Penghu

The "Penghu" islands were mentioned in a series of poems from the Tang dynasty (618–907). In the Song dynasty (960–1279), it was mentioned that in the Tang period, "Pinghu" barbarians from beyond Quanzhou had laid siege to Fuzhou, now the capital of Fujian Province. In 1171, poet Lou Yue described a place across the sea from Quanzhou, identified as Penghu, that had thousands of sandbars called "Pinghu" (flat lake) because of the "encircling shape of its inner coastline". Song sources describe migrants from Fujian cultivating land on Pinghu. In 1225, the Song historian Zhao Rukuo called the islands attached to Jinjiang County "Penghu". In 1227, Wang Xiangzhi described Penghu as a group of 36 islands in an "outlying region" which took three days to reach by sailing from Jinjiang. …

Penghu 1, a fossil jaw (mandible) dating to the Middle or Late Pleistocene that belonged to a member of an extinct hominin species, possibly a Denisovan, was discovered in the Penghu Channel c. 2008. Finds of fine red cord-marked pottery at Guoye, Huxi, indicate that Penghu was visited by Austronesians from southwestern Taiwan around 5,000 years ago, though not settled permanently. Han Chinese from southern Fujian began to establish fishing communities on the islands in the 9th and 10th centuries, and representatives were intermittently stationed there by the Southern Song and Yuan governments from c. 1170. Chinese fishermen had settled on the Penghu Islands by 1171, when a group of "Bisheye" bandits with dark skin speaking a foreign language landed on Penghu and plundered the fields planted by Chinese migrants. …

Penghu County has a dry-winter humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification: Cwa), bordering on a regular humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification: Cfa).

Due to its restricted geography, fishing has been the main industry for Penghu. The Agriculture and Fisheries Bureau of the Penghu County Government governs matters related to agriculture and fisheries in Penghu. In 2016, the bureau placed a ban on the harvesting of sea urchins due to their declining population. The ban was partially lifted in 2017, with catches limited to only specimens larger than 8 cm (3.1 in) in diameter.

The Penghu National Scenic Area was established in the early 1990s, comprising most of the islands and islets of the archipelago. Tourism has since become one of the main sources of income of the county. Historical sites include Central Street, Erdai Art Hall, Tianhou Temple, Four-eyed Well, Penghu Reclamation Hall, Qimei Lighthouse, Xiyu Eastern Fort, Jinguitou Fortress and Xiyu Western Fort. Museums in the county are Chuwan Crab Museum, Ocean Resources Museum, Chang Yu-sheng Memorial Museum and Penghu Living Museum. Other attractions in the county include the Double-Heart of Stacked Stones, Fenggui Cave, Little Taiwan, Whale Cave, Xiaomen Geology Gallery and South Penghu Marine National Park. Since 1 January 2015, tourists from Mainland China can directly apply for the Exit & Entry Permit upon arrival in Penghu. …

Penghu is served by Penghu Airport in Magong City and Qimei Airport in Cimei Township. Both airports opened in 1977. Daily Air operates flights between Penghu to Kaohsiung. The county has Magong Harbor and Longmen Jianshan Pier. Magong Harbor hosts ferry connections with Kaohsiung, Tainan, Chiayi and Kinmen.