Nangan Township (Chinese: 南竿鄉) is a rural township in the Matsu Islands and the county seat of Lienchiang County, Taiwan.^[3]

There is an airport in Nangan. The highest point is Yuntai Mountain, at 248 m (814 ft) above sea level.

Nangan Township is named for Nangan Island (Nankan Island^[4]), the main island in the township. Nangan was also known Nangantang (南竿塘^[5]; Nàng-găng-dòng). Because Lin Moniang's (who later became the goddess Matsu) corpse was washed ashore here, Nangan was also known as Matsu Island / Ma-tsu Island / Matsu Shan / Matsu-Shan^[6] (Matsoo^[7]/ Matsoo shan^[8]) (馬祖島^[5]; Mā-cū-dō̤). In Song and Ming records, Nangan Island (Matsu Island) was called Shanggantang/Shanggantangshan (上竿塘/上干塘/上竿塘山) as opposed to Beigan Island, which was called Xiagantang/Xiagantangshan (下竿塘/下干塘/下竿塘山).^[9][10]

In 1935, a baojia was created including Nangan Island.^[11]

In 1949, ROC forces were stationed on Nangan Island.^[11]

At 3 AM on January 9, 1966, three seamen from the PRC defected to the ROC at Nangan (Nankan) Island. They were ambushed and killed in transit to Taipei.^[12]

In 2000, as part of the Three Links, transportation betwen Nangan Island's Fuao and Mawei District in Fuzhou was established.^[11]

In 2003, Nangan Airport was opened.^[11]

The island of Nangan is not only the largest island of its township, but also the largest island of Matsu. Nangan Township is also the largest township in Lienchiang County, with a population of about 4,000. The highest point of the island is the Yuntai Mountain peak at 250m. Nangan's climate is classified as subtropical, with distinct seasons. The average year-round temperature is 20C, with July and August reaching 34C and January temperatures as low as 1.8C. There is an intense fog period during March and April which often affects the scheduled flights at Nangan Airport.

Other islets in Nangan Township include Huangguan Yu (黃官嶼), Xie Jiao (鞋礁), Beiquan Jiao (北泉礁), and Liuquan Jiao (劉泉礁).

There are 10 villages located on Nangan. At the eastern end of the island is Jieshou (介壽村), the seat of the county government and the largest village. Following the coastal road west from Jieshou, there are Fuxing (復興村), Fuao (福澳村), Qingshui (清水村), Zhuluo (珠螺村) and Mazu (馬祖村). Following the mountain road west, there are Meishi (梅石村), Renai (仁愛村) and Jinsha (津沙聚落), before once again reaching Mazu. Located to the north of Mazu is Siwei (四維村). In addition to these, there are two smaller villages or clusters of homes. These are Furen (夫人村) and Ketiao (科蹄澳), they are located near Siwei.

Many villages on Nangan have two names. In some cases, this was the result of politics, as one is the traditional name and the second has a political connotation. These instances are paired as follows with the traditional name first: Shanlong (山隴): Jieshou (介壽), Niujiao (牛角(聚落)): Fuxing (復興), Tieban (鐵板): Renai (仁愛), and Fuao (福澳): Jingze (經澤). These names are often used interchangeably by residents, except for Jingze. Residents objected to this latter name, and so it never came into popular use. The reference to Shanlong is also important as there is a neighborhood there called Zhonglong (中隴). Mazu is also referred to as Magang (馬港) and Siwei as Xiwei (西尾). As for Mazu and Magang, Magang is the preferred name. This could be in order to distinguish the village and its harbor from Mazu (媽祖), the goddess, and Mazu (馬祖) the island chain. Xiwei was derived from the local Fuzhou dialect's pronunciation of Siwei.

The nine rural villages of Nangan Township are:^[13][14]

The Palace of Heavenly Empress (天后宮) in Matsu Village contains the coffin of Lin Moniang. The temple also contains statues of the guards, Thousand-li Eye (千里眼) and Wind-following Ear (順風耳). There is an annual celebration on March 3.

Matsu Distillery (馬祖酒廠) on Wujiao Hill (午角嶺) in Fusing Village produces daqu wine (大麴酒) and sorghum wine (高梁酒).

Shengli Water Reservoir (勝利水庫 "Victory") and a museum are located in Cingshuei Village. The museum contains four cannons from Jyuguang which were used to guide boats. Another museum is the Matsu Folk Culture Museum and Ching-Kuo Memorial Hall.

There are two abandoned military tunnels on the island: Tunnel 88 and Beihai Tunnel. Former military stronghold is Dahan Stronghold.

Nature in the township is Shengtian Park.

The electricity for the township is supplied by Zhushan Power Plant.

The township has bus services connecting its villages, which consists of coastal line and mountain line.^[18]