Kinmen Island

Kinmen is the largest island in the Kinmen Archipelago, located in the southern part of Fujian Province in southeastern China, opposite Xiamen. It has an area of ​​131.7 square kilometers, with the highest point being Taiwu Mountain, 253 meters above sea level. It has a population of 53,832 (2000). At the end of the Ming Dynasty, Kinmen and Xiamen became bases for Koxinga's anti-Qing restoration campaign. Since 1949, Kinmen has been under the control of the Taiwanese government, along with Taiwan and Matsu Island to the north, and has been turned into a fortress. Until 1978, artillery fire was exchanged between the People's Liberation Army and the island. The island's main industry is agriculture, producing rice, sweet potatoes, and peanuts. It is also rich in marine products.

[Aoki Chieko and Kono Michihiro]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

中国南東部、福建(ふっけん／フーチエン)省南部、厦門(アモイ)の対岸にある金門列島中最大の島。面積131.7平方キロメートル、最高点は太武山で標高253メートル。人口5万3832（2000）。明(みん)末に厦門とともに鄭成功(ていせいこう)の反清復明(はんしんふくみん)の基地となった。1949年以来、台湾および北方の馬祖島(ばそとう／マーツータオ)とともに台湾政府の治下に入り要塞(ようさい)化されている。78年までは人民解放軍との間に砲撃が応酬された。島の主産業は農業で、米、サツマイモ、ラッカセイを生産する。水産物も豊富である。

［青木千枝子・河野通博］

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