Gangwei is a town in Longhai City, in Zhangzhou, Fujian, China (PRC).

History

In the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis in 1958, Daomei (岛美) in Gangwei was one of the areas from which PLA forces shelled Kinmen County (Quemoy), Republic of China (Taiwan). The Daomei milita dug eleven trenches and built 136 air raid shelters. On September 8, Chinese Nationalist forces fired 1,285 shells at Wu Yu, destroying 151 homes and a granary. 37 members of the Daomei militia took eight boats to Wu Yu bringing 130,000 jin of food for the islanders. No one died or was injured. In February–March 1959, Huojian Commune ('rocket commune'; 火箭公社) and Hongqi Commune ('red flag commune'; 红旗公社) were combined to create Gangwei Commune (港尾公社). In late 1984, Gangwei Commune became Gangwei Township (港尾乡). On January 1, 1988, ten villages of Gangwei Township were transferred to Longjiao She Ethnic Township (隆教畲族乡). On December 29, 1988, Gangwei Township became Gangwei Town (港尾镇). Railway development plans include the construction of a 45-km-long branch line from Zhangzhou railway station eastward, across most of Longhai City, to terminate at the China Merchants Group industrial area (招商局漳州开发区) on the southwestern shore of Xiamen Harbor, opposite Xiamen Island (24.40861°N, 118.02694°W). The branch will be known as the Gangwei Railway (港尾铁路), and will support trains running at speeds up to 120 km/h. Its opening is planned for 2013.

Geography

Islands in Gangwei include:

Administrative divisions

The town administers 1 residential community and 15 villages:

Demographics