Xiaoliuqiu 3.2

Xiaoliuqiu, Little Liuqiu or Lamay Island is an island belonging to Taiwan administered as Liuqiu Township of Pingtung County. It has an area of and lies 15 km west of Donggang; it is Taiwan's only large coral island. The eight villages on the island are populated by approximately 13,000 residents with 10 shared surnames.Etymology and namesLamay, formerly the most common English name for the island, is a name that most probably originates from a Taiwanese aboriginal language. Golden Lion Island is another historical English name for the island. Two years prior to the beginning of Dutch rule in Taiwan, a Dutch ship named the Golden Lion was wrecked on the coral reefs of the isle. After the Dutch took control of the island, they renamed it Gouden Leeuwseylant as a memorial to the crew who were killed by the native inhabitants.In Chinese, Liúqiú originally referred to the island of Taiwan according to the History of Yuan. However, during the Ming dynasty the term came to mean Lamay Island. However, the same Chinese name also refers to the Ryukyu Islands between Taiwan and Japan. Thus, Xiao Liuqiu has been commonly used since the Japanese era, although the island is officially Liuqiu Island. Variants of this name include Little Liuchiu, Hsiao Liuchiu and Liouciou.