What is the largest island in China?

China’s largest island is: Taiwan Island (35,800 square kilometers).

Taiwan Island—China’s largest island and a strategic location. Located in the southern part of the East China Sea, it borders the Taiwan Strait (belonging to the East China Sea) to the west, 75 to 220 nautical miles from the coast of Fujian Province; it borders the Pacific Ocean to the east; it borders the Ryukyu Islands to the northeast, about 335 nautical miles from Okinawa; it faces the Philippines across the Bashi Strait to the south. Luzon is about 195 nautical miles.

The island is long and narrow, about 394 kilometers long from the northernmost tip of Fuguijiao to the southernmost tip of Eluanbi; its widest point is near the Tropic of Cancer, about 144 kilometers. Covering an area of ​​35,800 square kilometers, accounting for more than 99% of the province's area, it is the main island of Taiwan Province and ranks 38th among the world's largest islands. The population is approximately 23 million (2006). Among them, Han people account for about 98%, and Gaoshan people account for about 2%.

Extended information:

Taiwan Island is a mainland island. It is located on the southern edge of the East China Sea continental shelf. More than 200 million years ago in the late Paleozoic Era, crustal movements laid the geological foundation of Taiwan Island. During the Himalayan movement that began 40 million years ago, the earth's crust was compressed and folded, forming the original Taiwan mountain system. About 2.5 million years ago, the earth's crust continued to fold and rise, forming the modern terrain of Taiwan Island. During the Quaternary glacial period, the sea level dropped and connected with the mainland. During the interglacial period, the water level rose and became an island.

The island is mountainous, with mountains and hills accounting for 2/3 of the island’s area. Distributed in the east and central part, there are five parallel mountain ranges from east to west: Taitung, Central, Yushan, Xueshan and Alishan. They run from north to east to south to west, with the central mountain range as the main watershed. Among them, mountains above 1,000 meters above sea level account for about half of all mountains, and there are more than 30 peaks above 3,500 meters above sea level. The highest peak, Yushan, is 3,997 meters above sea level and is the highest peak in southeastern China.

Hills mostly surround the foothills of five major mountain ranges, including Keelung and Zhunan hills in the north, Fengyuan and Chiayi hills in the center, and Hengchun hills in the south, with an altitude of about 600 meters. There is the Datun volcano group in the north, most of which are below 1,000 meters above sea level. They are an important barrier to the north.

The plains are mostly in the west. The Tainan Plain is the largest, stretching from Changhua in the north to Kaohsiung in the south, covering an area of ​​4,550 square kilometers. It is an area with prosperous agriculture, dense population, and many towns on the island. The Pingtung Plain in the south and the Yilan Plain in the northeast are also important agricultural areas. The long and narrow Taitung Longitudinal Valley Plain is located between the Taitung Mountains and the Central Mountains. It is a natural transportation channel from north to south in the east.

Reference: Baidu Encyclopedia--Taiwan Island