Orchid Island
English
Etymology
Calque of Chinese 蘭嶼 (Lányǔ, literally “orchid islet/island”)
Proper noun
Orchid Island
- An island of Taitung County, Taiwan, in the Pacific Ocean (Philippine Sea), home of the Tao (Yami) indigenous people
- 1977 January 9, “Visitors drawn to Lanyu, Land forgotten by time”, in Free China Weekly (自由中國週報), volume XVIII, number 2, Taipei, ISSN 0016-0318, OCLC 1786626, page 2, column 4:
- Orchid Island is a rocky, mountainous bit of land thrown up from the sea by volcanic action eons ago. It has barely more than ten and a half square miles of area, with little arable or level land. Yet it is home to some 2,600 people.
There really are orchids on Orchid Island, although they are found at higher elevations not usually seen by visitors—also sizeable trees and numerous birds and butterflies. Almost everything is green from the combination of a tropical climate and heavy rainfall.
The people of Orchid Island are Yamis, members of the smallest of the Taiwan aborigine tribes. They are handsome people. with black hair, brown eyes and complexions deeply bronzed from exposure to sun and wind.
- 2020 November 4, Jensen, Sally, “Indigenous Tao way of life under threat on Taiwan island”, in Reuters, archived from the original on 05 November 2020, Big Story 10:
- While 2020 will be remembered by many as a year of travel bans and cancelled vacations, the indigenous Tao people of Orchid Island will remember it as the year unprecedented numbers of visitors descended on their once tranquil home.
- 2022 April 26, Lu, Tyson; Matthew Mazzetta, “Ship delivering supplies to Orchid Island sinks after collision”, in Focus Taiwan, archived from the original on 26 April 2022, Society:
- A ship transporting cargo from Taitung to Orchid Island sank early Tuesday after it was struck by a large merchant vessel off Green Island, but all nine crew members were safely rescued, according to the Coast Guard Administration (CGA).
- For more quotations using this term, see Citations:Orchid Island.
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Synonyms
- (from Mandarin Chinese) Lanyu
Translations
island
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