Little Liuqiu
| Liuqiu Township | |
|---|---|
| Township | |
 Liuqiu Township in Pingtung County |
|
 Satellite image of Xiaoliuqiu |
|
| Country | Republic of China (Taiwan) |
| County | Pingtung County |
| Government | |
| • Township Chief | Chen Lung-chin |
| Area | |
| • Total | 6.8 km2 (2.6 sq mi) |
| Population (December 2014) | |
| • Total | 12,675 |
| • Density | 1,900/km2 (4,800/sq mi) |
| Website | https://web.archive.org/web/20141015005508/http://liuqiu.pthg.gov.tw/liuqiu/ |
Coordinates: 22°20′19.12″N 120°22′11.34″E / 22.3386444°N 120.3698167°E
Xiaoliuqiu, Little Liuqiu (Chinese: ; pinyin: Xiǎo Liúqiú) or Lamay Island is an island belonging to Taiwan administered as Liuqiu Township (琉球鄉; Liúqiú Xiāng) of Pingtung County. It has an area of 6.8 square kilometres (2.6 sq mi) and lies 15 km (8 nautical miles) west of Donggang; it is Taiwan's only large coral island. The eight villages on the island are populated by approximately 13,000 residents with 10 shared surnames.
Lamay (also Lambay or Lamey), formerly the most common English name for the island, is a name that most probably originates from a Taiwanese aboriginal language. Golden Lion Island is another historical English name for the island. Two years prior to the beginning of Dutch rule in Taiwan, a Dutch ship named the Golden Lion (Early Modern Dutch: Gouden Leeuw) was wrecked on the coral reefs of the isle. After the Dutch took control of the island, they renamed it Gouden Leeuwseylant ("Golden Lion Island") as a memorial to the crew who were killed by the native inhabitants.
In Chinese, Liúqiú originally referred to the island of Taiwan according to the History of Yuan. However, during the Ming dynasty the term came to mean Lamay Island. However, the same Chinese name also refers to the Ryukyu Islands between Taiwan and Japan. Thus, Xiao Liuqiu (Chinese: ; pinyin: Xiǎo Liúqiú; Wade–Giles: Hsiao3 Liu2-ch'iu2; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Sió-liû-khiû; literally: "Lesser Liuqiu"; Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: Séu Liù-khiù) has been commonly used since the Japanese era, although the island is officially Liuqiu Island (琉球嶼; Liúqiú Yǔ; Liu2-ch'iu2 Yü3; Liû-khiû-sū; Liù-khiù-yí). Variants of this name include Little Liuchiu, Hsiao Liuchiu and Liouciou.
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