Green Island
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About Green Island
Green Island, also known by other names, is a small volcanic island in the Pacific Ocean about 33 km (21 mi) off the eastern coast of the main island of Taiwan. It is 15.092 km2 (5.83 sq mi) at high tide and 17.329 km2 (6.69 sq mi) at low tide, making it the seventh-largest island in Taiwan. The island is administered as Lyudao Township, a rural township of Taitung County and one of the county's two insular townships (the other being Lanyu Township). The island once served as a penal colony for political prisoners during Taiwan's period of martial law, although today it is primarily known as a tourist hotspot.
The island was known as Sama-Sana, Samasana and as Samasana Island in the 19th and early 20th centuries, a transcription of its Amis name Sanasai.
The name "Green Island" is a calque of the island's Chinese name, written in Traditional Chinese as 綠島. It is also known as Lyudao, Lüdao or Lü Dao from the pinyin romanization of the name's Mandarin pronunciation; as Lu Tao from its Wade-Giles romanization; and as Lek-to from its Hokkien pronunciation. The name was adopted by the Republic of China on August 1, 1949, at the behest of Huang Shih-hung, the magistrate...
Overview adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA. Photography via Wikimedia Commons.