Meanings
alternative also P'eng-hu · alternative also Pênghu
- An insular county of Taiwan.
The high-speed passenger ship Natchan Rera resumed operation on Wednesday (Aug. 31) to ply the route between Tainan’s Anping Harbor and the outlying island county of Penghu three days a week, according to a press release from Tainan’s Tourism and Travel Bureau.
2022 September 1, George Liao, “High-speed ferry services between Taiwan’s Tainan and Penghu resume operation”, in Taiwan News, archived from the original on 02 Sep 20223 more examples
We may remark here, that the Pescadore Group of islands forms one of the six districts which constitute Táiwán fú 臺灣府, the department of Táiwán, or Formosa. The Group is called by the Chinese, in their statistical works, Panghú ting, 澎湖廳, or the district of Panghú, and is under the immediate government of a magistrate, a subordinate of the prefect, or chífú, of Formosa. He resides at Mákung (Macon, as the place is called by foreigners), and has under his command a few hundred soldiers.
[1845 June, Richard Collinson, “Sailing Directions for the Panghú, or Pescadore Archipelago, with notices of the islands.”, in The Chinese Repository, volume XIV, number 6, Canton, →OCLC, page 249A total of 829 Vietnamese refugees is now being cared for in Penghu (the Pescadores) with the assistance of the Free China Relief Association (FCRA) and military personnel on the islands between Taiwan and the mainland of China. . . . A special bank account has been opened at a post office in Penghu to collect the cash donations for future distribution to the refugees. The Penghu county government is planning to set up an overseas middle school on the island for young refugees.
1978 December 17, “Home in Penghu for Vietnam refugees”, in Free China Weekly, volume XIX, number 50, Taipei, page 2The aircraft took off from Taiwan’s southern city of Kaohsiung, headed for the island of Makong, but crash-landed in Huxi township of Penghu County, the main island of an archipelago also known as the Pescadores. “It was thunderstorm conditions during the crash,” said Hsi Wen-guang, a spokesman for the Penghu County Government Fire Bureau.
2014 July 23, “TransAsia Airways Taiwan crash leaves dozens dead”, in France 24, archived from the original on 24 Jul 2014 - abbreviationShort for Penghu Island, the largest of the Pescadores, an archipelago in the Taiwan Strait, part of the Republic of China (Taiwan)
The anchorage is at Mako (Makyū or Makun) on the principal island of Penghu.
1911, PESCADORES (Encyclopædia Britannica), volume 21, page 2824 more examples
From his base at Amoy the Emperor Kanghi dispatched a fleet of 600 junks against Formosa. In two naval battles, on July 1 and 7, 1683, they defeated the Formosans, and occupied Penghu, one of the Pescadores Islands, forming the key of Taiwan.
1926, Hosea Ballou Morse, The Chronicles of the East India Company trading to China, volume 1, Clarendon Press, page 48The Japanese constructed a formidable naval base at Mako (Makung Harbor), on Penghu, largest of the islands.
1946, PESCADORES (The American Annual An Encyclopedia of the Events of 1945), Americana Corporation, page 593Mr. Tung apparently plans to lay up 10 tankers at Penghu, an island off West Taiwan (see map, page 1).
1975 July 18, “ULCCs plan goes ahead”, in Marine Week, volume 2, number 29, London, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 7, column 2Mr Lee descended on Penghu, one of the Pescadores, with a population of 90,000, in the afternoon, immediately after military jets had buzzed the airstrip to ensure his safety. Penghu lies in the middle of the Taiwan Strait. Addressing a large rally, he compared himself to the native goddess Matsu, who gave her life for others. "Your President should love and protect the people like her," he said. "Matsu will not abandon Penghu, and I will not either."
1996 March 15, Jonathan Mirsky, “Taiwan President visits islanders to bolster morale”, in The Times, number 65,528, →ISSN, →OCLC, Overseas News, page 15, column 1 - abbreviationShort for Penghu Islands, the Pescadores collectively.
Penghu, an archipelago made up of 97 islands, is located in the middle of the Taiwan Strait.
2022 September 1, George Liao, “High-speed ferry services between Taiwan’s Tainan and Penghu resume operation”, in Taiwan News, archived from the original on 02 Sep 20225 more examples
FORMOSA During the Cairo Conference in November, 1943, it was agreed among President Chiang Kai-Shek, President Roosevelt, and Prime Minister Churchill that China should recover all the territories she had lost to Japan, including Fomosa (Taiwan) and the Pescadores (Penghu) Islands ceded to the invaders after the first Sino-Japanese War in 1894-95.
1947, Hollington K. Tong, editor, China Handbook, page 33In the Penghu Islands, the fourth agricultural region, scanty rainfall, poor soils, and strong winds, limit agricultural production to sweet potatoes and peanuts.
1966 December, “Taiwan”, in Alice Taylor, editor, Focus, volume 17, number 4, American Geographical Society, page 4Koxinga's son Jheng Jing succeeded his father and ruled for the next 20 years until his death, when his son, only 12 years old, was placed on the throne. A year later, in 1684, the Jheng navy was all but wiped out near the Penghu Islands.
2004, Phil Macdonald, National Geographic Traveler: Taiwan, National Geographic Society, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 32The supersonic missile flew for about two minutes toward the Penghu Islands, in the direction of China, but did not cross the midway line in the Taiwan Strait between Taiwan and China, said the official, Vice Adm. Mei Chia-shu.
2016 July 1, Austin Ramzy, “Taiwan Navy Accidentally Fires Antiship Missile, Killing Fisherman”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 01 Jul 2016, SinosphereThe theatre command said the exercises took place near Taiwan's Penghu islands, which are in the Taiwan Strait and are home to a major air base, and showed close up video of the islands taken by a Chinese air force aircraft.
2022 August 15, Ryan Woo, Ben Blanchard, “Angry China stages more drills near Taiwan as U.S. lawmakers visit”, in Himani Sarkar, Robert Birsel, Raissa Kasolowsky, editors, Reuters, archived from the original on 15 Aug 2022, Asia Pacific
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
- Mandarin澎湖
- EnglishPenghu
From the Wade-Giles romanization of Mandarin 澎湖 (Pénghú), Wade–Giles romanization: Pʻêng²-hu².
More words from Mandarin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Cantonese 澎湖
- 澎湖 (paang⁴ wu⁴)island group in the Taiwan Strait
Chinese Mandarin 澎湖
- 澎湖 (Pénghú)island group in the Taiwan Strait
Japanese 澎湖
- 澎湖 (Hōko)island group in the Taiwan Strait
Vietnamese Bành Hồ
- Bành Hồisland group in the Taiwan Strait
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with Penghu
All rhymes →Cite this entry
Penghu. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Penghu
“Penghu.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Penghu. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Penghu,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Penghu.
Source: Penghu on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.