1.
Pascal (unit)
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The pascal is the SI derived unit of pressure used to quantify internal pressure, stress, Youngs modulus and ultimate tensile strength. It is defined as one newton per square meter and it is named after the French polymath Blaise Pascal. Common multiple units of the pascal are the hectopascal which is equal to one millibar, the unit of measurement called standard atmosphere is defined as 101,325 Pa and approximates to the average pressure at sea-level at the latitude 45° N. Meteorological reports typically state atmospheric pressure in hectopascals, the unit is named after Blaise Pascal, noted for his contributions to hydrodynamics and hydrostatics, and experiments with a barometer. The name pascal was adopted for the SI unit newton per square metre by the 14th General Conference on Weights, one pascal is the pressure exerted by a force of magnitude one newton perpendicularly upon an area of one square metre. The unit of measurement called atmosphere or standard atmosphere is 101325 Pa and this value is often used as a reference pressure and specified as such in some national and international standards, such as ISO2787, ISO2533 and ISO5024. In contrast, IUPAC recommends the use of 100 kPa as a standard pressure when reporting the properties of substances, geophysicists use the gigapascal in measuring or calculating tectonic stresses and pressures within the Earth. Medical elastography measures tissue stiffness non-invasively with ultrasound or magnetic resonance imaging, in materials science and engineering, the pascal measures the stiffness, tensile strength and compressive strength of materials. In engineering use, because the pascal represents a small quantity. The pascal is also equivalent to the SI unit of energy density and this applies not only to the thermodynamics of pressurised gases, but also to the energy density of electric, magnetic, and gravitational fields. In measurements of sound pressure, or loudness of sound, one pascal is equal to 94 decibels SPL, the quietest sound a human can hear, known as the threshold of hearing, is 0 dB SPL, or 20 µPa. The airtightness of buildings is measured at 50 Pa, the units of atmospheric pressure commonly used in meteorology were formerly the bar, which was close to the average air pressure on Earth, and the millibar. Since the introduction of SI units, meteorologists generally measure pressures in hectopascals unit, exceptions include Canada and Portugal, which use kilopascals. In many other fields of science, the SI is preferred, many countries also use the millibar or hectopascal to give aviation altimeter settings. In practically all fields, the kilopascal is used instead. Centimetre of water Metric prefix Orders of magnitude Pascals law
2.
Bar (unit)
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The bar is a metric unit of pressure, but is not approved as part of the International System of Units. It is defined as equal to 100000 Pa, which is slightly less than the current average atmospheric pressure on Earth at sea level. The bar and the millibar were introduced by the Norwegian meteorologist Vilhelm Bjerknes, use of the bar is deprecated by some professional bodies in some fields. The International Astronomical Union also lists it under Non-SI units and symbols whose continued use is deprecated, as of 2004, the bar is legally recognized in countries of the European Union. Units derived from the bar include the megabar, kilobar, decibar, centibar, the notation bar, though deprecated by various bodies, represents gauge pressure, i. e. pressure in bars above ambient or atmospheric pressure. The bar is defined using the SI derived unit, pascal,1 bar ≡100000 Pa. Thus,1 bar is equal to,100 kPa 1×105 N/m21000000 Ba, notes,1 millibar =1 one-thousandth bar, or 1×10−3 bar 1 millibar =1 hectopascal. The word bar has its origin in the Greek word βάρος, the units official symbol is bar, the earlier symbol b is now deprecated and conflicts with the use of b denoting the unit barn, but it is still encountered, especially as mb to denote the millibar. Between 1793 and 1795, the bar was used for a unit of weight in an early version of the metric system. Atmospheric air pressure is given in millibars where standard sea level pressure is defined as 1013 mbar,101.3,1.013 bar. Despite the millibar not being an SI unit, meteorologists and weather reporters worldwide have long measured air pressure in millibars as the values are convenient, for example, the weather office of Environment Canada uses kilopascals and hectopascals on their weather maps. In contrast, Americans are familiar with the use of the millibar in US reports of hurricanes, in fresh water, there is an approximate numerical equivalence between the change in pressure in decibars and the change in depth from the water surface in metres. Specifically, an increase of 1 decibar occurs for every 1.019716 m increase in depth, in sea water with respect to the gravity variation, the latitude and the geopotential anomaly the pressure can be converted into meters depth according to an empirical formula. As a result, decibars are commonly used in oceanography, many engineers worldwide use the bar as a unit of pressure because, in much of their work, using pascals would involve using very large numbers. In the automotive field, turbocharger boost is often described in bars outside the USA), unicode has characters for mb and bar, but they exist only for compatibility with legacy Asian encodings and are not intended to be used in new documents. The kilobar, equivalent to 100 MPa, is used in geological systems. Bar and bara are sometimes used to indicate absolute pressures and bar and this usage is deprecated and fuller descriptions such as gauge pressure of 2 bar or 2 bar gauge are recommended.0 Unported License but not under the GFDL. Non-SI units accepted for use with the SI
3.
1900 Atlantic hurricane season
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The 1900 Atlantic hurricane season featured seven known tropical cyclones, three of which made landfall in the United States. The first system, Hurricane One, was observed on August 27. The final storm, Tropical Storm Seven, transitioned into a cyclone on October 29. These dates fall within the period with the most tropical activity in the Atlantic. Every storm of the season except Tropical Storm Seven existed simultaneously with another tropical cyclone, of the seasons seven tropical cyclones, three reached hurricane status. Furthermore, two of those three strengthened into hurricanes, which are Category 3 or higher on the modern-day Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale. The strongest cyclone of the season, the first hurricane, peaked at Category 4 strength with 145 mph winds. Upon striking Texas shortly after peak intensity, it produced a storm surge in the Galveston area, with nearly destroyed the city. Nicknamed the Galveston hurricane of 1900, it remains the deadliest natural disaster in the history of the United States, the hurricane also caused about $31.35 million in damage. Impact from other tropical cyclones was generally minor, though the remnants of Tropical Storm Five resulted in 1 death, Tropical cyclogenesis began with the development of the first hurricane on August 27 well west of Cape Verde. It was the strongest storm of the season, peaking as a Category 4 hurricane with sustained winds of 145 mph. This was abnormally late, as the date of development of the first tropical storm between 1944 and 1996 was July 11. In comparison, the latest date of the first tropical storm during the era was Hurricane Anita on August 29,1977. During the month of September, which is the peak of hurricane season. After the third hurricane dissipated on September 23, activity went dormant for nearly 2 weeks, as it was becoming extratropical, a sixth tropical cyclone developed in the Bay of Campeche on October 10. The final system formed in the eastern Caribbean Sea, crossed Hispaniola, by far, the storm that caused the most devastation was Hurricane One, nicknamed the Galveston hurricane. Its storm surge submerged much of Galveston Island in Texas, killing between 6,000 and 12,000 people, official estimates put the death toll at approximately 8,000. As a result, it is currently the deadliest natural disaster in the history of the United States
4.
Tropical cyclone
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Depending on its location and strength, a tropical cyclone is referred to by names such as hurricane, typhoon /taɪˈfuːn/, tropical storm, cyclonic storm, tropical depression, and simply cyclone. A hurricane is a storm that occurs in the Atlantic Ocean and northeastern Pacific Ocean, a typhoon occurs in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, Tropical cyclones typically form over large bodies of relatively warm water. They derive their energy through the evaporation of water from the ocean surface and this energy source differs from that of mid-latitude cyclonic storms, such as noreasters and European windstorms, which are fueled primarily by horizontal temperature contrasts. The strong rotating winds of a tropical cyclone are a result of the conservation of momentum imparted by the Earths rotation as air flows inwards toward the axis of rotation. As a result, they form within 5° of the equator. Tropical cyclones are typically between 100 and 2,000 km in diameter, Tropical refers to the geographical origin of these systems, which form almost exclusively over tropical seas. Cyclone refers to their nature, with wind blowing counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere. The opposite direction of circulation is due to the Coriolis effect, in addition to strong winds and rain, tropical cyclones are capable of generating high waves, damaging storm surge, and tornadoes. They typically weaken rapidly over land where they are cut off from their energy source. For this reason, coastal regions are vulnerable to damage from a tropical cyclone as compared to inland regions. Heavy rains, however, can cause significant flooding inland, though their effects on human populations are often devastating, tropical cyclones can relieve drought conditions. They also carry heat away from the tropics and transport it toward temperate latitudes. Tropical cyclones are areas of low pressure in the troposphere. On Earth, the pressures recorded at the centers of tropical cyclones are among the lowest ever observed at sea level, the environment near the center of tropical cyclones is warmer than the surroundings at all altitudes, thus they are characterized as warm core systems. The near-surface wind field of a cyclone is characterized by air rotating rapidly around a center of circulation while also flowing radially inwards. At the outer edge of the storm, air may be nearly calm, however, due to the Earths rotation, as air flows radially inward, it begins to rotate cyclonically in order to conserve angular momentum. At an inner radius, air begins to ascend to the top of the troposphere and this radius is typically coincident with the inner radius of the eyewall, and has the strongest near-surface winds of the storm, consequently, it is known as the radius of maximum winds. Once aloft, air flows away from the center, producing a shield of cirrus clouds
5.
Pacific Ocean
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The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of the Earths oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south and is bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, the Mariana Trench in the western North Pacific is the deepest point in the world, reaching a depth of 10,911 metres. Both the center of the Water Hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere are in the Pacific Ocean, the oceans current name was coined by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan during the Spanish circumnavigation of the world in 1521, as he encountered favourable winds on reaching the ocean. He called it Mar Pacífico, which in both Portuguese and Spanish means peaceful sea, important human migrations occurred in the Pacific in prehistoric times. Long-distance trade developed all along the coast from Mozambique to Japan, trade, and therefore knowledge, extended to the Indonesian islands but apparently not Australia. By at least 878 when there was a significant Islamic settlement in Canton much of trade was controlled by Arabs or Muslims. In 219 BC Xu Fu sailed out into the Pacific searching for the elixir of immortality, from 1404 to 1433 Zheng He led expeditions into the Indian Ocean. The east side of the ocean was discovered by Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa in 1513 after his expedition crossed the Isthmus of Panama and he named it Mar del Sur because the ocean was to the south of the coast of the isthmus where he first observed the Pacific. Later, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan sailed the Pacific East to West on a Castilian expedition of world circumnavigation starting in 1519, Magellan called the ocean Pacífico because, after sailing through the stormy seas off Cape Horn, the expedition found calm waters. The ocean was often called the Sea of Magellan in his honor until the eighteenth century, sailing around and east of the Moluccas, between 1525 and 1527, Portuguese expeditions discovered the Caroline Islands, the Aru Islands, and Papua New Guinea. In 1542–43 the Portuguese also reached Japan, in 1564, five Spanish ships consisting of 379 explorers crossed the ocean from Mexico led by Miguel López de Legazpi and sailed to the Philippines and Mariana Islands. The Manila galleons operated for two and a half centuries linking Manila and Acapulco, in one of the longest trade routes in history, Spanish expeditions also discovered Tuvalu, the Marquesas, the Cook Islands, the Solomon Islands, and the Admiralty Islands in the South Pacific. In the 16th and 17th century Spain considered the Pacific Ocean a Mare clausum—a sea closed to other naval powers, as the only known entrance from the Atlantic the Strait of Magellan was at times patrolled by fleets sent to prevent entrance of non-Spanish ships. On the western end of the Pacific Ocean the Dutch threatened the Spanish Philippines, Spain also sent expeditions to the Pacific Northwest reaching Vancouver Island in southern Canada, and Alaska. The French explored and settled Polynesia, and the British made three voyages with James Cook to the South Pacific and Australia, Hawaii, and the North American Pacific Northwest, one of the earliest voyages of scientific exploration was organized by Spain in the Malaspina Expedition of 1789–1794. It sailed vast areas of the Pacific, from Cape Horn to Alaska, Guam and the Philippines, New Zealand, Australia, and the South Pacific. Growing imperialism during the 19th century resulted in the occupation of much of Oceania by other European powers, and later, Japan, in Oceania, France got a leading position as imperial power after making Tahiti and New Caledonia protectorates in 1842 and 1853 respectively. After navy visits to Easter Island in 1875 and 1887, Chilean navy officer Policarpo Toro managed to negotiate an incorporation of the island into Chile with native Rapanui in 1888, by occupying Easter Island, Chile joined the imperial nations
6.
Equator
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The Equator usually refers to an imaginary line on the Earths surface equidistant from the North Pole and South Pole, dividing the Earth into the Northern Hemisphere and Southern Hemisphere. The Equator is about 40,075 kilometres long, some 78. 7% lies across water and 21. 3% over land, other planets and astronomical bodies have equators similarly defined. Generally, an equator is the intersection of the surface of a sphere with the plane that is perpendicular to the spheres axis of rotation. The latitude of the Earths equator is by definition 0° of arc, the equator is the only line of latitude which is also a great circle — that is, one whose plane passes through the center of the globe. The plane of Earths equator when projected outwards to the celestial sphere defines the celestial equator, in the cycle of Earths seasons, the plane of the equator passes through the Sun twice per year, at the March and September equinoxes. To an observer on the Earth, the Sun appears to travel North or South over the equator at these times, light rays from the center of the Sun are perpendicular to the surface of the Earth at the point of solar noon on the Equator. Locations on the Equator experience the quickest sunrises and sunsets because the sun moves nearly perpendicular to the horizon for most of the year. The Earth bulges slightly at the Equator, the diameter of the Earth is 12,750 kilometres. Because the Earth spins to the east, spacecraft must also launch to the east to take advantage of this Earth-boost of speed, seasons result from the yearly revolution of the Earth around the Sun and the tilt of the Earths axis relative to the plane of revolution. During the year the northern and southern hemispheres are inclined toward or away from the sun according to Earths position in its orbit, the hemisphere inclined toward the sun receives more sunlight and is in summer, while the other hemisphere receives less sun and is in winter. At the equinoxes, the Earths axis is not tilted toward the sun, instead it is perpendicular to the sun meaning that the day is about 12 hours long, as is the night, across the whole of the Earth. Near the Equator there is distinction between summer, winter, autumn, or spring. The temperatures are usually high year-round—with the exception of high mountains in South America, the temperature at the Equator can plummet during rainstorms. In many tropical regions people identify two seasons, the wet season and the dry season, but many places close to the Equator are on the oceans or rainy throughout the year, the seasons can vary depending on elevation and proximity to an ocean. The Equator lies mostly on the three largest oceans, the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Indian Ocean. The highest point on the Equator is at the elevation of 4,690 metres, at 0°0′0″N 77°59′31″W and this is slightly above the snow line, and is the only place on the Equator where snow lies on the ground. At the Equator the snow line is around 1,000 metres lower than on Mount Everest, the Equator traverses the land of 11 countries, it also passes through two island nations, though without making a landfall in either. Starting at the Prime Meridian and heading eastwards, the Equator passes through, Despite its name, however, its island of Annobón is 155 km south of the Equator, and the rest of the country lies to the north
7.
International Date Line
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The International Date Line is an imaginary line of navigation on the surface of the Earth that runs from the North Pole to the South Pole and demarcates the change of one calendar day to the next. It passes through the middle of the Pacific Ocean, roughly following the 180° line of longitude but deviating to pass around some territories and this description is based on the most common understanding of the de facto International Date Line. See § De facto and de jure date lines below, the IDL is roughly based on the meridian of 180° longitude, roughly down the middle of the Pacific Ocean, and halfway around the world from the Greenwich meridian. In many places, the IDL follows the 180° meridian exactly, in other places, however, the IDL deviates east or west away from that meridian. These various deviations generally accommodate the political and/or economic affiliations of the affected areas, proceeding from north to south, the first deviation of the IDL from 180° is to pass to the east of Wrangel Island and the Chukchi Peninsula, the easternmost part of Russian Siberia. It then passes through the Bering Strait between the Diomede Islands at a distance of 1.5 kilometres from each island at 168°5837 W and it then bends considerably west of 180°, passing west of St. Lawrence Island and St. Matthew Island. The IDL crosses between the U. S. Aleutian Islands and the Commander Islands, which belong to Russia and it then bends southeast again to return to 180°. Thus, all of Russia is to the west of the IDL, and all of the United States is to the east except for the areas of Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands. The IDL remains on the 180° meridian until passing the equator, two US-owned uninhabited atolls, Howland Island and Baker Island, just north of the equator in the central Pacific Ocean, have the latest time on Earth. The IDL circumscribes Kiribati by swinging far to the east, almost reaching the 150°W meridian, kiribatis easternmost islands, the southern Line Islands south of Hawaii, have the most advanced time on Earth, UTC+14 hours. South of Kiribati, the IDL returns westwards but remains east of 180°, in much of this area, the IDL follows the 165°W meridian. Accordingly, Samoa, Tokelau, Wallis and Futuna, Fiji, Tonga, Tuvalu and New Zealands Kermadec Islands, American Samoa, the Cook Islands, Niue, and French Polynesia are east of the IDL and one day behind. The IDL then bends southwest to return to 180° and it follows that meridian until reaching Antarctica, which has multiple time zones. Conventionally, the IDL is not drawn into Antarctica on most maps, in contrast, a west-to-east circumnavigation of the globe loses an hour for every 15° of longitude crossed but gains back a day when crossing the IDL. The IDL must therefore be observed in conjunction with the Earths time zones, on crossing it in either direction, the calendar date is adjusted by one day. For the two hours between 10,00 and 11,59 UTC each day, three different calendar dates are observed at the time in different places on Earth. For example, at 10,15 UTC Thursday, it is 23,15 Wednesday in American Samoa, Thursday in most of the world, during the first hour, all three calendar dates include inhabited places. During the second one of the calendar dates is limited to an uninhabited maritime time zone twelve hours behind UTC
8.
Maximum sustained wind
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The maximum sustained wind associated with a tropical cyclone is a common indicator of the intensity of the storm. Within a mature tropical cyclone, it is found within the eyewall at a distance defined as the radius of maximum wind, unlike gusts, the value of these winds are determined via their sampling and averaging the sampled results over a period of time. Surface winds are variable due to friction between the atmosphere and the Earths surface, as well as near hills and mountains over land. Over the ocean, satellite imagery determines the value of the sustained winds within a tropical cyclone. Land, ship, aircraft reconnaissance observations, and radar imagery can also estimate this quantity and this value helps determine damage expected from a tropical cyclone, through use of such scales as the Saffir-Simpson scale. However, the United States National Weather Service defines sustained winds within tropical cyclones by averaging winds over a period of one minute, measured at the same 10 metres height. This is an important distinction, as the value of the highest one-minute sustained wind is about 14% greater than a sustained wind over the same period. In most tropical cyclone basins, use of the satellite-based Dvorak technique is the method used to determine a tropical cyclones maximum sustained winds. The extent of banding and difference in temperature between the eye and eyewall is used within the technique to assign a maximum sustained wind. Central pressure values for their centers of low pressure are approximate, the intensity of example hurricanes is derived from both the time of landfall and the maximum intensity. The tracking of individual clouds on minutely satellite imagery could be used in the future in estimating surface winds speeds for tropical cyclones, ship and land observations are also used, when available. Doppler weather radar can be used in the manner to determine surface winds with tropical cyclones near land. Friction between the atmosphere and the Earths surface causes a 20% reduction in the wind at the surface of the Earth, surface roughness also leads to significant variation of wind speeds. Over land, winds maximize at hill or mountain crests, while sheltering leads to wind speeds in valleys. Compared to over water, maximum sustained winds over land average 8% lower, in most basins, maximum sustained winds are used to define their category. In the Atlantic and northeast Pacific oceans, the Saffir-Simpson scale is used and this scale can be used to determine possible storm surge and damage impact on land. In most basins, the category of the cyclone is determined from the cyclones maximum sustained wind. Only in Australia is this quantity not used to define the tropical category, in their basin
9.
Typhoon
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A typhoon is a mature tropical cyclone that develops in the western part of the North Pacific Ocean between 180° and 100°E. This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, and is the most active tropical cyclone basin on Earth, for organizational purposes, the northern Pacific Ocean is divided into three regions, the eastern, central, and western. While the RSMC names each system, the name list itself is coordinated among 18 countries that have territories threatened by typhoons each year. Only the Philippines use their own naming list for systems approaching the country, a typhoon differs from a cyclone or hurricane only on the basis of location. A hurricane is a storm that occurs in the Atlantic Ocean and northeastern Pacific Ocean, a typhoon occurs in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, within the northwestern Pacific there are no official typhoon seasons as tropical cyclones form throughout the year. While the majority of storms form between June and November, a few storms do occur between December and May, on average, the northwestern Pacific features the most numerous and intense tropical cyclones globally. Like other basins, they are steered by the ridge towards the west or northwest, with some systems recurving near. The Philippines receive the brunt of the landfalls, with China, some of the deadliest typhoons in history have struck China. Southern China has the longest record of typhoon impacts for the region, Taiwan has received the wettest known typhoon on record for the northwest Pacific tropical cyclone basins. The term typhoon is the name in the northwest Pacific for a severe tropical cyclone, whereas hurricane is the regional term in the northeast Pacific. Elsewhere this is called a cyclone, severe tropical cyclone. The Oxford English Dictionary cites Urdu ṭūfān and Chinese tai fung giving rise to early forms in English. The earliest forms -- touffon, later tufan, tuffon, and others -- derive from Urdu ṭūfān, from 1699 appears tuffoon, later tiffoon, derived from Chinese with spelling influenced by the older Urdu-derived forms. The modern spelling dates to 1820, preceded by tay-fun in 1771 and ty-foong. The Urdu source word توفان ṭūfān comes via Persian from Arabic طوفان, the Chinese source is the word tai fung, cited as a common dialect form of Mandarin dà big and fēng wind. In Mandarin the word for the windstorm is 大风 and in Cantonese 大風, the modern Japanese word is also derived from Chinese, 台風. The first character in Japanese has a modern meaning of pedestal or stand. So the Japanese characters originally had a meaning of typhoon wind, the Ancient Greek Τυφῶν is not unrelated and has secondarily contaminated the word
10.
Hong Kong Observatory
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The Hong Kong Observatory is a weather forecast agency of the government of Hong Kong. The Observatory forecasts the weather and issues warnings on weather-related hazards, the Observatory was established in 1883 as the Hong Kong Observatory by Sir George Bowen, the 9th Governor of Hong Kong, with Dr William Doberck as its first director. Early operations included meteorological and magnetic observations, a service based on astronomical observations. The Observatory was renamed the Royal Observatory, Hong Kong after obtaining a Royal Charter in 1912, the Observatory reverted to its original name in 1997 after the transfer of Hong Kongs sovereignty from the UK to China. The Hong Kong Observatory was built in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon in 1883, Observatory Road in Tsim Sha Tsui is so named based on this landmark. However, due to urbanisation, it is now surrounded by skyscrapers. As a result of greenhouse gas emissions, the reflection of sunlight from buildings. This was demonstrated by the increase in average temperatures recorded by the Observatory between 1980 and 2005. This building, built in 1883, is a rectangular two-storey plastered brick structure, it is characterised by arched windows and it now houses the office of the directorate and to serve as a centre of administration of the Observatory. The building is a monument of Hong Kong since 1984. It is next to the 1883 Building, the Centenary Building, in 1981 the logo was changed to the old coat of arms, and in 1997, with the transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong, the current logo was introduced to replace the colonial symbols. Activities organised for the Friends of the Observatory include regular science lectures, newsletters were also published for members once every four months. The Observatory regularly organises visits for the school students. This outreach programme was extended to school students, the elderly. Talks are also organised in school during the winter time. A roving exhibition for the public was also mounted in shopping malls in 2003, to promote understanding of the services provided by the Observatory and their benefits to the community, over 50 press releases were issued and 7 media briefings were held in 2003. From time to time, the Observatory also works closely with schools for a series of events, including with the Geography Society of PLK Vicwood KT Chong Sixth Form College between 2008 and 2009
11.
Taiwan
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Taiwan, officially the Republic of China, is a state in East Asia. Neighbours include China to the west, Japan to the northeast, Taiwan is the most populous state that is not a member of the United Nations, and the one with the largest economy. The island of Taiwan, also known as Formosa, was inhabited by Taiwanese aborigines before the 17th century. After a brief rule by the Kingdom of Tungning, the island was annexed by the Qing dynasty, the Qing ceded Taiwan to Japan in 1895 after the Sino-Japanese War. While Taiwan was under Japanese rule, the Republic of China was established on the mainland in 1912 after the fall of the Qing dynasty, following the Japanese surrender to the Allies in 1945, the ROC took control of Taiwan. However, the resumption of the Chinese Civil War led to the ROCs loss of the mainland to the Communists, and the flight of the ROC government to Taiwan in 1949. As a founding member of the United Nations, the ROC continued to represent China at the United Nations until 1971, in the early 1960s, Taiwan entered a period of rapid economic growth and industrialization, creating a stable industrial economy. In the 1980s and early 1990s, it changed from a one-party military dictatorship dominated by the Kuomintang to a multi-party democracy with universal suffrage, Taiwan is the 22nd-largest economy in the world, and its high-tech industry plays a key role in the global economy. It is ranked highly in terms of freedom of the press, health care, public education, economic freedom, the PRC has consistently claimed sovereignty over Taiwan and asserted the ROC is no longer in legitimate existence. Under its One-China Policy the PRC refused diplomatic relations with any country that recognizes the ROC, the PRC has threatened the use of military force in response to any formal declaration of independence by Taiwan or if PRC leaders decide that peaceful unification is no longer possible. There are various names for the island of Taiwan in use today, the former name Formosa dates from 1542, when Portuguese sailors sighted the main island of Taiwan and named it Ilha Formosa, which means beautiful island. The name Formosa eventually replaced all others in European literature and was in use in English in the early 20th century. This name was adopted into the Chinese vernacular as the name of the sandbar. The modern word Taiwan is derived from this usage, which is seen in forms in Chinese historical records. Use of the current Chinese name was formalized as early as 1684 with the establishment of Taiwan Prefecture, through its rapid development, the entire Formosan mainland eventually became known as Taiwan. The official name of the state is the Republic of China and it was a member of the United Nations representing China until 1971, when it lost its seat to the Peoples Republic of China. Over subsequent decades, the Republic of China has become known as Taiwan. In some contexts, especially ones from the ROC government
12.
Geography of Taiwan
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Taiwan is an island in East Asia, located some 180 kilometres off the southeastern coast of mainland China across the Taiwan Strait. It has an area of 35,883 km2 and spans the Tropic of Cancer, the East China Sea lies to the north, the Philippine Sea to the east, the Luzon Strait directly to the south and the South China Sea to the southwest. There are several peaks over 3,500 m, the highest being Yu Shan at 3,952 metres, the tectonic boundary that formed these ranges is still active, and the island experiences many earthquakes, a few of them highly destructive. There are also many active volcanoes in the Taiwan Straits. The climate ranges from tropical in the south to subtropical in the north, the island is struck by an average of four typhoons in each year. The eastern mountains are forested and home to a diverse range of wildlife. The total area of the island is 36,193 km2 and it has a coastline of 1,139 km. The ROC claims an economic zone of 200 nmi and a territorial sea of 12 nmi. The main island of the archipelago is the island of Taiwan, the central point of the island is the Geographic Center of Taiwan in Puli Township, Nantou County. The southernmost point of the island is the Taiwan Southernmost Point in Hengchun Township, the island of Taiwan is separated from the southeast coast of China by the Taiwan Strait, which ranges from 220 km at its widest point to 130 km at its narrowest. Part of the shelf, the Strait is no more than 100 m deep. To the south, the island of Taiwan is separated from the Philippine island of Luzon by the 250 km -wide Luzon Strait, the South China Sea lies to the southwest, the East China Sea to the north, and the Philippine Sea to the east. The island of Taiwan was formed approximately 4 to 5 million years ago at a convergent boundary between the Philippine Sea Plate and the Eurasian Plate. In a boundary running the length of the island and continuing southwards in the Luzon Volcanic Arc, most of the island comprises a huge fault block tilted to the west. The western part of the island, and much of the central range, in the northeast of the island, and continuing eastwards in the Ryukyu Volcanic Arc, the Philippine Sea Plate slides under the Eurasian Plate. The tectonic boundary remains active, and Taiwan experiences 15,000 to 18,000 earthquakes each year, of which 800 to 1,000 are noticed by people. The most catastrophic recent earthquake was the magnitude-7.3 Chi-Chi earthquake, on 4 March 2010 at about 01,20 UTC, a magnitude 6.4 earthquake hit southwestern Taiwan in the mountainous area of Kaohsiung County. Another major earthquake occurred on 6 February 2016, with a magnitude of 6.4, Tainan was damaged the most, with 117 deaths, most of them caused by the collapse of a 17-story apartment building
13.
Tokyo
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Tokyo, officially Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan and one of its 47 prefectures. The Greater Tokyo Area is the most populous area in the world. It is the seat of the Emperor of Japan and the Japanese government, Tokyo is in the Kantō region on the southeastern side of the main island Honshu and includes the Izu Islands and Ogasawara Islands. Formerly known as Edo, it has been the de facto seat of government since 1603 when Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu made the city his headquarters. It officially became the capital after Emperor Meiji moved his seat to the city from the old capital of Kyoto in 1868, Tokyo Metropolis was formed in 1943 from the merger of the former Tokyo Prefecture and the city of Tokyo. The Tokyo metropolitan government administers the 23 Special Wards of Tokyo, the metropolitan government also administers 39 municipalities in the western part of the prefecture and the two outlying island chains. The population of the wards is over 9 million people. The prefecture is part of the worlds most populous metropolitan area with upwards of 37.8 million people, the city hosts 51 of the Fortune Global 500 companies, the highest number of any city in the world. Tokyo ranked third in the International Financial Centres Development IndexEdit, the city is also home to various television networks such as Fuji TV, Tokyo MX, TV Tokyo, TV Asahi, Nippon Television, NHK and the Tokyo Broadcasting System. Tokyo ranked first in the Global Economic Power Index and fourth in the Global Cities Index. The city is considered a world city – as listed by the GaWCs 2008 inventory – and in 2014. In 2015, Tokyo was named the Most Liveable City in the world by the magazine Monocle, the Michelin Guide has awarded Tokyo by far the most Michelin stars of any city in the world. Tokyo ranked first in the world in the Safe Cities Index, the 2016 edition of QS Best Student Cities ranked Tokyo as the 3rd-best city in the world to be a university student. Tokyo hosted the 1964 Summer Olympics, the 1979 G-7 summit, the 1986 G-7 summit, and the 1993 G-7 summit, and will host the 2020 Summer Olympics, Tokyo was originally known as Edo, which means estuary. During the early Meiji period, the city was also called Tōkei, some surviving official English documents use the spelling Tokei. However, this pronunciation is now obsolete, the name Tokyo was first suggested in 1813 in the book Kondō Hisaku, written by Satō Nobuhiro. When Ōkubo Toshimichi proposed the renaming to the government during the Meiji Restoration, according to Oda Kanshi, Tokyo was originally a small fishing village named Edo, in what was formerly part of the old Musashi Province. Edo was first fortified by the Edo clan, in the twelfth century
14.
Vietnam
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Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. With an estimated 92.7 million inhabitants as of 2016, it is the worlds 14th-most-populous country, and its capital city has been Hanoi since the reunification of North and South Vietnam in 1976, with Ho Chi Minh City as a historical city as well. The northern part of Vietnam was part of Imperial China for over a millennium, an independent Vietnamese state was formed in 939, following a Vietnamese victory in the Battle of Bạch Đằng River. Following a Japanese occupation in the 1940s, the Vietnamese fought French rule in the First Indochina War, thereafter, Vietnam was divided politically into two rival states, North Vietnam, and South Vietnam. Conflict between the two sides intensified in what is known as the Vietnam War, the war ended with a North Vietnamese victory in 1975. Vietnam was then unified under a communist government but remained impoverished, in 1986, the government initiated a series of economic and political reforms which began Vietnams path towards integration into the world economy. By 2000, it had established relations with all nations. Since 2000, Vietnams economic growth rate has been among the highest in the world and its successful economic reforms resulted in its joining the World Trade Organization in 2007. It is also a member of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation and the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, Vietnam remains one of the worlds four remaining one-party socialist states officially espousing communism. The name Việt Nam is a variation of Nam Việt, a name that can be traced back to the Triệu Dynasty of the 2nd century BC. The word Việt originated as a form of Bách Việt. The form Vietnam is first recorded in the 16th-century oracular poem Sấm Trạng Trình, the name has also been found on 12 steles carved in the 16th and 17th centuries, including one at Bao Lam Pagoda in Haiphong that dates to 1558. Then, as recorded, rewarded Yuenan/Vietnam as their nations name, to also show that they are below the region of Baiyue/Bach Viet. Between 1804 and 1813, the name was used officially by Emperor Gia Long and it was revived in the early 20th century by Phan Bội Châus History of the Loss of Vietnam, and later by the Vietnamese Nationalist Party. The country was usually called Annam until 1945, when both the government in Huế and the Viet Minh government in Hanoi adopted Việt Nam. Archaeological excavations have revealed the existence of humans in what is now Vietnam as early as the Paleolithic age, Homo erectus fossils dating to around 500,000 BC have been found in caves in Lạng Sơn and Nghệ An provinces in northern Vietnam. The oldest Homo sapiens fossils from mainland Southeast Asia are of Middle Pleistocene provenance, teeth attributed to Homo sapiens from the Late Pleistocene have also been found at Dong Can, and from the Early Holocene at Mai Da Dieu, Lang Gao and Lang Cuom. The Hồng Bàng dynasty of the Hùng kings is considered the first Vietnamese state, in 257 BC, the last Hùng king was defeated by Thục Phán, who consolidated the Lạc Việt and Âu Việt tribes to form the Âu Lạc, proclaiming himself An Dương Vương
15.
Hong Kong
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Hong Kong, officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the Peoples Republic of China, is an autonomous territory on the Pearl River Delta of East Asia. Macau lies across the delta to the west, and the Chinese province of Guangdong borders the territory to the north. With a total area of 1,106 square kilometres. Hong Kong was later occupied by Japan during World War II until British control resumed in 1945, under the principle of one country, two systems, Hong Kong maintains a separate political and economic system from China. Except in military defence and foreign affairs, Hong Kong maintains its independent executive, legislative, in addition, Hong Kong develops relations directly with foreign states and international organisations in a broad range of appropriate fields. Hong Kong is one of the worlds most significant financial centres, with the highest Financial Development Index score and consistently ranks as the worlds most competitive and freest economic entity. As the worlds 8th largest trading entity, its legal tender, Hong Kongs tertiary sector dominated economy is characterised by simple taxation with a competitive level of corporate tax and supported by its independent judiciary system. However, while Hong Kong has one of the highest per capita incomes in the world and it has a very high Human Development Index ranking and the worlds longest life expectancy. Over 90% of the population use of well-developed public transportation. Seasonal air pollution with origins from neighbouring areas of Mainland China. Hong Kong was officially recorded in the 1842 Treaty of Nanking to encompass the entirety of the island, before 1842, the name referred to a small inlet—now Aberdeen Harbour, literally means Little Hong Kong)—between Aberdeen Island and the southern coast of Hong Kong Island. Aberdeen was a point of contact between British sailors and local fishermen. Detailed and accurate romanisation systems for Cantonese were available and in use at the time, fragrance may refer to the sweet taste of the harbours fresh water estuarine influx of the Pearl River or to the incense from factories lining the coast of northern Kowloon. The incense was stored near Aberdeen Harbour for export before Hong Kong developed Victoria Harbour, the name had often been written as the single word Hongkong until the government adopted the current form in 1926. Nevertheless, a number of century-old institutions still retain the form, such as the Hongkong Post, Hongkong Electric. As of 1997, its name is the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the Peoples Republic of China. This is the title as mentioned in the Hong Kong Basic Law. Hong Kong has carried many nicknames, the most famous among those is the Pearl of the Orient, which reflected the impressive nightscape of the citys light decorations on the skyscrapers along both sides of the Victoria Harbour
16.
Atmospheric pressure
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Atmospheric pressure, sometimes also called barometric pressure, is the pressure exerted by the weight of air in the atmosphere of Earth. In most circumstances atmospheric pressure is approximated by the hydrostatic pressure caused by the weight of air above the measurement point. As elevation increases, there is less overlying atmospheric mass, so that atmospheric pressure decreases with increasing elevation. On average, a column of air one square centimetre in cross-section, measured from sea level to the top of the atmosphere, has a mass of about 1.03 kilograms and that force is a pressure of 10.1 N/cm2 or 101 kN/m2. A column 1 square inch in cross-section would have a weight of about 14.7 lb or about 65.4 N and it is modified by the planetary rotation and local effects such as wind velocity, density variations due to temperature and variations in composition. The standard atmosphere is a unit of pressure defined as 101325 Pa, the mean sea level pressure is the average atmospheric pressure at sea level. This is the pressure normally given in weather reports on radio, television. When barometers in the home are set to match the weather reports, they measure pressure adjusted to sea level. The altimeter setting in aviation, is an atmospheric pressure adjustment, average sea-level pressure is 1013.25 mbar. In aviation weather reports, QNH is transmitted around the world in millibars or hectopascals, except in the United States, Canada, however, in Canadas public weather reports, sea level pressure is instead reported in kilopascals. The highest sea-level pressure on Earth occurs in Siberia, where the Siberian High often attains a sea-level pressure above 1050 mbar, the lowest measurable sea-level pressure is found at the centers of tropical cyclones and tornadoes, with a record low of 870 mbar. Pressure varies smoothly from the Earths surface to the top of the mesosphere, although the pressure changes with the weather, NASA has averaged the conditions for all parts of the earth year-round. As altitude increases, atmospheric pressure decreases, one can calculate the atmospheric pressure at a given altitude. Temperature and humidity affect the atmospheric pressure, and it is necessary to know these to compute an accurate figure. The graph at right was developed for a temperature of 15 °C, at low altitudes above the sea level, the pressure decreases by about 1.2 kPa for every 100 meters. See pressure system for the effects of air pressure variations on weather, Atmospheric pressure shows a diurnal or semidiurnal cycle caused by global atmospheric tides. This effect is strongest in tropical zones, with an amplitude of a few millibars and these variations have two superimposed cycles, a circadian cycle and semi-circadian cycle. The highest adjusted-to-sea level barometric pressure recorded on Earth was 1085.7 hPa measured in Tosontsengel
17.
South China Sea
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The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Karimata and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around 3,500,000 square kilometres. The areas importance largely results from one-third of the worlds shipping sailing through its waters, the sea and its mostly uninhabited islands are subject to competing claims of sovereignty by several countries. These claims are reflected in the variety of names used for the islands. South China Sea is the dominant term used in English for the sea, and this name is a result of early European interest in the sea as a route from Europe and South Asia to the trading opportunities of China. In the sixteenth century Portuguese sailors called it the China Sea, the International Hydrographic Organization refers to the sea as South China Sea. The Classic of Poetry, Zuo Zhuan, and Guoyu classics of the Spring and Autumn period also referred to the sea, Nan Hai, the South Sea, was one of the Four Seas of Chinese literature. There are three other seas, one for each of the four cardinal directions, during the Eastern Han dynasty, Chinas rulers called the Sea Zhang Hai. Fei Hai became popular during the Southern and Northern Dynasties period, usage of the current Chinese name, Nan Hai, became gradually widespread during the Qing Dynasty. In Southeast Asia it was called the Champa Sea or Sea of Cham. The majority of the sea came under Japanese naval control during World War II following the acquisition of many surrounding South East Asian territories in 1941. Japan calls the sea Minami Shina Kai South China Sea and this was written 南支那海 until 2004, when the Japanese Foreign Ministry and other departments switched the spelling 南シナ海, which has become the standard usage in Japan. In China, it is called the South Sea, 南海 Nánhǎi, in Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines, it was long called the South China Sea, with the part within Philippine territorial waters often called the Luzon Sea, Dagat Luzon, by the Philippines. However, following an escalation of the Spratly Islands dispute in 2011, a PAGASA spokesperson said that the sea to the east of the Philippines will continue to be called the Philippine Sea. In September 2012, Philippine President Benigno Aquino III signed Administrative Order No, states and territories with borders on the sea include, the Peoples Republic of China, the Republic of China, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, Singapore, and Vietnam. Major rivers that flow into the South China Sea include the Pearl, Min, Jiulong, Red, Mekong, Rajang, Pahang, Pampanga, the International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the South China Sea as follows, On the South. From Fuki Kaku the North point of Formosa to Kiushan Tao on to the South point of Haitan Tao, the Mainland, the Southern limit of the Gulf of Thailand and the East coast of the Malay Peninsula. The sea lies above a drowned continental shelf, during recent ice ages global sea level was hundreds of metres lower, the South China Sea opened around 45 million years ago when the Dangerous Ground rifted away from southern China. Extension culminated in seafloor spreading around 30 million years ago, a process that propagated to the SW resulting in the V-shaped basin we see today, extension ceased around 17 million years ago
18.
China
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China, officially the Peoples Republic of China, is a unitary sovereign state in East Asia and the worlds most populous country, with a population of over 1.381 billion. The state is governed by the Communist Party of China and its capital is Beijing, the countrys major urban areas include Shanghai, Guangzhou, Beijing, Chongqing, Shenzhen, Tianjin and Hong Kong. China is a power and a major regional power within Asia. Chinas landscape is vast and diverse, ranging from forest steppes, the Himalaya, Karakoram, Pamir and Tian Shan mountain ranges separate China from much of South and Central Asia. The Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, the third and sixth longest in the world, respectively, Chinas coastline along the Pacific Ocean is 14,500 kilometers long and is bounded by the Bohai, Yellow, East China and South China seas. China emerged as one of the worlds earliest civilizations in the basin of the Yellow River in the North China Plain. For millennia, Chinas political system was based on hereditary monarchies known as dynasties, in 1912, the Republic of China replaced the last dynasty and ruled the Chinese mainland until 1949, when it was defeated by the communist Peoples Liberation Army in the Chinese Civil War. The Communist Party established the Peoples Republic of China in Beijing on 1 October 1949, both the ROC and PRC continue to claim to be the legitimate government of all China, though the latter has more recognition in the world and controls more territory. China had the largest economy in the world for much of the last two years, during which it has seen cycles of prosperity and decline. Since the introduction of reforms in 1978, China has become one of the worlds fastest-growing major economies. As of 2016, it is the worlds second-largest economy by nominal GDP, China is also the worlds largest exporter and second-largest importer of goods. China is a nuclear weapons state and has the worlds largest standing army. The PRC is a member of the United Nations, as it replaced the ROC as a permanent member of the U. N. Security Council in 1971. China is also a member of numerous formal and informal multilateral organizations, including the WTO, APEC, BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the BCIM, the English name China is first attested in Richard Edens 1555 translation of the 1516 journal of the Portuguese explorer Duarte Barbosa. The demonym, that is, the name for the people, Portuguese China is thought to derive from Persian Chīn, and perhaps ultimately from Sanskrit Cīna. Cīna was first used in early Hindu scripture, including the Mahābhārata, there are, however, other suggestions for the derivation of China. The official name of the state is the Peoples Republic of China. The shorter form is China Zhōngguó, from zhōng and guó and it was then applied to the area around Luoyi during the Eastern Zhou and then to Chinas Central Plain before being used as an occasional synonym for the state under the Qing
19.
Philippines
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The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is a sovereign island country in Southeast Asia situated in the western Pacific Ocean. It consists of about 7,641 islands that are categorized broadly under three main geographical divisions from north to south, Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, the capital city of the Philippines is Manila and the most populous city is Quezon City, both part of Metro Manila. The Philippines has an area of 300,000 square kilometers, and it is the eighth-most populated country in Asia and the 12th most populated country in the world. As of 2013, approximately 10 million additional Filipinos lived overseas, multiple ethnicities and cultures are found throughout the islands. In prehistoric times, Negritos were some of the archipelagos earliest inhabitants and they were followed by successive waves of Austronesian peoples. Exchanges with Chinese, Malay, Indian, and Islamic nations occurred, then, various competing maritime states were established under the rule of Datus, Rajahs, Sultans or Lakans. The arrival of Ferdinand Magellan in Homonhon, Eastern Samar in 1521 marked the beginning of Hispanic colonization, in 1543, Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos named the archipelago Las Islas Filipinas in honor of Philip II of Spain. With the arrival of Miguel López de Legazpi from Mexico City, in 1565, the Philippines became part of the Spanish Empire for more than 300 years. This resulted in Roman Catholicism becoming the dominant religion, during this time, Manila became the western hub of the trans-Pacific trade connecting Asia with Acapulco in the Americas using Manila galleons. Aside from the period of Japanese occupation, the United States retained sovereignty over the islands until after World War II, since then, the Philippines has often had a tumultuous experience with democracy, which included the overthrow of a dictatorship by a non-violent revolution. It is a member of the United Nations, World Trade Organization, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. It also hosts the headquarters of the Asian Development Bank, the Philippines was named in honor of King Philip II of Spain. Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos, during his expedition in 1542, named the islands of Leyte, eventually the name Las Islas Filipinas would be used to cover all the islands of the archipelago. Before that became commonplace, other such as Islas del Poniente. The official name of the Philippines has changed several times in the course of its history, during the Philippine Revolution, the Malolos Congress proclaimed the establishment of the República Filipina or the Philippine Republic. From the 1898 Treaty of Paris, the name Philippines began to appear, since the end of World War II, the official name of the country has been the Republic of the Philippines. The metatarsal of the Callao Man, reliably dated by uranium-series dating to 67,000 years ago is the oldest human remnant found in the archipelago to date and this distinction previously belonged to the Tabon Man of Palawan, carbon-dated to around 26,500 years ago. Negritos were also among the archipelagos earliest inhabitants, but their first settlement in the Philippines has not been reliably dated, there are several opposing theories regarding the origins of ancient Filipinos
20.
Taitung City
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Taitung City, is a county-controlled city and the county seat of Taitung County, Taiwan. It lies on the southeast coast of Taiwan facing the Pacific Ocean, Taitung City is the most populous subdivision of Taitung County and it is one of the major cities on the east coast of the island. Due to the Central Mountain Range of Taiwan, ground transportation to Taitung City is very limited, the city is served by Taitung Airport. Taitung is a gateway to Green Island and Orchid Island, both of which are popular tourist destinations, before the 16th century the Taitung plain was settled by agriculturalist Puyuma and Amis aboriginal tribes. Under Dutch rule and during Qing rule, a part of eastern Taiwan. In the late 19th century, when Liu Mingchuan was the Qing Governor of Taiwan, Han Chinese settlers moved into the Taitung region, Pi-lam Subprefecture was established in 1875, and was upgraded and renamed to Taitung Prefecture in 1888, after the island was made Fujian-Taiwan Province. During Japanese rule, the settlement was called Nankyō Village. Taitō Chō was one of twenty local administrative offices established in 1901, english-language works from the era refer to the place as Pinan and Pilam. Taitō Town was established in 1920 under Taitō Prefecture, and included modern Taitung City, there were no Americans living here during the Japanese rule. 9 Provincial Highway No.11 Port Fugang Fishery Harbor - ferry port to Orchid Island and Green Island Airport Taitung Airport
21.
Tamsui River
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The Tamsui River is a river in northern Taiwan. Formerly known as the Dolatok River, it is one of the few rivers in the island that flows along a north-south direction, the rivers three tributaries are Xindian Creek, Dahan Creek and Keelung River. Dahan Creek is the tributary and has its headwaters in the Pintian Mountain in Hsinchu County and flows through Hsinchu County, Taoyuan City. As a river system including Dahan Creek, Tamsui River has a length of 159 km. The Tamsui River is heavily polluted by raw sewage and industrial pollution from illegal industry. Clean up and natural river restoration is on the agenda of the Taipei City Government, Taiwan Central Government, several famous bridges run across the river, such as, Guandu Bridge New Taipei Bridge Taipei Bridge Danjiang Bridge List of rivers in Taiwan
22.
Tamsui District
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Tamsui is a sea-side district in New Taipei, Taiwan. It is named after the Tamsui River, the name means fresh water, the town is popular as a site for viewing the sun setting into the Taiwan Strait. Though modest in size, it has a role in Taiwanese culture. Originally settled by the Ketagalan aborigines, the location was called Hoba, Hoba was loaned into Taiwanese Hokkien as Hobe. Historical works in English have referred to the place as Hobe, Hobé, the Spanish arrived in the 17th century and called this place Casidor and the Tamsui River Kimalon. Dutch records have used the placenames Tamsuy and Tampsui to refer to this area, the first variant Tamsui is consistent with Hokkien literary readings, and is equal to the Church Romanization of an older pronunciation minus tone markings and hyphen. The variant Tan-sui, with exception of the hyphen, is consistent with the romanization of Japanese, however, the first variant was apparently already well-known circa 1900, and features prominently in two English-language maps of the same era. Furthermore, at time, the term Tamsui was used in a most liberal way, it may mean the harbor, the river, the village of Hobe, Twatutia, or Banka. From 1950 until the 2010 creation of New Taipei City, Tamsui was officially Tamsui urban township in the former Taipei County, the spelling Danshui, formerly used officially by the Taiwan government, Taipei Metro, and other sources, is based on the Mandarin pronunciation. Meanwhile, the name Tamsui is based on the Taiwanese pronunciation, having long used Tamsui as the official English name, the local government of the district informed the national government in 2011 that Tamsui rather than Danshui should be used in English. The Spanish arrived in the area of Tamsui in the 17th century, in the fall of 1629, the Spanish established the first major non-aboriginal settlement comprising the town and mission of Santo Domingo. In 1641, the Spanish were expelled from Taiwan by the Dutch, the Spanish had already abandoned their settlement in Tamsui in 1638 and the Dutch built a new fort which they named Fort Anthonio. It is today known as Angmo Siaa and is the building of the Fort San Domingo museum complex. In 1668, the Dutch left Keelung after getting harassed by aboriginals from Tamsui, because of its proximity to mainland China, as well as its location in a natural harbor, Tamsui quickly became a major fishing and trade port. The Qing naval patrol also established an outpost in Tamsui in 1808, in 1862, the Qing government opened Tamsui to foreign trade under the terms of the Treaty of Tientsin, exporting tea, camphor, sulfur, coal, opium, and dyes. By the mid-19th century Tamsui had become the largest port in Taiwan, during the Sino-French War the French attempted an invasion of Taiwan during the Keelung Campaign. Liu Mingchuan, who was leading the defence of Taiwan, recruited Aboriginals to serve alongside the Chinese soldiers in fighting against the French. The French were defeated at the Battle of Tamsui and the Qing forces pinned the French down at Keelung in a campaign before the French withdrew
23.
Okinawa Prefecture
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The larger are mostly high islands and the smaller ones are mostly coral islands. The largest of the islands is Okinawa, the climate of the islands ranges from humid subtropical climate in the north to tropical rainforest climate in the south. Precipitation is very high, and is affected by the rainy season, the islands beyond the Tokara Strait are characterized by their coral reefs. The Amami, Okinawa, Miyako, and Yaeyama Islands have a native population collectively called the Ryukyuan people, the varied Ryukyuan languages are traditionally spoken on these islands, and the major islands have their own distinct languages. In modern times, the Japanese language is the language of the islands. The northern islands are called the Satsunan Islands, while the southern part of the chain are called the Ryukyu Islands in Japanese. Following are the grouping and names used by the Hydrographic and Oceanographic Department of the Japan Coast Guard, the islands are listed from north to south where possible. Nansei Islands Satsunan Islands Ōsumi Islands with, Tanegashima, Yaku, Kuchinoerabu, Mageshima in the North-Eastern Group and they agreed on February 15,2010, to use Amami-guntō for the Amami Islands, prior to that, Amami-shotō had also been used. The English and Japanese uses of the term Ryukyu differ, in English, the term Ryukyu may apply to the entire chain of islands, while in Japanese Ryukyu usually refers only to the islands that were previously part of the Ryūkyū Kingdom after 1624. Nansei-shotō is the name for the whole island chain in Japanese. Japan has used the name on nautical charts since 1907, based on the Japanese charts, the international chart series uses Nansei Shoto. Nansei literally means southwest, the direction of the chain from mainland Japan. Some humanities scholars prefer the uncommon term Ryūkyū-ko for the island chain. In geology, however, the Ryukyu Arc includes subsurface structures such as the Okinawa Trough, the name of Ryūkyū is strongly associated with the Ryūkyū Kingdom, a kingdom that originated from the Okinawa Islands and subjected the Sakishima and Amami Islands. The name is considered outdated in Japanese although some entities of Okinawa still bear the name. In Japanese, the Ryukyu Islands cover only the Okinawa, Miyako, the northern half of the island chain is referred to as the Satsunan Islands in Japanese, as opposed to Northern Ryukyu Islands in English. Humanities scholars generally agree that the Amami, Okinawa, Miyako, there is, however, no good name for the group. The native population do not have their own name, since they do not recognize themselves as a group this size, Ryukyu is the principal candidate because it roughly corresponds to the maximum extent of the Ryūkyū Kingdom
24.
Ryukyu Islands
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The larger are mostly high islands and the smaller ones are mostly coral islands. The largest of the islands is Okinawa, the climate of the islands ranges from humid subtropical climate in the north to tropical rainforest climate in the south. Precipitation is very high, and is affected by the rainy season, the islands beyond the Tokara Strait are characterized by their coral reefs. The Amami, Okinawa, Miyako, and Yaeyama Islands have a native population collectively called the Ryukyuan people, the varied Ryukyuan languages are traditionally spoken on these islands, and the major islands have their own distinct languages. In modern times, the Japanese language is the language of the islands. The northern islands are called the Satsunan Islands, while the southern part of the chain are called the Ryukyu Islands in Japanese. Following are the grouping and names used by the Hydrographic and Oceanographic Department of the Japan Coast Guard, the islands are listed from north to south where possible. Nansei Islands Satsunan Islands Ōsumi Islands with, Tanegashima, Yaku, Kuchinoerabu, Mageshima in the North-Eastern Group and they agreed on February 15,2010, to use Amami-guntō for the Amami Islands, prior to that, Amami-shotō had also been used. The English and Japanese uses of the term Ryukyu differ, in English, the term Ryukyu may apply to the entire chain of islands, while in Japanese Ryukyu usually refers only to the islands that were previously part of the Ryūkyū Kingdom after 1624. Nansei-shotō is the name for the whole island chain in Japanese. Japan has used the name on nautical charts since 1907, based on the Japanese charts, the international chart series uses Nansei Shoto. Nansei literally means southwest, the direction of the chain from mainland Japan. Some humanities scholars prefer the uncommon term Ryūkyū-ko for the island chain. In geology, however, the Ryukyu Arc includes subsurface structures such as the Okinawa Trough, the name of Ryūkyū is strongly associated with the Ryūkyū Kingdom, a kingdom that originated from the Okinawa Islands and subjected the Sakishima and Amami Islands. The name is considered outdated in Japanese although some entities of Okinawa still bear the name. In Japanese, the Ryukyu Islands cover only the Okinawa, Miyako, the northern half of the island chain is referred to as the Satsunan Islands in Japanese, as opposed to Northern Ryukyu Islands in English. Humanities scholars generally agree that the Amami, Okinawa, Miyako, there is, however, no good name for the group. The native population do not have their own name, since they do not recognize themselves as a group this size, Ryukyu is the principal candidate because it roughly corresponds to the maximum extent of the Ryūkyū Kingdom
25.
Kyushu
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Kyushu is the third biggest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternative ancient names include Kyūkoku, Chinzei, and Tsukushi-no-shima, the historical regional name Saikaidō referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands. In the 8th century Taihō Code reforms, Dazaifu was established as an administrative term for the region. As of 2016, Kyushu has a population of 12,970,479, the island is mountainous, and Japans most active volcano, Mt Aso at 1,591 metres, is on Kyushu. There are many signs of tectonic activity, including numerous areas of hot springs. The most famous of these are in Beppu, on the east shore, the island is separated from Honshu by the Kanmon Straits. The name Kyūshū comes from the nine ancient provinces of Saikaidō situated on the island, Chikuzen, Chikugo, Hizen, Higo, Buzen, Bungo, Hyūga, Osumi, excepting Oita and Miyazaki cities, the eastern seaboard shows a general decline in population. Designated cities Fukuoka Kitakyushu Kumamoto Core cities Kagoshima Ōita Nagasaki Miyazaki Naha Kurume Parts of Kyushu have a climate, particularly Miyazaki. Major agricultural products are rice, tea, tobacco, sweet potatoes, the island is noted for various types of porcelain, including Arita, Imari, Satsuma, and Karatsu. Heavy industry is concentrated in the north around Fukuoka, Kitakyushu, Nagasaki, and Oita and includes chemicals, automobiles, semiconductors, in 2010, the graduate employment rate in the region was the lowest nationwide, at 88. 9%. Besides the volcanic area of the south, there are significant mud hot springs in the part of the island, around Beppu. These springs are the site of occurrence of certain extremophile micro-organisms, the Kanmon Bridge also connects the island with Honshu. Railways on the island are operated by the Kyushu Railway Company, and Nishitetsu Railway
26.
Shikoku
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Shikoku is the smallest and least populous of the four main islands of Japan, located south of Honshu and east of the island of Kyushu. Its ancient names include Iyo-no-futana-shima, Iyo-shima, and Futana-shima, the current name refers to the four former provinces that made up the island, Awa, Tosa, Sanuki, and Iyo. Shikoku island, comprising Shikoku and its islets, covers about 18,800 square kilometres and consists of four prefectures, Ehime, Kagawa, Kōchi. Across the Inland Sea lie Wakayama, Osaka, Hyōgo, Okayama, Hiroshima, to the west lie Ōita and Miyazaki Prefectures on Kyushu. The 50th largest island by area in the world, Shikoku is smaller than Sardinia and Bananal, by population, it ranks 23rd, having fewer inhabitants than Sicily or Singapore, but more than Puerto Rico or Negros. Mountains running east and west divide Shikoku into a narrow northern subregion, fronting on the Inland Sea, most of the 4.5 million inhabitants live in the north, and all but one of the islands few larger cites are located there. Mount Ishizuchi in Ehime at 1,982 m is the highest mountain on the island, industry is moderately well developed and includes the processing of ores from the important Besshi copper mine. Wide alluvial areas, especially in the part of the zone, are planted with rice and subsequently are double cropped with winter wheat. Fruit is grown throughout the area in great variety, including citrus fruits, persimmons, peaches. Because of wheat production Sanuki udon became an important part of the diet in Kagawa Prefecture in the Edo period, the larger southern area of Shikoku is mountainous and sparsely populated. The only significant lowland is an alluvial plain at Kōchi. The areas mild winters stimulated some truck farming, specializing in growing out-of-season vegetables under plastic covering, two crops of rice can be cultivated annually in the southern area. The pulp and paper industry took advantage of the abundant forests, the major river in Shikoku is the Yoshino River. It runs 196 km from its close to Mount Ishizuchi, flowing basically west to east across the northern boundaries of Kōchi and Tokushima Prefectures. The Yoshino is famous for Japans best white-water rafting, with trips going along the Oboke Koboke sections of the river, gamōda in Anan, Tokushima is the easternmost point on the island, and Sada in Ikata, Ehime the westernmost. Muroto in Muroto, Kōchi and Ashizuri, the extreme of Shikoku, in Tosashimizu, Kōchi. The islands northernmost point is in Takamatsu, Kagawa, unlike the other three major islands of Japan, Shikoku has no volcanoes. Shikoku is connected to Honshu by three expressways, which form the Honshū–Shikoku Bridge Project
27.
Sea of Japan
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The Sea of Japan is a marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, and the Asian mainland. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean and it is bordered by Japan, North Korea, Russia and South Korea. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it has almost no tides due to its nearly complete enclosure from the Pacific Ocean and this isolation also reflects in the fauna species and in the water salinity, which is lower than in the ocean. The sea has no islands, bays or capes. Its water balance is determined by the inflow and outflow through the straits connecting it to the neighboring seas. Few rivers discharge into the sea and their contribution to the water exchange is within 1%. The seawater has a concentration of dissolved oxygen that results in high biological productivity. Therefore, fishing is the dominant economic activity in the region, the intensity of shipments across the sea has been moderate owing to political issues, but it is steadily increasing as a result of the growth of East Asian economies. The sea is called Rìběn hǎi or originally Jīng hǎi in China, Yaponskoye more in Russia, Chosŏn Tonghae in North Korea, a naming dispute exists about the sea name, with South and North Korea promoting the English translation of its native name East Sea. In Europe, the sea is called Mer du Japon in French, Japanisches Meer in German, Mar del Giappone in Italian, in Southeast Asia, the sea is called Laut Jepun in Malay, Laut Jepang in Indonesian, and Dagat Hapon in Filipino. The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Japan Sea as follows, the Northeastern limit of the Eastern China Sea and the Western limit of the Inland Sea. A line running from Nagoya Saki in Kyûsyû through the islands of Uma Sima, from the extremity of Siriya Saki to the extremity of Esan Saki. A line joining Sôni Misaki and Nishi Notoro Misaki, from Cape Tuik to Cape Sushcheva. The Sea of Japan was once a landlocked sea when the bridge of East Asia existed. The onset of formation of the Japan Arc was in Early Miocene, the Early Miocene period also corresponds to incipient opening of the Japan Sea, and the northern and southern parts of the Japanese archipelago that were separated from each other. During the Miocene, there was expansion of Sea of Japan, the northern part of the Japanese archipelago was further fragmented at later periods until the orogenesis of the northeastern Japanese archipelago began in the later Late Miocene. The southern part of the Japanese archipelago remained as a large landmass. The land area had expanded northward in the Late Miocene, the orogenesis of high mountain ranges in the northeastern Japan started in Late Miocene and it lasts in Pliocene also
28.
Miyazaki, Miyazaki
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Miyazaki is the capital city of Miyazaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. Located on the coast and crossed by rivers, Miyazaki City enjoys scenic views of both ocean and nearby, verdant mountains. A popular resort destination for Japanese tourists, the city offers many attractions, including the SeaGaia event center, the Phoenix Zoo, the city is the primary shopping destination for eastern Kyushu residents in smaller towns around the prefecture. The city was founded on April 1,1924, as of this merger, the city has an estimated population of 365,311 and a population density of 612 persons per km². The total area is 596.68 km², as of December 2010, the current population is 399,834. Miyazaki Airport and Miyazaki seaport serve the city, in 1940, the imperialist Shōwa regime constructed the 37 meter Hakkō Ichiu pillar upon the legendary site of Emperor Jimmus palace. Located near Miyazaki, it was intended to symbolize the divine right of the Empire of Japan to unify the eight corners of the world. The tower survived the war and is now the piece of the Heiwadai-koen peace park. On January 1,2006, the towns of Sadowara and Tano, on March 23,2010, the town of Kiyotake was merged into Miyazaki. Miyazaki District was dissolved as a result of this merger, skynet Asia Airways has its headquarters in Miyazaki. Asiana Airlines operates an office on the sixth floor of the Miyazaki Daiichi Seimei Building in Miyazaki. Dell Inc has their two centers in Japan then had opened the one on the 5th floor of Carino Miyazaki Building in Miyazaki. Miyazaki Prefectural Office became famous as a tourist spot when Hideo Higashikokubaru, miyazaki-jingū, a shrine in the citys center, is one of Miyazakis sacred dedications to Japans first emperor, Jinmu. Heiwadai Tower or Peace Tower, in the expansive Heiwadai park, is a must-see for tourists, originally the Tower of the Emperor, symbolizing Japanese imperial expansion, it was renamed for peace after the events of World War II. The fascinating Aoshima Subtropical Botanical Garden is also located nearby, the Tom Watson Golf Course was produced by Tom Watson, an American professional golfer. Miyazaki-city Phoenix Zoo The Citizens Forest, a Large park near Phoenix Zoo. L Located on its grounds is the Misogi-ike, Pound of Purification, the Ikimen Burial Mounds are located in Miyzaki and include the Ikime-no-mori Yukokan, Activity Centre, where visitors learn the history of the burial mounds and learn about ancient activities. Miyazaki City is known for its excellent surfing conditions year-round, and Kisakihama Beach, Aoshima Beach, the JR Kyushu Nichinan Line serves the area
29.
Hiroshima
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Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture and the largest city in the Chūgoku region of western Honshu - the largest island of Japan. The citys name, 広島, means Broad Island in Japanese, Hiroshima gained city status on April 1,1889. On April 1,1980, Hiroshima became a designated city, as of August 2016, the city had an estimated population of 1,196,274. The GDP in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Metropolitan Employment Area, is US$61.3 billion as of 2010, kazumi Matsui has been the citys mayor since April 2011. Hiroshima was established on the river delta coastline of the Seto Inland Sea in 1589 by powerful warlord Mōri Terumoto, Hiroshima Castle was quickly built, and in 1593 Terumoto moved in. Terumoto was on the side at the Battle of Sekigahara. The winner of the battle, Tokugawa Ieyasu, deprived Mōri Terumoto of most of his fiefs, including Hiroshima and gave Aki Province to Masanori Fukushima, after the han was abolished in 1871, the city became the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture. Hiroshima became an urban center during the imperial period, as the Japanese economy shifted from primarily rural to urban industries. During the 1870s, one of the seven government-sponsored English language schools was established in Hiroshima, Ujina Harbor was constructed through the efforts of Hiroshima Governor Sadaaki Senda in the 1880s, allowing Hiroshima to become an important port city. The Sanyō Railway was extended to Hiroshima in 1894, and a line from the main station to the harbor was constructed for military transportation during the First Sino-Japanese War. During that war, the Japanese government moved temporarily to Hiroshima, New industrial plants, including cotton mills, were established in Hiroshima in the late 19th century. Further industrialization in Hiroshima was stimulated during the Russo-Japanese War in 1904, the Hiroshima Prefectural Commercial Exhibition Hall was constructed in 1915 as a center for trade and exhibition of new products. Later, its name was changed to Hiroshima Prefectural Product Exhibition Hall, during World War I, Hiroshima became a focal point of military activity, as the Japanese government entered the war on the Allied side. About 500 German prisoners of war were held in Ninoshima Island in Hiroshima Bay, during World War II, the 2nd General Army and Chugoku Regional Army were headquartered in Hiroshima, and the Army Marine Headquarters was located at Ujina port. The city also had large depots of supplies, and was a key center for shipping. The bombing of Tokyo and other cities in Japan during World War II caused widespread destruction, there were no such air raids on Hiroshima. However, a real threat existed and was recognized, in order to protect against potential firebombings in Hiroshima, school children aged 11–14 years were mobilized to demolish houses and create firebreaks. On Monday, August 6,1945, at 8,15 a. m, by the end of the year, injury and radiation brought the total number of deaths to 90, 000–166,000
30.
Storm surge
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Most casualties during tropical cyclones occur as the result of storm surges. The deadliest storm surge on record was the 1970 Bhola cyclone, the low-lying coast of the Bay of Bengal is particularly vulnerable to surges caused by tropical cyclones. The deadliest storm surge in the twenty-first century was caused by the Cyclone Nargis, the next deadliest in this century was caused by the Typhoon Haiyan, which killed more than 6,000 people in the central Philippines in 2013 and resulted in economic losses estimated at $14 billion. Louis, Diamondhead and Pass Christian in Mississippi, a high storm surge occurred in New York City from Hurricane Sandy in October 2012, with a high tide of 14 ft. The pressure effects of a tropical cyclone will cause the level in the open ocean to rise in regions of low atmospheric pressure. The rising water level will counteract the low pressure such that the total pressure at some plane beneath the water surface remains constant. This effect is estimated at a 10 mm increase in sea level for every millibar drop in atmospheric pressure, strong surface winds cause surface currents at a 45° angle to the wind direction, by an effect known as the Ekman Spiral. Wind stresses cause a phenomenon referred to as wind set-up, which is the tendency for water levels to increase at the downwind shore, intuitively, this is caused by the storm simply blowing the water towards one side of the basin in the direction of its winds. Because the Ekman Spiral effects spread vertically through the water, the effect is proportional to depth. The pressure effect and the wind set-up on an open coast will be driven into bays in the way as the astronomical tide. The Earths rotation causes the Coriolis effect, which bends currents to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere. When this bend brings the currents into more contact with the shore it can amplify the surge. The effect of waves, while powered by the wind, is distinct from a storms wind-powered currents. Powerful wind whips up large, strong waves in the direction of its movement, although these surface waves are responsible for very little water transport in open water, they may be responsible for significant transport near the shore. When waves are breaking on a more or less parallel to the beach. The rainfall effect is experienced predominantly in estuaries, Hurricanes may dump as much as 12 in of rainfall in 24 hours over large areas, and higher rainfall densities in localized areas. As a result, watersheds can quickly surge water into the rivers that drain them and this can increase the water level near the head of tidal estuaries as storm-driven waters surging in from the ocean meet rainfall flowing from the estuary. This situation well exemplified by the southeast coast of Florida
31.
Ehime Prefecture
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Ehime Prefecture is a prefecture in northwestern Shikoku, Japan. Until the Meiji Restoration, Ehime Prefecture was known as Iyo Province, since before the Heian period, the area was dominated by fishermen and sailors who played an important role in defending Japan against pirates and Mongolian invasions. After the Battle of Sekigahara, the Tokugawa shogun gave the area to his allies, including Kato Yoshiaki who built Matsuyama Castle, the name Ehime comes from the kuniumi part of the Kojiki where Iyo Province is mythologically named Ehime lovely princess. In 2012, a group from the University of Tokyo. Located in the part of Shikoku, Ehime faces the Seto Inland Sea to the north and is bordered by Kagawa and Tokushima in the east. The prefecture includes both high mountains in the region and a long coastline, with many islands in the Seto Inland Sea. The westernmost arm of Ehime, the Sadamisaki Peninsula, is the narrowest peninsula in Japan, chemical industries, oil refining, paper and cotton textile products also are a feature of the prefecture. Rural areas mostly engage in agricultural and fishing industries, and are known for citrus fruits such as mikan and iyokan. Ikatas nuclear power plant produces a portion of Shikokus electricity. Ehime University Ehime Prefectural University of Health Science St. Catherine University Matsuyama University Matsuyama Shinonome College The sports teams listed below are based in Ehime, baseball Ehime Mandarin Pirates The oldest extant hot spring in Japan, Dogo Onsen, is located in Matsuyama. It has been used for two thousand years. Iyo dialect, one of the Shikoku dialects, is the dialect spoken in Ehime Prefecture, ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5, OCLC58053128 Official website
32.
Albay
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Albay is a province located in the Bicol Region in southeastern Luzon of the Philippines. The province was added to the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves in March 2016, long before the Spaniards arrived, Albay had a thriving civilization. Formerly called Ibat, and then Bogli, Albay was once ruled by Gat Ibal, from this point another expedition was sent to explore the interior and founded the town of Camalig. In 1573, Juan de Salcedo penetrated the Bicol Peninsula from the north as far south as Libon, jose Maria Peñaranda, a military engineer, was made “corregidor” of the province on May 14,1834. He constructed public buildings and built roads and bridges, the entire Bicol Peninsula was organized as one province with two divisions, Camarines in the northwest and Ibalon in the southeast. In 1636, the two partidos were separated, and Ibalon became a province with Sorsogon as capital. In the 17th century, Moro slave raiders from southern Philippines ravaged the coastal areas of the province of Albay. Mayon Volcano, in one of its most violent eruptions, destroyed the five towns surrounding its base on February 1,1814 and this eruption forced the town of Cagsawa to relocate to its present site, Legazpi. A decree was issued by Governor-General Narciso Claveria in 1846 separating Masbate, Ticao, Albay was then divided into four districts, Iraya, Cordillera or Tabaco, Sorsogon and Catanduanes. Glicerio Delgado, a condemned insurecto, started activities in the province. With a headquarters in the mountain of Guinobatan town, he joined the government of Albay as a lieutenant in the infantry. A unit of the Philippine Militia was then organized by the Spanish military authorities, each town was organized into sections of fifty men under the command of a lieutenant. During the Philippine Revolution on September 22,1898, the revolutionary government of Albay was formed with Anacieto Solano as provisional president. Major General Vito Belarmino, the military commander, reorganized the Filipino Army in the province. The sovereignty of the country was transferred to the United States after the Treaty of Paris, during the Philippine–American War, Brigadier General William August Kobbé headed the expedition that landed at the ports of Sorsogon, Bulan and Donsol. From there, the Americans marched to Legazpi and captured it, ola was later captured with about six hundred of his men. Following the December 12,1941 Japanese invasion of Legaspi during the Second World War, the region was defended only by the Philippine Constabulary unit under the command of Major Francisco Sandico. Then came the clearing operations and anti-Japanese insurgency in the Bicol Peninsula, in the aftermath of three years of siege and conflicts, many Bicolano guerrillas were forced to retreat by the Japanese around the province before liberation in 1945 by Allied forces
33.
Luzon
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Luzon (/luːˈzɒn/, Tagalog pronunciation, is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. It is ranked 15th largest in the world, with a population of 52.99 million as of 2015, it is the fourth most populous island in the world, containing about 53% of the countrys total population. Luzon may also refer to one of the three island groups in the country. The name Luzon is thought to derive from the Tagalog word lusong, from just before the first millennium, the Tagalog and Kapampangan peoples of south and central Luzon had established several Indianized kingdoms, notably among them those of Tundok and Namayan. The Laguna Copperplate Inscription, the first Philippine document written in 900AD, names places in and these kingdoms were based on leases between village rulers and landlords or Rajahs, to whom tributes and taxes were levied. These kingdoms were coastal thalassocracies based on trade with neighboring Asian political entities at that time, some parts of Luzon were Islamized when the Sultanate of Brunei expanded its realms from Borneo to the Philippines and set up the Kingdom of Maynila as its puppet-state. In addition, other kingdoms like the Wangdom of Pangasinan had become tributary states to China and were largely Sinified kingdoms, certain kilns were renowned over others and prices depended on the reputation of the kiln. Of this flourishing trade, the Burnay jars of Ilocos are the large clay jar manufactured in Luzon today with origins from this time. The Yongle Emperor instituted a Chinese Governor on Luzon during Zheng Hes voyages, China also had vassals among the leaders in the archipelago. China attained ascendancy in trade with the area in Yongles reign, in the 1500s, people from Luzon were called Lucoes and were actively employed in trading, seafaring and military campaigns across Southeast Asia. The Portuguese were the first European explorers who recorded it in their charts as Luçonia or Luçon, edmund Roberts, who visited Luzon in the early 19th century, wrote that Luzon was discovered in 1521. Many people from Luzon had active-employment in Portuguese Malacca and his father and wife carried on his maritime trading business after his death. Another important Malacca trader was Curia de Raja who also hailed from Luzon, the surname of de Raja or diraja could indicate that Regimo and Curia, and their families, were of noble or royal descent as the term is an abbreviation of Sanskrit adiraja. Pinto noted that there were a number of Lucoes in the Islamic fleets that went to battle with the Portuguese in the Philippines during the 16th century, the Sultan of Aceh gave one of them the task of holding Aru in 1540. Pinto also says one was named leader of the Malays remaining in the Moluccas Islands after the Portuguese conquest in 1511, pigafetta notes that one of them was in command of the Brunei fleet in 1521. However, the Luções did not only fight on the side of the Muslims, pinto says they were also apparently among the natives of the Philippines who fought the Muslims in 1538. On Mainland Southeast Asia, Lusung/Lucoes warriors aided the Burmese king in his invasion of Siam in 1547 AD, at the same time, Lusung warriors fought alongside the Siamese king and faced the same elephant army of the Burmese king in the defence of the Siamese capital at Ayuthaya. Scholars have thus suggested that they could be valued by all sides
34.
Hainan
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Hainan is the smallest and southernmost province of the Peoples Republic of China, consisting of various islands in the South China Sea. Hainan Island, separated from Guangdongs Leizhou Peninsula by the Qiongzhou Strait, is the largest island under PRC control and makes up the majority of the province. The province has an area of 33,920 square kilometers, with Hainan Island making up 32,900 square kilometers, there are a total of ten major cities and ten counties in Hainan Province. Haikou on the northern coast of Hainan Island is the capital while Sanya is a well-known tourist destination on the southern coast, the other major cities are Wenchang, Qionghai, Wanning, Wuzhishan, Dongfang, and Danzhou. Chinas controversial claims in the South China Sea, including the Nansha and Xisha Islands, are administered as part of the province. The provincial name derives from its island, Hainan, which is named for its position south of the Qiongzhou Strait. Former names for Hainan Island include Zhuya, Qiongya, and Qiongzhou, the later two gave rise to the provincial abbreviation 瓊 or 琼. Hainan Island first entered history in 110 BC, when the Han dynasty of China established a military garrison there following the arrival of General Lu Bode. In 46 BC the Han court decided that the conquest was too expensive, around that time, Han Chinese people together with military personnel and officials began to migrate to Hainan Island from the mainland. Among them were the offspring of those who were banished to Hainan for political reasons, most of them arrived in Hainan Island from the southern Chinese provinces of Guangdong, Fujian and Guangxi. Li people are the inhabitants of Hainan. They are believed to be the descendants of the ancient tribes from the mainland, some others live elsewhere on Hainan with other ethnic groups in Danzhou, Wanning, Qionghai, Lingshui and Tunchang. The area inhabited by the Li ethnic group totals 18,700 square kilometers, during the Three Kingdoms Period, Hainan was the Zhuya Commandery under the control of Eastern Wu. At the time of the Song dynasty, Hainan became part of Guangxi, under the Mongol Empire the island became an independent province then in 1370 was placed under the administration of Guangdong by the ruling Ming dynasty. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, large numbers of Han people from Fujian and Guangdong began migrating to Hainan, in the eighteenth century, the Li rebelled against the Qing Empire, which responded by bringing in mercenaries from the Miao regions of Guizhou. Many of the Miao settled on the island and their descendants live in the highlands to this day. During the 17th and 18th centuries, explorers referred to the island as Aynam, in 1906, the revolutionary leader Sun Yat-sen proposed that Hainan should become a separate province although this did not happen until 1988. Hainan was historically part of Guangdong and Guangxi Provinces and as such was the Qiongya Circuit under the 1912 establishment of the Republic of China
35.
Gulf of Tonkin
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The Gulf of Tonkin is a body of water located off the coast of northern Vietnam and southern China. It is an arm of the South China Sea. The Gulf is defined in the west by the coastline of Vietnam, in the north by Chinas Guangxi province. The bays Vietnamese and Chinese names – Vịnh Bắc Bộ and Běibù Wān, the name Tonkin, written 東京 in Hán-Nôm characters and Đông Kinh in the Vietnamese alphabet, means eastern capital, and is the former toponym for Hanoi, the present capital of Vietnam. It should not to be confused with Tokyo, which is also written 東京, during Vietnams French colonial era, Tonkin was used to refer to the north of the country. On 2 August 1964, United States President Lyndon B. Johnson claimed that North Vietnamese forces had twice attacked American destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin. Known today as the Gulf of Tonkin Incident, this event spawned the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution of 7 August 1964 and it furthermore foreshadowed the major escalation of the Vietnam War in South Vietnam, which began with the landing of US regular combat troops at Da Nang in 1965. Geography of China Geography of Vietnam Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club Xinhua – China to hold forum to boost Beibu Bay economic zone
36.
Visayas
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The Visayas /vᵻˈsaɪəz/ və-SY-əz or the Visayan Islands, is one of the three principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, along with Luzon and Mindanao. It consists of islands, primarily surrounding the Visayan Sea. Its inhabitants are predominantly the Visayan people, the major islands of the Visayas are Panay, Negros, Cebu, Bohol, Leyte and Samar. There are four regions in the Visayas, Western Visayas, Negros Island Region, Central Visayas. The term Visayas was derived from the name of the 7th-century thalassocratic Srivijaya Empire in Sumatra, in Sanskrit, sri means fortunate, prosperous, or happy and vijaya means victorious or excellence. Sulu Archipelago and the Visayas Islands were once Buddhist and Hindu and were subject states or tributaries of the empire. The early people in the Visayas region were the Austronesians and Negritos who migrated to the islands about 6,000 to 30,000 years ago and these early settlers were animist tribal groups. In the 12th century, settlers from the collapsing Hindu-Buddhist Srivijaya Empire led by Datu Putih and his retinue, settled in the island of Panay and it was also during the 12th century that Visayans are said to have made a series of raids along the coast of China. They were said to have a reputation, and the mention of their name would cause many to flee in terror. By the 14th century, Arab traders and their followers, venturing into Maritime Southeast Asia and these tribes practiced a mixture of Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam and Animism beliefs. There is evidence of trade among other Asian people, the Visayas is subsequently home to several Prehispanic kingdoms like the Rajahnate of Cebu, the Kedatuan of Bohol and the Kedatuan of Madja-as. Among the archaeological proofs of the existence of this Hiligaynon nation are the found in pre-Hispanic tombs from many parts of the island. There are also recent discoveries of artifacts of eight-foot inhabitants of Isla de Gigantes, including extra-large Lungon. After the Magellan expedition, King Philip II of Spain sent Miguel López de Legazpi in 1543 and 1565, the Visayas region and many tribes began converting to Christianity and adopting western culture. By the 18th and 19th centuries, the effects of colonization on various ethnic groups soon turned sour, various personalities who fought against Spanish Colonial Government arose from the islands. Negros briefly had a state in the Visayas in the form of the Cantonal Republic of Negros before it was dissolved because of the American invasion of the Philippines, in 2005, Palawan Island was transferred to Region VI by Executive Order 429. However this planned reorganization was held in abeyance, hence, Palawan currently remains part of Region IV-B. The chiefs and followers were said to be the ancestors of the Visayan people, the documents were accepted by Filipino historians and found their way into the history of the Philippines
37.
Palawan
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Palawan, officially the Province of Palawan, is an archipelagic province of the Philippines that is located in the Mimaropa region. It is the largest province in the country in terms of area of jurisdiction. Its capital is the City of Puerto Princesa, but it is governed independently from the province as an urbanized city. The islands of Palawan stretch between Mindoro in the northeast and Borneo in the southwest and it lies between the South China Sea and the Sulu Sea. The province is named after its largest island, Palawan Island, measuring 450 kilometres long, the province is composed of the long and narrow Palawan Island, plus a number of other smaller islands surrounding it, totalling roughly 1,780 islands and islets. The Calamianes Group of Islands to the northeast consists of Busuanga, Coron, Culion, Balabac Island is located off the southern tip, separated from Borneo by the Balabac Strait. In addition, Palawan covers the Cuyo Islands in the Sulu Sea, the disputed Spratly Islands, located a few hundred kilometres to the west, are considered part of Palawan by the Philippines, and is locally called the Kalayaan Group of Islands. Palawans almost 2,000 kilometres of coastline is lined with rocky coves. It also harbors a vast stretch of forests that carpet its chain of mountain ranges. The mountain heights average 3,500 feet in altitude, with the highest peak rising to 6,843 feet at Mount Mantalingahan, the vast mountain areas are the source of valuable timber. The terrain is a mix of coastal plain, craggy foothills, valley deltas, the province has a total land area of 14,649.73 square kilometres. When Puerto Princesa City is included for geographical purposes, its area is 17,030.75 square kilometres. The land area is distributed to its mainland municipalities, comprising 12,239 square kilometres, and the island municipalities, the province has two types of climate. The first, which occurs in the northern and southern extremities, the other, which prevails in the eastern coast, has a short dry season of one to three months and no pronounced rainy period during the rest of the year. The southern part of the province is virtually free from tropical depressions but northern Palawan experiences torrential rains during the months of July, summer months serve as peak season for Palawan. Sea voyages are most favorable from March to early June when the seas are calm, the average maximum temperature is 31 °C with little variation all year. Palawan comprises 433 barangays in 23 municipalities and the capital City of Puerto Princesa, as an archipelago, Palawan has 13 mainland municipalities and 10 island towns. The remaining island municipalities are, Busuanga, Coron, Linapacan and Culion, Cuyo, Agutaya and Magsaysay, Araceli, Cagayancillo, Balabac and Kalayaan
38.
Da Nang
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Danang is the third largest city in Vietnam in terms of urban population and one of the major port cities, in addition to Ho Chi Minh City and Hai Phong. Situated on the coast of the Eastern Sea, at the end of the Han River. It is governed as one of the five direct-controlled municipalities of the SRV and is thus under direct administration of the central government. It is located within 100 km of several UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including the Imperial City of Hue, the Old Town of Hoi An, the city was previously known as Cửa Hàn during early Đại Việt settlement, and as Tourane during French colonial rule. Before 1997, the city was part of Quang Nam-Da Nang Province, on 1 January 1997, Da Nang was separated from Quảng Nam Province to become one of four independent municipalities in Vietnam. Da Nang is listed as a first class city, and has a higher ratio than any of Vietnams other provinces or centrally governed cities. Most of the names by which Da Nang has been known make reference to its position at the Hàn River estuary, the citys present name is generally agreed to be a Vietnamese adaptation of the Cham word da nak, which is translated as opening of a large river. Other Chamic sources, with definitions, have been proposed. Another name given to Da Nang was Cửa Hàn, the name used by the French, Tourane, is said to derive from this name, by way of a rough transliteration. Notably, this appears on maps of the area drafted by Alexandre de Rhodes in 1650. The name Kean was another name used during the 17th century to refer to the land situated at the foot of the Hải Vân Pass. Other names referring to Da Nang include, Vũng Thùng, a name which survives in folklore. Trà Úc, Trà Áo, Trà Sơn and Đồng Long Loan, in Sino-Vietnamese script, used until 1945, Đà Nẵng is written as 沱灢. Thái Phiên, a name used briefly after the 1945 August Revolution, commemorating Thái Phiên, the citys origins date back to the ancient kingdom of Champa, established in 192 AD. At its peak, the Chams sphere of influence stretched from Huế to Vũng Tàu, the city of Indrapura, at the site of the modern village of Dong Duong in Quảng Nam Province, was the capital of Champa from about 875 to about 1000 AD. In the latter half of the 10th century, the kings of Indrapura came into conflict with the Đại Việt, in 982, three ambassadors sent to Champa by King Lê Hoàn of the Đại Việt were detained in Indrapura. Lê Hoàn decided to go on the offensive, sacking Indrapura, as a result of these setbacks, the Cham eventually abandoned Indrapura around 1000 AD. The Đại Việt campaign against Champa continued into the late 11th century, soon afterwards, Vietnamese peasants began moving into the untilled former Cham lands, turning them into rice fields and moving relentlessly southward, delta by delta, along the narrow coastal plain
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Samar
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Samar is an island in the Visayas, within central Philippines and the third largest island in the country. The island is divided into three provinces, Samar province, Northern Samar province, and Eastern Samar province and these three provinces, along with the provinces on the nearby islands of Leyte and Biliran are part of the Eastern Visayas region. Samar is an easternmost island in Visayas, the island is separated from Leyte by the San Juanico Strait, which at its narrowest point is only about 2 kilometres across. This strait is crossed by the San Juanico Bridge, Samar lies southeast of the Bicol Peninsula on Luzon, the countrys largest island, the San Bernardino Strait separates the two. To the south of Samar is the Leyte Gulf, the site of the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the gulf opens out into the Philippine Sea, found to the east of Samar and is part of the Pacific Ocean. Samar was the first island of the Philippines sighted by the Spanish expedition of Ferdinand Magellan on 16 March 1521 after having left the Mariana Islands, realizing he had arrived at an archipelago he charted the islands as San Lazaro because they were sighted on Lazarus Saturday. Catbalogan was the central sanitary garbage landfill of Samar province, media related to Samar at Wikimedia Commons Samar Island travel guide from Wikivoyage
40.
Hong Kong tropical cyclone warning signals
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The Hong Kong tropical cyclone warning signals, or informally typhoon signals, are a set of signals used to indicate the threat or effects of a tropical cyclone. The Hong Kong Observatory issues the warning signal if a tropical cyclone approaches within 800 kilometres of Hong Kong, the signals are represented as a set of numbers and symbols. Previously lights were used at night. The monitoring efforts later expanded to gathering information from various seafaring vessels and these works were done in conjunction with the Marine Department until 1886. At first, the monitoring and warning services were geared mainly towards seafarers, the warning system was numerical, consisting of symbols hoisted at various places in Victoria Harbour, in the form of drums, balls, and cones. At first, the signals only gave information as to the direction from which winds were coming. Revisions of the system in 1904 added alerts as to wind direction. Until 1917, there were two sets of warning signals, one set with black symbols, and one with red. The black symbols indicated that the cyclone in question was less than 300 miles from Hong Kong. The alert system was supplemented by the firing of guns. Intensity was indicated by number of shots, three being an indication of an intense cyclone. This audible alert system ended in 1937, as began to rely on radio, newspapers. After a failed attempt at consensus with Japan over warning standards in 1917, attempts to convince other jurisdictions around the South China Sea to adopt this system likewise failed. Eventually, over the years, the storm signals deviated from their purpose of serving mariners. From 1 January 1973, signals 5 to 8 were replaced by 8 NW,8 SW,8 NE and 8 SE, respectively, what had started out as a 10-level warning system had been reduced to the five-level system that has been in use ever since. In the 1960s, there were 42 signal stations around the territory, the last, Cheung Chau aeronautical meteorological station on Cheung Chau, was decommissioned on 1 January 2002. Weather authorities in Macao, however, still use the term hoisted when issuing their tropical cyclone warnings, non-essential workers are released from work in a staggered manner so as to avoid overwhelming public transportation. Public transit agencies that operate on the sea or on streets and highways generally continue to operate initially
41.
Gunboat
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In the age of sail, a gunboat was usually a small undecked vessel carrying a single smoothbore cannon in the bow, or just two or three such cannons. A gunboat could carry one or two masts or be oar-powered only, but the version of about 15 m length was most typical. Some types of gunboat carried two cannons, or else mounted a number of guns on the railings. The gun that such boats carried could be heavy, a 32-pounder for instance. For example, in the Battle of Alvøen during the Gunboat War of 1807-1814, Gunboats used in the Battle of Valcour Island on Lake Champlain during the American Revolutionary War were mostly built on the spot, attesting to the speed of their construction. All navies of the era kept a number of gunboats on hand. Gunboats saw extensive use in the Baltic Sea during the late 18th century as they were well-suited for the extensive coastal skerries and archipelagoes of Sweden, Finland and Russia. The rivalry between Sweden and Russia in particular led to an expansion of gunboat fleets and the development of new gunboat types. The majority of these were developed from the 1770s and onwards by the naval architect Fredrik Henrik af Chapman for the Swedish archipelago fleet. The designs, copied and refined by the rival Danish and Russian navies, spread to the Mediterranean, British ships engaged larger 22 m Russian gunboats off Turku in southeast Finland in 1854 during the Crimean War. The Russian vessels had the distinction of being the last oared vessels of war in history to fire their guns in anger, Gunboats played a key role in Napoleon Bonapartes plan for the invasion of England in 1804. Denmark-Norway used them heavily in the Gunboat War, between 1803 and 1812 the United States Navy had a policy of basing its navy on coastal gunboats, experimenting with a variety of designs. President Thomas Jefferson and his Democratic-Republican Party opposed a strong navy and they proved useless against the British blockade during the War of 1812. With the introduction of power in the early 19th century. Initially, these vessels retained full sailing rigs and used steam engines for auxiliary propulsion, the British Royal Navy deployed two wooden paddle-gunboats in the Lower Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River during the Rebellions of 1837 in Upper and Lower Canada. The United States Navy deployed an iron-hulled paddle gunboat, the USS Michigan, the Von der Tann became the first propeller-driven gunboat in the world. Conradi shipyards in Kiel built the steam-powered 120 long tons gunboat in 1849 for the navy of Schleswig-Holstein. 1, Von der Tann was the most modern ship in the navy and she participated successfully in the First Schleswig War of 1848-1851
42.
Star Ferry Pier, Central
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The current Star Ferry pier is the fourth to bear the name in Central. It opened for service on 12 November 2006. First Generation was located at the junction of Pedder Street and Chater Road, the first ferry pier was a simple wooden shelter with a roof. A temporary pier off Ice House Street, located across from Queens Building was then leased to the Star Ferry Co. from 1900 and it was replaced in 1912 by the Second Generation pier, at the same location. Second Generation was located opposite the end of Ice House Street, third Generation near Edinburgh Place, decommissioned 11 November 2006. The pier was created in the late 1950s following a land reclamation in Central. The pier was built in 1957 in the Streamline Moderne style at the height of the Modern Movement near the City Hall complex and its completion was concurrent with the completion of the still standing Tsim Sha Tsui Ferry Pier, which was built on the Kowloon side. The Star Ferry Pier was designed by a local Chinese architect and he worked at the Architectural Office of the Hong Kong Government from 1952 to 1957 as an assistant architect. He designed the facade of the pier, and the Chief Architect Michael Wright added the Clock Tower to make the more balanced. Fourth Generation – also known as Central Ferry Piers 7 and 8 at Man Kwong Street, Central Piers 7 and 8 were built to replace the Edinburgh Place Ferry Pier in Central, on Hong Kong Island, pursuant of the Central and Wan Chai Reclamation projects. The building design resembles the second generation pier, the pier was moved further into Victoria Harbour, and constructed on reclaimed land approximately 300 metres away from the former site. The new pier is located directly northwards, in front of the old pier, part of the new pier was built at the time of the reclamation for the Hong Kong Station of the Airport Express MTR line and the International Finance Centre. It thus derives its name from having been pier no.7 of the islands ferry piers. Pier 8 was subsequently converted and is housing the Hong Kong Maritime Museum since February 2013, as a consequence, Pier 7 remains the only one serving the Star Ferry in Central. As these structures occupy a prime waterfront site, the Government had attempted to develop the piers into a new landmark for public enjoyment, the Star Ferry proposed a historical heritage design approach and this pier was expanded eastwards to resemble a replica of the second generation Edwardian pier. Other design features of the building include open-air pier, natural lighting, including skylights. The bottom two floors of each of the two finger piers will serve as boarding and waiting rooms, while the top floors feature a public viewing deck, a canteen-style restaurant. The Star Ferry Company has also applied to set up a bar in one area of the top floor, in order to get to the public viewing corridor, visitors should pass through the passage to the Waterfront restaurant and turn right
43.
Yau Ma Tei
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Yau Ma Tei is an area in the Yau Tsim Mong District in the south of the Kowloon Peninsula in Hong Kong. Yau Ma Tei is a transliteration of the name 油麻地 in Cantonese. It can also be spelt as Yaumatei, Yau Ma Ti, Yau literally means oil, Ma can either refer to sesame or jute, and Tei means field or open ground. Hence, Yau Ma Tei can be interpreted to mean either oil-sesame field or oil and this dual-interpretation is perhaps the reason why there are two explanations for the origin of the place name. Dundas Street marks the border of Yau Ma Tei with Mong Kok. To its west is Victoria Harbour and its east the region of Ho Man Tin. Southern Yau Ma Tei was traditionally known as Kwun Chung, Yau Ma Tei was a village in Kowloon. It was mentioned that a Chinese burial ground was assigned at a mile northeast of a village of Yau-ma-Tee at 2 December 1871, the name Yau Ma Tei is not thought to pre-date British rule. However, Kwun Chung is mentioned in historic documents. Kwun Chung was a valley with village and cultivation. On the hill south near the coast was Kwun Chung Fort built by Chinese official Lin Tse-hsu to defend against the British, during the Battle of Kwun Chung in 1839, the fort — together with Tsim Sha Tsui Fort — successfully kept the British from Kowloon. The fort with the hill was demolished for development during early British rule of Kowloon, before the ceding of Kowloon to the British in 1860, Yau Ma Tei was a beach and a bay gathering many Tanka fishermen. Its water remains a harbour for fishermen after several times of reclamation by the Hong Kong Government, the Yau Ma Tei Typhoon Shelter became an exotic water area where restaurants on boats offered dishes of indigenous seafood. These typhoon shelter dishes remain famous to this day and are offered on land. The typhoon shelter not only hosted fishermen, but was also a port in Hong Kong, numerous piers were built along its shore. Ferry Point in the part of Yau Ma Tei was a transportation hub where many commuters took ferries to. The service was offered by Hongkong and Yaumati Ferry, inland, the reclamation became the residential area for the ever-increasing Chinese population, with retail shops on the street level. Shanghai Street was the street before being replaced by Nathan Road
44.
Land reclamation in Hong Kong
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The reclamation of land from the ocean has long been used in mountainous Hong Kong to expand the limited supply of usable land with a total of around 60 square kilometres of land created by 1996. The first reclamations can be traced back to the early Western Han Dynasty, major land reclamation projects have been conducted since the mid-19th century. One of the earliest and best-known modern projects was the Praya Reclamation Scheme and it was one of the most ambitious projects ever undertaken during the Colonial Hong Kong era. In addition, as the city expands, new towns in different decades were mostly built on reclaimed land, such as Tuen Mun, Tai Po, Sha Tin, Ma On Shan, West Kowloon, Kwun Tong and Tseung Kwan O. Much reclamation has taken place in locations on the waterfront on both sides of Victoria Harbour. Hong Kong legislators passed the Protection of the Harbour Ordinance in 1996 in an effort to safeguard the increasingly threatened Victoria Harbour against encroaching land development
