Cimei

C3I1M3E1I1

proper noun

A rural township in Penghu County, Taiwan.

Scrabble 9

Meanings

proper noun

alternative Chimei · alternative Ch'i-mei · alternative Hanyu Pinyin Qimei

  1. A rural township in Penghu County, Taiwan.

    Some traditional fishing methods: [...] bottom left, stacked stones form a weirshaped like a double-heart in Cimei, Penghu archipelago;[...]

    2017, Brian R. Moss, Ecology of Freshwaters: Earth's Bloodstream, 5th edition, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 63
    5 more examples

    Multi-island ferry tours (NT$550) starting from the South Sea visitor center make Cimei their last port in of call before returning to Magong, usually allowing passengers an insufficient hour and a half to look around.

    2007, Stephen Keeling, Brice Minnigh, The Rough Guide to Taiwan (Rough Guides), →ISBN, →OCLC, page 462

    The abundant marine resources of the Taiwan Strait, however, did not really contribute significantly to their economic improvement since the population was so small that the supply of fish always exceeded local demand. The more fish they harvested, the poorer their families became as the price declined. Hence, some Penghuans were forced to be seasonal fishers, oscillating back and forth between Kaohsiung and Penghu every year, while others migrated directly to Kaohsiung. The first wave of Penghuan migrants came mainly from Cimei. They began their migration during the colonial period and in general preferred to settle in Cihou rather than Gushan.

    2009, Henry T. Chen, “The Culture and Daily Life of the Kaohsiung Fishing Communities”, in Taiwanese Distant-Water Fisheries in Southeast Asia, 1936-1977, St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, published 2017, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 144

    The county Fire Bureau said the dead man was one of four Indonesian crew members on the Cimei Township, Penghu-registered fishing boat, Fajilong 168, which set sail from Cimei at about 9 a.m. Sunday.

    2018, Chen Chi-ching, Elizabeth Hsu, “Indonesian fisherman dies after falling overboard”, in Focus Taiwan

    The area where the dredging was discovered is about 30 nautical miles (55.5km) southwest of Cimei Township (七美) and is the habitat and breeding ground for many species vital to Penghu’s fishing industry.

    2019, “Chinese detained over dredging near Penghu”, in Taipei Times

    The remote offshore areas set forth in the subparagraph 3 of paragraph 1 include:[…] 2. Cimei Township and Wang-an Township under the jurisdiction of Penghu County, Taiwan Province.

    2019 October 17, “Article 10”, in Fee-charging Standards for the Use of State-operated Airport, Navigation Aids and Related Facilities, archived from the original on 02 Mar 2022, page 6
  2. An island of Cimei, Penghu County, Taiwan.

    If Penghu’s main island is not quite remote enough, regular flights depart from Makung to tiny Chimei Yu ④ (Isle of Seven Beauties).

    [2003, “Taiwan Strait Islands”, in Vivien Kim, editor, Taiwan (Insight Guides), →ISBN, →OCLC, page 225
    4 more examples

    Some 58 kilometers south of Makung, or four hours by yacht, lies Chimei island. The name means “seven beauties” in English, and commemorates the virtue of seven virgins in the Ming Dynasty who, according to legend, threw themselves into a well rather than be captured by the invaders.[...]Small airports have also been built on Chimei and Penghu are convenient.[...]Small airports have also jbeen^([sic – meaning been]) built on Chimei and Wangan islands to handle services by light aircraft.

    [1982 May 9, “Penghu: Old and new in charming blend”, in Free China Weekly, volume XXII, number 18, Taipei, page 2

    Cimei (Qimei) Islet, the southernmost of the Penghu archipelago, is named after seven legendary local beauties who threw themselves down a well rather than have their virtue despoiled by a gang of marauding pirates.

    2004, Phil Macdonald, National Geographic Traveler: Taiwan, National Geographic Society, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 198

    The pygmy seahorse, known as Hippocampus bargibanti, was discovered 30 nautical miles (55.6km) southwest of Cimei (七美), the southernmost island in the Penghu archipelago, during a research trip, the academy said.

    2021 September 25, “Pygmy seahorse spotted for the first time near Penghu”, in Taipei Times, archived from the original on 24 Sep 2021

    On May 28, there will be a show on Cimei Island; on June 11, there will be a show on Wangan Island, and on June 25, there will be one on Jibei Island.

    2022 April 26, Natalie Tso, “Penghu kicks off 20th International Fireworks Festival”, in Radio Taiwan International, archived from the original on 26 Apr 2022

Origin

From the Tongyong Pinyin romanization of the Mandarin Chinese pronunciation for 七美 (Ciměi).

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Cantonese 七美
  • 七美 (cat¹ mei⁵)rural township in southern Penghu (the Pescadores)
Chinese Mandarin 七美
  • 七美 (Qīměi)rural township in southern Penghu (the Pescadores)
Cite this entry
APA

Cimei. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Cimei

MLA

“Cimei.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Cimei. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Cimei,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Cimei.

Source: Cimei on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.