Xiaodeng Island, also known as Xiaodeng, or Xiaodengbao in ancient times, is a bedrock island located in the southern part of Xiang'an, Xiamen Bay. It covers an area of approximately 0.9671 square kilometers and has an altitude of 28 meters. As of 2008, the population of the island was about 3,000 people. The island was originally located in Kinmen County, Fuchien Province, Republic of China (ROC). After being occupied by the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), it was included in Dadeng Subdistrict, Xiang'an District, Xiamen, Fujian Province, People's Republic of China. There is currently a Xiaodeng Neighborhood Committee, which governs two natural villages, Qianbao and Houbao. However, the ROC considers this island to be a peripheral island of its Kinmen County, just as it considered itself in charge of the villages. The island has complete facilities, with a bridge leading to Dadeng Island and mainland China. However, due to the construction of Xiamen Xiang'an International Airport, the overall facilities on the island will be demolished and relocated.
Xiaodeng Island is rich in seafood, with specialties such as Xiaodeng seaweed and Xiaodeng oysters. There are multiple tourist attractions on the island, and the tourism industry is thriving. Xiaodeng has a long history, starting with the Tang dynasty founded by Hong Dao, the founder of the Hong clan in Xiaodeng. Qiu Kui, a Neo-Confucianism scholar of the Song and Yuan dynasties, was born on the island and later lived there in seclusion; it is also said that the last emperor of the Song Dynasty, Zhao Bing, lived on the island when he fled south. Xiaodeng Island also experienced the artillery battle of "August 23" during the shelling of Kinmen, and is known as the "Three Heroic Islands" together with Dadeng Island and Jiaoyu Island.
History
Hong Dao, the ancestor of the Hong Clan of Xiaodeng, lived in seclusion on Xiaodeng Island in 1140 and created the name of Dadeng Mountain, which is interpreted as "Dadeng is to fight to be straight up without any hesitation of strategy and foot; the mountain is to be the real accumulation of Taojun and creation", from which the name of Xiaodeng Island comes.
During the Song dynasty, it was rumored that the last emperor, Zhao Bing, lived on Xiaodeng Island during his escape. Due to the delicious taste of the local ostreidae and the fact that they have two more gills than the ordinary oysters, he gave them the name "July Pearl Oysters".
When the Wokou invaded during the Ming Dynasty, they plundered and killed the residents of Xiaodeng Island in the second year of Hongwu (1369) and the twenty-fifth year of Jiajing (1546).
During the Second Sino-Japanese War, Xiaodeng Island was bombed and shelled by the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces many times. It often dispatched steamboats to strafe fishermen and villages. In 1938, a 45-member anti-Japanese self-defense group was organized in Xiaodeng Island, and on February 22, 1940, Japanese planes bombed Xiaodeng Island, killing 6 and injuring 4 and collapsing 35 houses. On March 30 of that year, it was bombed again, causing 19 deaths and 8 injuries and the destruction of 50 houses.
At the end of the Chinese Communist Revolution, the battle of Dadeng Island north of Kinmen broke out on October 9, 1949, and Dadeng Island was captured on the 10th. On the 11th, the 851st Regiment of the 84th Division of the 28th People's Liberation Army occupied Xiaodeng Island. In the 1950s and 1970s, high-pitched speakers were installed on Xiaodeng Island, which was used for mainland propaganda against Kinmen. After the Chinese Civil War, Xiaodeng Island was bombed by the Republic of China Air Force on September 22, 1954, because it was near Kinmen. The village on the island was flattened in the artillery battle of "August 23rd" in 1958, killing 34 people. After that, 9 people from the Xiaodeng Island militia battalion were awarded second-class merit and 54 people were awarded third-class merit by the Chinese PLA, and the island was also called "Three Heroic Islands" together with Dadeng and Jiaoyu islands.