Nangan Island is shaped like a rhinoceros. The locals say that, from the sea, the cape that projects from this village on northeastern Nangan resembles a rhino horn—and that is what the village’s name, Niujiao , means. Immigrants, mainly of the Cao clan, began settling here in the late Qing Dynasty. Their primary means of livelihood was fishing, with farming practiced as well. Later on, shark fishermen from Quanzhou in Fujian also came to settle. Fish were abundant in the surrounding waters, and during the Second World War Matsu enjoyed a period of prosperity. Many houses were built of granite and a forest of sails filled the nearby sea; frequently, more than 200 docked here at the same time. When the Nationalist army first occupied the island, Niujiao was boats Nangan’s biggest village and the site of the county government’s predecessor agency as well as various administrative organizations. After the administrative organizations moved out, Niujiao declined. In 1971 it was renamed Fuxing Village. In 1998 a group of intellectuals launched a movement to preserve the village, putting idle land to use and holding a continuous series of cultural activities to rebuild community values and restore the cultural self-confidence of Matsu’s people.
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Niujiao Village
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