Nantou City (Mandarin Pīnyīn: Nántóu Shì; Hokkien POJ: Lâm-tâu-chhī) is a county-administered city located in the northwest of Nantou County, Taiwan. It lies between the Bagua Mountains and the Maoluo River[1] and is the county seat of Nantou County. Freeway No. 3 serves Nantou City.[2] Its name is a transliteration of the Hoanya word Ramtau with its first character (; "south") chosen to complement that of Beitou's (; "north"), a district in Taipei, even though there is no relation between the aboriginal names.[3]

Nantou
南投市
Nantō
Nantou City
Coordinates: 23°55′N 120°41′E / 23.917°N 120.683°E / 23.917; 120.683
CountryRepublic of China (Taiwan)
ProvinceTaiwan Province
CountyNantou County
Government
 • MayorSung Huai-lin
Area
 • Total71.2063 km2 (27.4929 sq mi)
Population
 (February 2023)
 • Total97,504
Time zoneUTC+8 (CST)
Websitehttp://www.ntc.gov.tw/
Nantou City
Chinese南投
Nantou County Council

History edit

Qing Dynasty edit

The Han Chinese began arriving in the area during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor of Qing Dynasty. Members of the Zhang clan from Zhangzhou as well as the Jian (), Lin and Xiao clans from Nanjing County in Zhangzhou were among the early settlers. A yamen was established in 1759 near the present Nantou Elementary School. In 1898, Nantou Commandery was organized.

Empire of Japan edit

 
Map of Nantou (labeled as Nantō) and surrounding area (1944)

In 1901, during Japanese rule, Nanto Chō (南投廳) was one of twenty local administrative offices established. In 1909, part of Toroku Chō (斗六廳) was merged into Nanto Chō. In 1920, Nantō Town was governed under Nantō District, Taichū Prefecture.

Republic of China edit

After the handover of Taiwan from Japan to the Republic of China in 1945, Nantou County was organized out of Taichung County in 1950, and, in October of the same year, Nantou Township was organized with the county government seated in it. On 1 July 1957, the Taiwan Provincial Government moved to Zhongxing New Village, making Nantou the location of the provincial government. On 25 December 1981, Nantou became a county-administered city from the previous urban township.[1] Due to its location along the Chelungpu Fault,[4] Nantou was strongly affected by the 1999 Jiji earthquake: 92 people died[5] and over 1,000 buildings were damaged[6]

Economy edit

Nantou City's economy is based on agriculture, tourism, and manufacturing.[7] In 1965, the Nangang Industrial Zone (南崗工業區) was built to balance regional economic and industrial development.[8]

Administrative divisions edit

Longquan, Kangshou, Sanmin, Renhe, Nantou, Zhangren, Chongwen, Sanxing, Sanhe, Jiaxing, Jiahe, Pinghe, Zhenxing, Qianqiu, Jungong, Tungshan, Yingnan, Yingbei, Neixing, Neixin, Guanghui, Guangrong, Guangming, Guanghua, Zhangxing, Zhanghe, Pingshan, Xinxing, Yongfeng, Fuxing, Fengshan, Yongxing, Fengming and Fushan Village.

Government institutions edit

Tourist attractions edit

Bus Stops edit

 
Nantou Bus Station

A bus station in the city is the Nantou Bus Station operated by Changhua Bus.

Notable natives edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b 南投市簡介 [Brief introduction to Nantou city] (in Simplified Chinese). Archived from the original on 2007-01-29. Retrieved 2007-02-09.
  2. ^ "Freeway No. 3". Retrieved 2007-06-05.
  3. ^ 地名解說集錦 [Collection of the best place name explanations] (in Simplified Chinese). Retrieved 2007-02-09.[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ "Event Report Chi-Chi, Taiwan Earthquake" (pdf).
  5. ^ "Mortality of the 921 Earthquake in Nantou and Taichung Counties" (PDF). Archived from the original (pdf) on September 28, 2007. Retrieved 2007-02-13.
  6. ^ Tsai, K.C.; Chiang Pi Hsiao; Michel Bruneau (March 2000). "Overview of Building Damages in 921 Chi-Chi Earthquake" (PDF). Earthquake Engineering and Engineering Seismology. 2 (1): 93–108. Retrieved 2007-02-13.
  7. ^ "投資臺灣入口網 Invest Taiwan_投資環境_各縣市投資環境_南投縣_投資環境總覽". investtaiwan.nat.gov.tw (in Traditional Chinese). Retrieved 2022-03-20.
  8. ^ "經濟部工業局南崗工業區服務中心 -- 園區簡介". 2020-06-24. Archived from the original on 24 June 2020. Retrieved 2022-03-20.

External links edit