Orchid Island

Proper noun

Orchid Island

1. An island of Taitung County, Taiwan, in the Pacific Ocean (Philippine Sea), home of the Tao (Yami) indigenous people.
   • Orchid Island is a rocky, mountainous bit of land thrown up from the sea by volcanic action eons ago. It has barely more than ten and a half square miles of area, with little arable or level land. Yet it is home to some 2,600 people.
   • There really are orchids on Orchid Island, although they are found at higher elevations not usually seen by visitors—also sizeable trees and numerous birds and butterflies. Almost everything is green from the combination of a tropical climate and heavy rainfall.
   • The people of Orchid Island are Yamis, members of the smallest of the Taiwan aborigine tribes. They are handsome people. with black hair, brown eyes and complexions deeply bronzed from exposure to sun and wind.1977 January 9, “Visitors drawn to Lanyu, Land forgotten by time”, in 自由中國週報 [Free China Weekly], volume XVIII, number 2, Taipei, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 2, column 4

   Synonyms:

   Lanyu