Yunlin County

Yunlin is a county in western Taiwan. Yunlin County borders the Taiwan Strait to the west, Nantou County to the east, Changhua County to the north at the Zhuoshui River, and Chiayi County to the south at the Beigang River. It has a population of 664,963 as of 2022.
Yunlin is part of the Chianan Plain, a flat land known for its agriculture. Agricultural products of Yunlin County include pomelo, tea leaves, suan cai, papaya and melon. Yunlin's rivers give it potential for hydroelectricity. Douliu is the largest and capital city of Yunlin. It is the only county on the main island of Taiwan where no city with the same name exists. Yunlin is one of the least developed counties on the West coast, and suffers from emigration.

History

Dutch Formosa

During the Dutch Formosa era, Ponkan was an important coastal castle.

Qing Dynasty

Yunlin County was established during the Qing Dynasty. Liu Mingchuan was in charge of Taiwan, which had been divided into three counties since 1683, Yunlin being part of Zhuluo County. Mountains made transportation and communication between bordering counties difficult, so Liu suggested a new county, called Yunlin, for easier management. In 1887, Yunlin became one of the four counties of the new Taiwan Prefecture.

Empire of Japan

During Japanese rule, Yunlin County was again abolished due to the resistance from the local people and combined with Tainan Prefecture. However, Toroku Town continued to be an important city of central Taiwan.

Republic of China

The Yunlin area remained under Tainan County after the handover of Taiwan from Japan to the Republic of China on 25 October 1945. On 16 August 1950, Yunlin County was separated from Tainan County, with Douliu Township as the county seat. On 25 December 1981, Douliu Township was upgraded to a county-administered city. Yunlin is the only county on Taiwan island without a city of the same name. Like the rest of Taiwan, Yunlin is nominally a part of Taiwan Province, Republic of China, although the provincial level of government is functionally obsolete.

Geography

Yunlin County is located in the central-south portion of western Taiwan and is at the northern tip of the Chianan Plain. The county is bordered by Nantou County to the east, the Taiwan Strait to the west, Chiayi County to the south separated by the Beigang River, and Changhua County to the north separated by the Zhuoshui River. Its widest distance from east to west is and from north to south is, with a total area of.

Geology

Around 80% of Yunlin County are plains and the other 10% are hills. Generally the county is covered with high green space. In 2015, the county experienced 75% of Taiwan's total land subsidence, over an area of due to its groundwater overuse.

Climate

The weather in the county is tropical, with an annual average temperature of 22.6 °C and an average annual rainfall of 1,028.9 mm.

Administration

Yunlin County is divided into 1 city, 5 urban townships and 14 rural townships. Douliu City is the county seat and home to the Yunlin County Government and the Yunlin County Council. Chang Li-shan of the Kuomintang is the incumbent Magistrate of Yunlin County.

Type	Name	Chinese	Taiwanese	Hakka
City	Douliu City		Táu-la̍k	Téu-liuk
Urban townships	Beigang		Pak-káng	Pet-kóng
Urban townships	Dounan		Táu-lâm	Téu-nàm
Urban townships	Huwei		Hó͘-bóe	Fú-mî
Urban townships	Tuku		Thô͘-khò͘	Thú-khù
Urban townships	Xiluo		Sai-lê	Sî-lô
Rural townships	Baozhong		Po-tiong	Pô-chûng
Rural townships	Cihtong		Chhì-tông	Tshṳ̀-thùng
Rural townships	Dapi		Tōa-pi	Thai-phî
Rural townships	Dongshi		Tang-sì	Tûng-sṳ
Rural townships	Erlun		Jī-lūn	Ngi-lûn
Rural townships	Gukeng		Kó͘-kheⁿ	Kú-hâng
Rural townships	Kouhu		Kháu-ô͘	Khiéu-fù
Rural townships	Linnei		Nâ-lāi	Lìm-nui
Rural townships	Lunbei		Lūn-pòe	Lûn-poi
Rural townships	Mailiao		Be̍h-liâu	Ma̍k-liàu
Rural townships	Shuilin		Chúi-nâ	Súi-lìm
Rural townships	Sihu		Sì-ô͘	Si-fù
Rural townships	Taisi		Tâi-se	Thòi-sî
Rural townships	Yuanzhang		Goân-chiáng	Ngièn-tshòng

Color indicates the statutory language status of Hakka in the respective subdivisions.

Politics

Yunlin County elected two Democratic Progressive Party legislators to the Legislative Yuan during the 2020 legislative election, represented by Liu Chien-kuo and Su Chih-fen. The majority seats of Yunlin County Council is independent but headed by speaker Shen Tsung-lung of the Kuomintang.

Demographics and Culture

Cultural activities in the county is regulated by the Bureau of Cultural Affairs of the Yunlin County Government, which holds exhibitions, speeches, performances and studies to promote the arts and related activities.

Sports

The county government promotes many sports. The Douliu Baseball Stadium and Yunlin County Stadium are two of the international-level sports facilities in the county.
The first for-all-people games were held in Yunlin County in 2000. The county also hosted the 2005 National Games. In the 2011 National Games at Changhua, Yunlin ranked 11th out of the 22 counties and cities of Taiwan, with 10 gold, 8 silver and 8 bronze medals.
Recent major sporting events held by Yunlin include:

Yunlin County's economy relies mainly on agricultural production, including fresh-water fisheries, although there are also industrial parks. As of 2006, the land use for agriculture, forestry and fishery production accounts about 66.45% of its area. As of July 2015, the county had a total debt of NT$64.8 billion. Monthly, the county government spend NT$600 million for staffs salary and another NT$600 million for retirement funds.

Agriculture

Farmlands accounts for around 68% of Yunlin County's area. Good weather and fertile lands allows various seasonal crops. Among the agricultural products are coffee, hard clams, horseshoe calms, Taiwan tilapia, shaddock, soy sauce, pickled cabbage, peanuts and sesame oil.

Fishery

Yunlin County boasts excellent fishing grounds along its coastline. There are several leading fishing ports, at Boziliao, Santiaolun, Taixi, Taizicun, and Jinhu. Several institutions were established in the county to help the development of the county's fishing industries: the Taixi Experimental Fishing Grounds, the Seawater Fish Farming Research Center, the Aquaculture Experimental Station, and the Agriculture Council.

Livestock

Livestock farming includes pigs, cows, chickens, geese and ducks. The county government has been aggressively helping the dairy farmers to upgrade their feeding techniques, and also set up modern meat-packing facilities.

Tourism

The county government plans to develop the tourism and recreational industries within the county, such as by establishing a holiday fish market at the Boziliao Fishing Port in the hopes of attracting more visitors.

Food

Beigang: Duck meat soup is the most famous breakfast in Begiang.
Gukeng: Bucket Chicken
Kouhu: Mullet roe, eel
Lunbei: Meatballs
Shuilin: Sweet potatoes
Sihu: Eel Noodles
The eel fried noodles have about 10 slices of eel. The noodles are soft but strong.
Tounan: Fried buns
Tuku: Angelica Duck Noodles, a traditional tonic snack. The red noodles are more fragrant the more you chew.
Xiluo: Carrot cake
The filling of the cake is unlike ordinary cakes. The taste is dense and has pieces and the aroma of carrots. It is a common place for gatherings.

Education

The county is home to four universities: the China Medical University Beigang Campus, the National Formosa University and National Yunlin University of Science and Technology. There are 8 public senior high schools, 9 private high schools, 32 junior high schools and 156 elementary schools, as well as the National Yunlin Special Education School.
To promote lifelong learning, the Yunlin County Government established a community university in 2001 with 6 learning centers to offer county residents more opportunities.
Senior High Schools
Public Schools
National Beigang Agricultural & Industrial Vocational Senior High School
National Beigang Senior High School
National Huwei Agricultural & Industrial Vocational Senior High School
National Huwei Senior High School
National Tou-liu School Of Home Economic & Commerce
National Tou-liu Senior High School
National Tuku School Of Home Economic & Commerce
Yunlin County Mailiao High School
Yunlin County Tounan Senior High School
Private Schools
Bliss And Wisdom Senior High School
Da-cheng Vocational High School
Dader Industrial And Commercial Vocational High School
Perpetual Help High School
Ren High School
Sacred Hearts High School
St.Vincent High School
Victoria Academy
Yang-tze High School
Yi-feng Senior High School