The Matsu Islands (UK: /ˌmætˈsuː/ or US: /ˌmɑːtˈsuː/, Chinese: 馬祖列島; pinyin: Mǎzǔ Lièdǎo; Wade–Giles: Ma³-tsu³ Lieh⁴-tao³; Foochow Romanized: Mā-cū liĕk-dō̤), officially Lienchiang County (/ljɛnˈdʒjɑːŋ/, Chinese: 連江縣; pinyin: Liánjiāng Xiàn; Wade–Giles: Lien²-chiang¹ Hsien⁴; Foochow Romanized: Lièng-gŏng-gâing), are an archipelago of 36 islands and islets in the East China Sea governed by the Republic of China (ROC) based in Taiwan, with its location sitting alongside southeastern coast of mainland China. It is the smallest county in the ROC-controlled territories by area and population, as well as one of two counties that were part of the nominal Fujian Province. The current Lienchiang County of the ROC was once part of an intact Lienchiang County of Fujian before its effective partition in 1949 following the Chinese Civil War, which resulted in the mainland portion of the county being controlled by the People's Republic of China (PRC) as Mazu Township within Fuzhou, while the offshore islands of Matsu remained under ROC control. The circumstance has made the county the only former geographical unit which is now divided between the administrations of the ROC and the PRC.