Miaoli County
  苗栗縣 Abbreviation(s): Miaoli (苗栗) or Miao (苗縣) |
|
 |
|
| County seat | Miaoli City |
| Largest City | Toufen |
| Region | Western Taiwan |
| County Magistrate | Liu Cheng-hung (劉政鴻) |
| Cities | 1 |
| Townships | 17 |
| Area | |
| - Total | 1,820.3149 km² (11 of 25) |
| - % water | n/a % |
| Population | |
| - Total | 564,223 (January 2013) (13 of 25) |
| - Density | 309.96/km² |
| Symbols | |
| - County flower | Camphor laurel (Cinnamomum camphora) |
| - County tree | Tea olive (Osmanthus fragrans) |
| - County bird | European magpie (Pica pica) |
| Official websites | (Chinese) |
| Miaoli County | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 苗栗縣 | ||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 苗栗县 | ||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||
Miaoli County is a county in western Taiwan. The name Miaoli was coined using two Hakka words, cat (貓) and raccoon dog (狸), which phonetically approximate Pali (Bari), a community of Taokas people. Miaoli is contiguous with Hsinchu county, Hsinchu city to the North, Taichung City to the South and borders Taiwan Strait to the West. The Council for Economic Planning and Development of Taiwan regard Miaoli as a county of Central Taiwan, while Taiwan Central Weather Bureau regard Miaoli as a county of the North. Miaoli city is the capital of the county, and is also known as "Mountain Town", owing to the number of mountains nearby, making it a destination for hiking.
Geography
Miaoli county is considered to be located in the central northern part of the Taiwan main island, contiguous with Hsinchu county, Hsinchu city and Taichung city. Xueshan Range is located on the border between Miaoli county and Taichung city. Miaoli county North to South averages about 50 kilometers and East to West averages about 64 kilometers. Diamond shaped in appearance. The overall coastline of Miaoli is about 50 kilometers long.
Miaoli has little flat lands (plateau) and very mountainous due to the Xueshan Range. Miaoli has rich rainfall along with abundant rivers.
History
According to archeological studies, there are plenty of settlement evidence in Miaoli and could date back to 1,000 years when the Taiwanese aboriginal settled here. In the mid 17th century, Hans began to migrate and start deforestation and development of Miaoli, however, causing the original settled aboriginese to either assimilate or migrate deeper into the mountainous range. In 1889, Miaoli has first began to establish as an independent county, however, later abolished during the Japanese conquer (1895). From 1901 to 1908, the Japanese established Miaoli Ting (Chinese:苗栗廳) belonged to the Hsinchu Chou. After 1950, when Taiwan became independent, Miaoli county has recovered and last till today.
Demographics
The main population of Miaoli county is the Hans and the Taiwanese aboriginal. The Taiwanese aboriginal constitutes about 1.9% of the total population. While the Hakka is the main settlement of the Hans.
- Taiwanese aboriginals
The Saisiat currently resides in the Wufeng Township of Hsinchu County and the Nanzhuang Township of Miaoli County.[1] Due the oppression by initial Han immigrants, the Ayatal aboriginal group and the Nanzhuang Incident, the population of the Saisiat people have decreased to 5,000 people. It is the least populated Taiwanese aboriginal group after the Ita Thaw. The traditions and culture of the Saisiat is greatly impacted by the Ayatal aborigines and Hakka in the region.[2]
- Hans
During the Qing Dynasty, Miaoli was inhabited by Hakka. Currently, the inhabitants of the four coastal townships of Miaoli (Nanzhuang Township, Houlong Township, Tongxiao Township, and Yuanli Township) consists of primarily Taiwanese Hokkien speakers. With the exception of the four coastal townships and Tai'an Township, the main population consists of Hakka.
Divisions of Miaoli County
Miaoli county is divided into 1 county-controlled city, 6 urban townships and 11 rural townships. 
City
- Miaoli City (苗栗市)
Urban townships
- Houlong Township (後龍鎮)
- Tongxiao Township (通霄鎮)
- Toufen Township (頭份鎮)
- Yuanli Township (苑裡鎮)
- Zhunan Township (竹南鎮)
- Zhuolan Township (卓蘭鎮)
Rural townships
- Dahu Township (大湖鄉)
- Gongguan Township (公館鄉)
- Nanzhuang Township (南庄鄉)
- Sanwan Township (三灣鄉)
- Sanyi Township (三義鄉)
- Shitan Township (獅潭鄉)
- Tai'an Township (泰安鄉)
- Tongluo Township (銅鑼鄉)
- Touwu Township (頭屋鄉)
- Xihu Township (西湖鄉)
- Zaoqiao Township (造橋鄉)
| Township Name | Surface Area（km²） | Number of Villages | Number of Neighborhoods | Population | Density（person/km²） |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miaoli City | 37.8872 | 28 | 700 | 91,007 | 2,402 |
| Tongxiao Township | 107.768 | 24 | 394 | 37,449 | 347 |
| Yuanli Township | 68.2472 | 25 | 360 | 48,452 | 709 |
| Xihu Township | 41.0752 | 9 | 108 | 7,748 | 188 |
| Touwu Township | 52.504 | 8 | 120 | 11,454 | 218 |
| Gongguan Township | 71.452 | 19 | 281 | 34,932 | 489 |
| Tongluo Township | 78.38 | 10 | 218 | 19,178 | 245 |
| Sanyi Township | 69.3424 | 7 | 161 | 17,495 | 252 |
| Zhunan Township | 37.5592 | 25 | 513 | 80,864 | 2,152 |
| Toufen Township | 53.32 | 32 | 538 | 99,993 | 1,875 |
| Houlong Township | 75.8072 | 23 | 366 | 38,777 | 511 |
| Zaoqiao Township | 47.9976 | 9 | 118 | 13,626 | 284 |
| Sanwan Township | 52.296 | 8 | 93 | 7,191 | 138 |
| Nanzhuang Township | 165.4936 | 9 | 184 | 10,863 | 66 |
| Dahu Township | 90.8392 | 12 | 180 | 15,798 | 174 |
| Zhuolan Township | 75.316 | 11 | 176 | 18,480 | 242 |
| Shitan Township | 79.432 | 7 | 100 | 4,777 | 60 |
| Tai'An Township | 614.5936 | 8 | 64 | 5,892 | 10 |
| Miaoli County | 1,820.3149 | 274 | 4,674 | 563,976 | 310 |
- Reference:2012 December For more information
Culture and Tourism
[3] The various cultural festivals of Miaoli County includes, Miaoli Marine Tourism, Meng-Hua Literary Award, Hakka Tung Hua Festival, Hakka folk song festival, Miaoli international tourism festival, etc.
Popular regional agriculture, food production and culture promoted by the government include strawberries from Dahu township, Hakka Zongzi, Sanwan Chinese pears, Touwu Daikons, Sanyi wood sculptures, Tai’an persimmons and many more.
Transportation
- Taiwan railway administration passes through the Miaoli county and has 15 stations in the territory of Miaoli.
- Taiwan highspeed railway passes North to South through Miaoli but doesn't have a stop.
- The Miaoli government has proposed for a MRT like system in Miaoli downtown, but rejected by the central government.
Both Taiwan No 1 and Taiwan No 3 highways have stops here.
Sports
The main sports and recreational structures in Miaoli include Miaoli Sports Hall, Miaoli County Tennis Court and the Park of Zhunan Township.
In Taiwan National Athletic Games of 2011, Miaoli is ranked 21 out of 22 teams with 1 gold, 1 silver and 8 bronze.
External links
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||
Coordinates: 24°33′48.29″N 120°49′32.98″E / 24.5634139°N 120.8258278°E
Read in another language
This page is available in 18 languages
