Pingtan county, or Landao Island, is a municipal county of Fuzhou, provincial capital of Fujian. Located off the eastern coast of the province, Pingtan is made up of 126 islands with Haitan the largest island.

Pingtan county, or Landao Island, is a municipal county of Fuzhou, provincial capital of Fujian. Located off the eastern coast of the province, Pingtan is made up of 126 islands with Haitan the largest island.

Pingtan, known as the "County of Islands", is the largest island in Fujian province and the fifth largest island in China and a famous fishery base. It is also the closest island county on the mainland to Taiwan.

It is situated between 25°15'-25°45' north latitude and 119°32'-120°10' east longitude. With the Taiwan Straits to the east and Haitan Strait to the west, it is in a neighborhood in Changle, Fuqing and Putian cities of Fujian province. Facing the Baiquan Island Chains to the north, it is adjacent to the South Island in Putian to the south. With a coastline of 399.82 kilometers, the county bears a land area of 371.91 square kilometers and a sea area of more than 6,000 square kilometers.

Climate

With a hot and humid climate, Pingtan county has short but warm winters and long but cool summers with rare frosts and snows. It has an annual average temperature of 19.6 ℃, with the lowest average daily temperature of 10.2 ℃ and highest of 27.9 ℃. Pingtan has clear-cut drought and rain seasons, with years of average sunshine of 1,919.7 hours and an annual precipitation of 1,172 mm.

Profile

In 2011, Pingtan realized a GDP of 11.15 billion yuan ($1.75 billion), a year-on-year growth of 17.1 percent, 5 points higher than that of the whole province, ranking atop Fujian. Fixed-asset investments reached 30.35 billion yuan in 2011, pushing the county into a booming period. During the 12th Five-Year Plan period, the investment is expected to achieve approximately 250 billion yuan.

Coast defence

Pingtan has always been an important coastal defense spot. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, it speeded up the island construction and attached great importance to coastal defense. In the early 1950s, the masses and migrant workers were mobilized to support the frontline for wars, and to assist garrisons in digging bunkers and tunnels. In the 1980s, 29 units in the coastal areas of Pingtan and the garrisons set up defense alliance areas and defense spots for the nation's coastal security.