NT$6,410,000. The island was closed for reconstruction starting 20December2017. It was then reopened to the public in end of February2018.

Geology

The island has an area of 500m². The island is connected to main Kinmen island by a causeway that only appears in low tide. Since the island opened to visitors, there have been multiple incidents of visitors being trapped on the island due to misunderstanding tide timing.

Features

The island has a statue of Koxinga which was built in 1968 to commemorate the Ming Dynasty hero who led the resistance against Manchurian invaders. The islet also has a viewing platform offers a view of the surrounding area.