Orchid Island

Orchid Island, known as Pongso no Tao by the indigenous inhabitants, is a 45 km² (17 sq mi) volcanic island located off the southeastern coast of Taiwan, the island and the nearby Lesser Orchid Island are governed by Taiwan as Lanyu Township in Taitung County, which is one of the county's two insular townships (the other being Lyudao Township). It is separated from the Batanes of the Philippines by the Bashi Channel of the Luzon Strait.

It is considered a potential World Heritage Site.

Orchid Island is known by the Tao people indigenous to the island as Pongso no Tao ("island of human beings"). It was also known by the Tao as Ma'ataw ("floating in the sea") or Irala ("facing the mountain"); the latter being contrasted with the Tao name for the Taiwanese mainland – "Ilaod" ("toward the sea").

In the 17th century, it appeared on Japanese maps as "Tabako", a name borrowed into French and English as "Tabaco". It is still known by Filipinos as Botel Tobago, a name also formerly used in English. Lesser Orchid Island was similarly known as "Little Botel-Tobago".

"Orchid Island" is a calque of the Chinese name, written 蘭嶼 in traditional characters, although strictly the second character means an islet rather than an island. The name honors the local Phalaenopsis orchids and was established by the Republic of China government in 1947. It is also sometimes known as Lanyu or Lan Yu, derived from Pinyin romanization of the name's Mandarin reading (Mandarin Chinese: 蘭嶼; pinyin: Lányǔ). It is also known in Taiwanese Hokkien Chinese: 蘭嶼; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Lân-sū.

The island had previously been known to the Chinese as "Redhead Island" (Mandarin Chinese: 紅頭嶼; pinyin: Hóngtóuyǔ; Taiwanese Hokkien Chinese: 紅頭嶼; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Âng-thâu-sū), referring to the island's northwestern mountain peaks, which resemble red human heads when illuminated by the setting sun. These characters were borrowed into Japanese as Kōtōsho during their rule of Taiwan.

Based on genetic studies, Orchid Island was settled by the ancestors of the Tao people during the Austronesian Expansion (approximately 4000 BP) from the mainland of Taiwan. They maintained close contact through trade and intermarriage with the Ivatan people of the neighboring Batanes Islands of the Philippines until the beginning of the Colonial Era.

The island first appears on surviving charts in the 17th century, when it was noted by Japanese sailors.