Beigan

Beigan Township 北竿鄉
Rural Township
Beigan Township · 北竿鄉
Beigan Township in Lienchiang County
Country	Taiwan
County	Lienchiang County
Government
• Leader	Rei-Guo Chow (周瑞國)
Area
• Total	9.90 km2 (3.82 sq mi)
Population  (Jan. 2014)
• Total	2,270
• Density	230/km2 (590/sq mi)
Postal code	210
Area code	(0)836
Website	http://www.beigan.gov.tw/

View from the Bishen Hill

Beigan Airport, Matsu, Taiwan

Beigan Township (Chinese: 北竿鄉; Báe̤k-găng-hiŏng), is one of the five major islands of the Matsu Islands, is officially administrated as Lienchiang County by the Republic of China (Taiwan). Beigan Township is located to the north relatively to the other islands and it is the second largest island of all five only after Nangan. The most populous and convenient area of Beigan is Tan-chi village (塘岐村) (this is also the place where major shops and restaurant are located).

Beigan Township refers to the administrative subdivision that also includes the major island, Beigan island, as well as other smaller islands of Matsu such as Gao-dan island(高登島), Lian island (亮島).

This township served as one of the Three mini-links (小三通) to mainland China before direct links between Taiwan and the PRC were reestablished.

There is one official branch store of 7-Eleven on the island of Beigan and several other shops on the island. Commercial stores are limited, however, there is an official store of the National Taiwanese Army that is opened for all customers. The main source of income are tourism and spendings by the military personnel that serves to protect the island. There are about few hundreds to thousand soldiers located in the island roughly divided into five armed forces.

Geography

There is a small reef just a few meters outside the beach of Chinbi which is about 5m high. The highest peak on the island of Beigan is Bishan peaking at 294m. The whole island is divided into 6 villages:

• Howo(后沃村)- This village is situated in the peninsula that has to be reached through a tunnel under the airport.
• Chinbi(芹壁村)- This village is famous for a fantastic view and faces the two islands of Beigan, (Liadao) (Gaoden).
• Tanchi(塘岐村)- This village is the most populous and dense village on the whole island.
• Baisha(白沙村)- This village is based near the port that the commercial boats park at.
• Banli(坂里村)- This is where the Beihai Tunnel of Beigan is situated.
• Chiaozai(橋仔村)- On the Northeastern side of Beigan.

Medical Institutions

• Beigang Health Bureau (衛生所)
• North High Hospital (北高醫院)

Transportation

• Matsu Beigan Airport set here as gateway between the Taiwan Island and the Matsu Islands.
• There are commercial boat rides from Nangan regularly, however, does not have boat rides directly to the main island of Taiwan. The boat rides are about 10–15 minutes.

Education

• There are one middle school and two elementary schools located on the island of Beigan.
• The library of Beigan opens daily from Wednesday to Sundays with the exception of national holidays.

Shops and Commerce

• There are no banks on the island of Beigan, however, the Chunghwa Post office serves as a commission to transact funds, process saving and account withdraw.
• There is a branch franchise of 7-Eleven of Taiwan in the village of Tanchi.