Taichung
Taichung, officially Taichung City, is a special municipality in central Taiwan. Taichung is Taiwan's second-largest city, with more than 2.86 million residents, making it the largest city in Central Taiwan. It serves as the core of the Taichung–Changhua metropolitan area, Taiwan's second-largest metropolitan area.
Located in the Taichung Basin, the city was initially developed from several scattered hamlets helmed by the Taiwanese indigenous peoples. It was constructed to be the new capital of Taiwan Province and renamed "Taiwan-fu" in the late Qing dynastic era between 1887 and 1894. During the Japanese era from 1895, the urban planning of present-day Taichung was performed and developed by the Japanese. The urban area of Taichung was organized as a provincial city from the start of ROC rule in 1945 until 25 December 2010, when the original provincial city and Taichung County were merged into a new special municipality.
The city is home to the National Museum of Natural Science, the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, the National Taichung Theater, the National Library of Public Information, National Taiwan Museum of Comics, National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra, as well as many cultural sites, including the historic Taichung Park, the Lin Family Gardens, and many temples.
History
Early history
The Atayal aborigines as well as several Taiwanese Plains Aboriginal tribes populated the plains that make up modern Taichung. They were originally hunter gatherers who later lived by cultivating millet and taro. In the 17th century, the Papora, Babuza, Pazeh, and Hoanya established the Kingdom of Middag, occupying the western part of present-day Taichung.Qing dynasty
In 1684, Zhuluo County was established, encompassing the underdeveloped northern two-thirds of Taiwan. Modern-day Taichung traces its beginnings to a settlement named Toatun in 1705. To strengthen Qing control, a garrison was established in 1721 near the site of present-day Taichung Park by Lan Ting-chen.North of the city, on the Dajia River, an aboriginal revolt broke out in 1731 after Chinese officials moved in and compelled them to provide labor. The revolt spread through the city as far south as Changhua County in May 1732 before the rebels were chased into the mountains by Qing forces. In 1786, another rebellion against the Qing, known as the Lin Shuangwen rebellion, began as an attempt to overthrow the government and restore the Ming dynasty. Unfortunately, as the rebels moved northward, they turned to slaughter and looting. They were eventually defeated by a coalition of Qing forces, Hakka, Quanzhou Fujianese descendants, and aboriginal volunteers.
When Taiwan Province was declared an independent province in 1887, the government intended to construct its capital city at the centrally located Toatun, which was also designated as the seat of Taiwan Prefecture. Thus the city took the title of "Taiwan-fu", meaning "capital city of Taiwan", from modern-day Tainan, which had held the title for more than 200 years. Qing official Liu Ming-chuan received permission to oversee development of the area, which included constructing a railway through the city. However, the provincial capital was ultimately moved to Taipei.
Empire of Japan
After the Qing dynasty lost the Sino-Japanese War in 1895, Taiwan was ceded to Japan by the Treaty of Shimonoseki, and the name of the city was changed to. The Japanese sought to develop the city to make it the first "modern" area of Taiwan and invested in roads, dams, and levees. In 1901, was established as one of 20 local administrative districts on the island. In 1904, the town of Taichū had a population of 6,423, and Taichū District had more than 207,000.Taichū Park was completed in 1903. A tower marking the old north gate was moved to the new park where it stands today. The first market in Taichū was built in 1908, along Jiguang Road between the Zhongzheng and Chenggong Roads and it is still in use today. The Japanese undertook a north–south island railway project. Taichū Train Station was completed and began operation in 1917, and still operates today. Taichū City was officially declared by Japanese authorities in 1920, and Taichū City Hall was completed in 1924 after 11 years of construction., now known as Taichung Airport, was constructed during Japanese rule.
Taichū Middle School was founded in 1915 by elite members of local gentry, including Lin Hsien-tang and his brother, two wealthy Taiwanese intellectuals of the era. This was in an effort to teach children the culture of Taiwan and to foster the spirit of the Taiwanese localization movement. The Taiwanese Cultural Association, founded in 1921 in Taipei by Lin Hsien-tang, was moved to Taichū in 1927. Most of the members of this association were from Taichū and the surrounding area. The city became a center of Taiwanese culture and nationalism.
From 1926 to 1945, Taichū Prefecture covered modern-day Taichung as well as Changhua County and Nantou County.
Republic of China
After the handover of Taiwan from Japan to the Republic of China in October 1945, Taichung County was established, which consists of present-day area of Taichung City, Miaoli County and Taoyuan City. In 1947 the first mayor of Taichung County was Lai Tien Shen. The position was appointed by the government to rule during the interim period. Taichung also served as the temporary capital of the exiled Jiangxi provincial government in 1949 after the Chinese Communist Party took control of the province. In 1950, Miaoli and Taoyuan were taken out from Taichung County area to form Miaoli County and Taoyuan County respectively. In June 2009, the Executive Yuan approved the plan to merge Taichung City and Taichung County to form a larger Taichung City. On 25 December 2010, the city was merged with the surrounding Taichung County to create a special municipality of 2.65 million people spread across.In 2020, Taichung was classified as a "Gamma" level global city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network.
Geography
Taichung City is in the Taichung Basin along the main western coastal plain that stretches along the west coast from northern Taiwan almost to the southern tip. The city borders Changhua County, Nantou County, Hualien County, Yilan County, Hsinchu County and Miaoli County.The Central Mountain Range lies just east of the city. Rolling hills run to the north leading to Miaoli County, while flat coastal plains dominate the landscape to the south leading to Changhua County and the Taiwan Strait to the west. The Dadu Plateau lies to the northwest.
Climate
Taichung has a warm humid subtropical climate bordering on both a tropical monsoon climate and a tropical savanna climate, with an average annual temperature of. The highest temperature of the year occurs in July and August, while the lowest temperature occurs in January and February. Daytime temperatures remain warm to hot year-round, though night time temperatures during the winter months are significantly cooler than those during the summer and the warm daytime temperature. Its average annual rainfall is just above, relatively low compared to other major cities of Taiwan. The average humidity is 80%.Due to the protection provided by the Central Mountain Range to the east and the Miaoli hills to the north, Taichung is rarely severely affected by typhoons, but typhoons emerging from the South China Sea occasionally pose a threat to the city, as evidenced by Typhoon Wayne in 1986, which struck Taiwan's west coast near Taichung.
Demographics
Taichung's population was estimated to be 2,867,848 in August 2025. There are slightly more females in the city than males. 24.32% of residents are children, while 16.63% are young people, 52.68% are middle-age, and 6.73% are elderly. According to Ministry of Interior statistics, the fertility rate in Taichung City in 2007 was 1.165 for each woman.The city surpassed Kaohsiung to become the second largest city in Taiwan in July 2017, growing at the 2nd fastest rate in Taiwan from 2012 to 2017. Recent population increases have been attributed to natural population growth, more people moving to the city, and subsidized housing.
Politics
Local politics
Unlike Taipei in the north, which is solidly in the Pan-Blue political camp, and the southern cities of Kaohsiung and Tainan that are solidly Pan-Green, Taichung is more balanced, with the urban city center area leaning Blue and the suburban and rural areas leaning Green. In fact, both major political parties have won a mayoral election among the last four with at least 49 percent of the vote. Similarly, the Kuomintang majority in the city council is not as large as it is in other cities, and is only negligible when one excludes Beitun District, which is solidly pro-Kuomintang. The incumbent Mayor of Taichung is Lu Shiow-yen of the Kuomintang.Government
Taichung City's executive branch is headed by mayor Lu Shiow-yen of the Kuomintang. Taichung's legislative branch is a unicameral 46-member City Council. Each member is elected from one of six member districts where each voter has only one vote.Administrative divisions
Taichung consists of 29 districts, 28 districts and 1 mountain indigenous district.Inner Taichung refers to the eight former districts of Taichung City before the merger with Taichung County on December 25, 2010. Colors indicate statutory language status of Hakka language in the respective subdivisions. Note that Heping District is also an indigenous area of the Atayal people.
Economy
Taichung is the center and the largest city in Central Taiwan. Its main industries are machinery and retail services.Taichung is home to many industries. It has six main manufacturing industries: tool machines, mechanical components, photoelectric panels, bicycles, woodworking machinery, and aerospace manufacturing.
Taichung Industrial Park, located in Xitun District, is home to many factories, while nearby World Trade Center Taichung hosts many industrial conventions every year. Taichung is also home to the Central Taiwan Science Park, known for the many semiconductor factories located there, most notably TSMC. Some other famous companies located in Taichung included Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation, HIWIN, Largan Precision, and Pou Chen Corporation.
Taichung is also known for its bicycle manufacturing. Notable business located in Taichung include Giant Bicycles, SRAM, and TRP Brakes.
Taichung's financial center and central business district is the 7th Redevelopment Zone, where many corporation offices are located. The retail sector is another main industry in Taichung. Almost a quarter of all Taichung employees work in the retail sector., Its output value is 1.3 trillion NTD, second largest after Taipei in Taiwan.
Taichung is most famous for its suncakes. Taichung's Chun Shui Tang teahouse is where bubble tea was invented.