Chiayi (, Taigi POJ: ''Ka-gī''; ), officially known as Chiayi City, is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

located in the plains of southwestern Taiwan. Formerly called ''Kagee'' during the late Qing dynasty and ''Kagi'' during the

Japanese era The , also known as , is the first of the two elements that identify years in the Japanese era calendar scheme. The second element is a number which indicates the year number within the era (with the first year being ""), followed by the literal ...

(), its historical name is ''Tirosen''.

History

Early history

First inhabited by the Hoanya aborigines, the region was named Tirosen (variants ''Tirocen'', ''Tiracen''). With the arrival of Han Chinese immigrants in southwestern Taiwan, the name evolved to become ''Tsulosan'' () in Hokkien. Eventually, Tsulosan was shortened to simply Tsulo. Because of the choice of the characters, it has been mistakenly suggested that the origin of the name came from the expression "mountains surrounding the east". "Peach City" is another name for Chiayi City due to its peach-shaped territory in ancient times. The tip of the peach is around Central Fountain and was called "Peach-tip" by citizens. Tsulosan was once the foothold to which people from the mainland immigrated. In 1621, , who came from Zhangzhou, Fujian Province, first led his people to cultivate this land after they landed at ''Ponkan'' (modern-day Beigang).

Dutch Formosa

Records from the Dutch era show Tirosen as the usual form of the name; it also occurred as ''Tirassen'', ''Tirozen'', ''Tilocen'', ''Tilossen'', ''Tilocen'', and ''Thilocen''. The place was north of Mattau (modern-day Madou, Tainan) and south of Favorlang ( Huwei, Yunlin).

Kingdom of Tungning

In 1661 (the 15th year of Yung-Li, Ming dynasty),

Koxinga Zheng Chenggong, Prince of Yanping (; 27 August 1624 – 23 June 1662), better known internationally as Koxinga (), was a Ming loyalist general who resisted the Qing conquest of China in the 17th century, fighting them on China's southeastern ...

defeated the Dutch based in Taiwan and founded the Kingdom of Tungning. He established one province, , and two counties, and , demarcated by the Hsin-Kang River (, now the

Yanshui River The Yanshui River () is a river in southern Taiwan. It flows through Tainan City for about 41.3 km. The wetlands at the river mouth fall partly in the Taijiang National Park. See also *List of rivers in Taiwan This is a list of rivers ...

). Chiayi was under the jurisdiction of the Tien-Hsing County.

Qing dynasty

In 1683, when Qing rule began, the island was governed as Taiwan Prefecture under the administration of Fujian Province. In 1684, Tsulo County was established and initially encompassed the underdeveloped northern two-thirds of Taiwan. (Taiwan and Hongsoa counties were divided from Wan-Nien County during the Kingdom of Tungning, which was changed from Tien-Hsing County.) In 1704, the county seat was moved to Tsulosan, the site of modern-day Chiayi City, and had wooden city walls. In 1727, the county magistrate, Liu Liang-Bi rebuilt the gatehouses and set a gun platform for each gatehouse. The four gatehouses were named: "Chin Shan" () for East, "Tai Hai" () for West, "Chung Yang" () for South, and "Kung Chen" () for North. In 1734 (the 12th year of Yongzheng), magistrate Lu-Hung built piercing-bamboo to better protect the city. In 1786, the Lin Shuangwen rebellion was an attempt to siege Tsulosan but failed to overcome the defense of the inhabitants. Consequently, on November 3 of the next year, the Qing Emperor conferred the name Kagee (; ) to praise the citizens' loyalty. In the mid-1800s, a custom of annual riotous mass stoning developed in the city. In 1887, a separate Taiwan Province was declared and the island was administratively divided into four prefectures; the city of Kagee belonged to Tainan Prefecture.

Japanese rule

In 1895, Taiwan was ceded to

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

in the Treaty of Shimonoseki. The

1906 Meishan earthquake The 1906 Meishan earthquake () was centered on ''Moe'akhe'' (), Kagi-cho, Japanese Taiwan (modern-day Meishan, Chiayi County, Taiwan) and occurred on March 17. Referred to at the time as the Great Kagi earthquake (), it is the third-deadliest ear ...

devastated the entire city wall except the Eastern Gate. The Japanese authorities reconstructed the city. Industries and trades started to flourish. According to the census taken in 1904, Kagi was the fourth most populous city in Taiwan, with a population of over twenty thousand. The Great Kagi earthquake (later also known as the 1906 Meishan earthquake) struck the city in mid March 1906. In 1907, the construction of

Alishan Forest Railway Alishan Forest Railway () is an 86 km network of narrow gauge railways running up to and throughout the popular mountain resort of Alishan in Chiayi County, Taiwan. The railway, originally constructed for logging, has become a tourist a ...

Mount Ali The Alishan National Scenic Area is a mountain resort and nature reserve located in Alishan township, Chiayi County, Taiwan. Geography Alishan is in area. Notable characteristics include mountain wilderness, four villages, waterfalls, hig ...

was begun. In 1920, the city became an autonomous group as , Kagi District, within Tainan Prefecture, which included modern-day

Tainan City Tainan (), officially Tainan City, is a special municipality in southern Taiwan facing the Taiwan Strait on its western coast. Tainan is the oldest city on the island and also commonly known as the "Capital City" for its over 200 years of hist ...

, Chiayi County and Yunlin County. In 1930, the town was upgraded to an autonomous city under the same prefecture.

Republic of China

After the handover of Taiwan from Japan to the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...

in October 1945, Chiayi City was established as a provincial city of Taiwan Province. The city consisted of 8 districts, which were Bajiang, Beimen, Beizhen, Nanmen, Tungmen, Tungshan, Ximen and Zhuwei

Districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

. In 1946, the districts was reorganized to 6 districts in which Bajiang and Nanmen were merged to become Xinnan, Beimen and Beizhen were merged to become Xinbei, Tungmen and Tungshan were merged to become Xindong, Ximen and Zhuwei were merged to become Xinxi District and there were 2 addition of districts from

Tainan County Tainan County was a county in southern Taiwan between 1945 and 2010. The county seat was in Sinying City. History Tainan County was established on 7 January 1946 on the territory of Tainan Prefecture () shortly after the end of World War II ...

which were

Shuishang Shuishang Township (, meaning "near water") is a rural township in Chiayi County, Taiwan. History After the handover of Taiwan from Japan to the Republic of China in 1945, Shuishang was established as part of Tainan County. In 1946, it was in ...

and Taibao Districts. Chiayi saw some of the most violent events during the 228 Incident. In early March, local militas surrounded the

Shueishang Airport Chiayi Airport () , commonly known as Shueishang Airport (), is an airport in Shuishang Township, Chiayi County, Taiwan. The airport has one runway, and it is used as a civilian airport and is co-located next to Chiayi Air Base. Chiayi Airport ...

and fought against the

KMT The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Taiw ...

military. There were over 300 casualties. On 12 March 1947, negotiators for peace, including

Tan Teng-pho Tan Teng-pho (; 2 February 1895 – 25 March 1947), was a Taiwanese painter and politician. In 1926, his oil painting '' Street of Chiayi'' was featured in the seventh in Japan, which was the first time a Taiwanese artist's work could be d ...

and , were arrested after arriving at the airport and were executed on 25 March. The Kuomintang also executed many civilians in Chiayi. On 16 August 1950, because of the re-allocation of administrative areas in which Taiwan was divided into 16 counties, five provincial cities and a special bureau, Chiayi City was downgraded to a county-administered city and merged with Chiayi County to be the county seat. As a result, a shortage of capital hindered its development. On 1 July 1982, Chiayi City was elevated again to a provincial city as a result of pressure from local elites. On 6 October 1990, the East District and

West District West District may refer to: __NOTOC__ China * West District (Zhongshan), in Guangdong * West District (Panzhihua), in Sichuan India * West Delhi * West Sikkim district Taiwan * West District, Chiayi, in Chiayi City * West District, Taichung, in ...

were established.

Geography

Chiayi City is located on the north side of

Chianan Plain Chianan or Jianan may refer to: Taiwan * Chianan Plain, largest plain in Taiwan * Chianan Irrigation, canals of Chianan Plain of Taiwan Han Dynasty *Jian'an, name for the period of rule (196—220) of the Emperor Xian of Han *Seven Scholars of J ...

, south west of Taiwan Island. On the east side is the

, on the west side is the Chiayi Airport, on the north side is the

Puzi River The Puzi River () is a river in Taiwan. It flows through Chiayi County Chiayi County ( Mandarin pinyin: ''jiā yì xiàn''; Hokkien POJ: ''Ka-gī-koān'') is a county in southwestern Taiwan surrounding but not including Chiayi City. It is ...

and on the south side is the Bazhang River. The distance from east to west of Chiayi City is and from north to south is with a total area of . Chiayi City is completely surrounded by Chiayi County. Most of Chiayi City land are broad flat fertile plains. The terrain slowly rises from west to east. Chiayi is also one of the closest Taiwanese cities to the Tropic of Cancer, with the latitudinal line lying just south of the city.

Climate

Chiayi City has a warm

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

( Köppen ''Cwa''). Northeasterly winds during fall and winter mean that rainfall is depressed during that time, while southwesterly winds during summer and the later portion of spring bring most of the year's rainfall, with more than 60% falling from June to August. Humidity is high year-round, even during winter.

Government

Chiayi City is a provincial city of Taiwan Province of the

. The city is governed by the Chiayi City Government, while the residence is represented in the

Chiayi City Council The Chiayi City Council (CYCC; ) is the elected city council of Chiayi City, Taiwan. The council composes of 24 councilors lastly elected through the 2018 Republic of China local election on 24 November 2018. Organization Congress * Speaker * ...

. The current Mayor of Chiayi City is Huang Min-hui of the Kuomintang.

Administrative divisions

Chiayi City is divided into two

districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

. East District is the city seat which houses the Chiayi City Government.

Politics

Chiayi City voted one

Democratic Progressive Party The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a Taiwanese nationalist and centre-left political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). Controlling both the Republic of China presidency and the unicameral Legislative Yuan, it is the majori ...

legislator to be in the

Legislative Yuan The Legislative Yuan is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of China (Taiwan) located in Taipei. The Legislative Yuan is composed of 113 members, who are directly elected for 4-year terms by people of the Taiwan Area through a parallel v ...

during the

2016 Taiwanese general election General elections were held in Taiwan, officially the Republic of China, on Saturday, 16 January 2016 to elect the 14th President and Vice President of the Republic of China, and all 113 members of the ninth Legislative Yuan: Presidential election ...

. It has historically been a very pan-Green city. During the martial law era, most people of Chiayi supported tangwai politicians. However, the voting gap between the DPP and the KMT has narrowed in recent years.

Demographics

Chiayi city is a 100% purely ethnic Hokkien inhabited city.

Education

National Chiayi University National Chiayi University (NCYU; ) is a public university located in Chiayi City and Chiayi County, Taiwan. It was formed in 2000 by merging National Chiayi Institute of Technology and National Chiayi Teachers College. The University has six ...

* National Chung Cheng University * Tatung Institute of Commerce and Technology *

Chung Jen College of Nursing, Health Science and Management Chung may refer to: Surnames * Chung (surname) * Jeong (surname), Korean surname * Zhong (surname), or Chung, Chinese surname * Cheung, or Chung, Cantonese surname Geography * Chung, Iran, a village in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province, Iran * C ...

Energy

Green energy

On 17 December 2015, Chiayi City Government launched a program to set up solar panels at schools and offices in the city to reduce green house gases. The program is expected to produce 3.55 million kWh of electricity annually and to help reducing carbon emission by 1,700 tonnes.

Tourist attractions

228 Memorial Park, Spotted Deer, Chiayi City (Taiwan)

* Art Site of Chiayi Railway Warehouse * Chia-Le-Fu Night Market *

Chiayi Art Museum The Chiayi Art Museum () is an art museum in West District, Chiayi City, Taiwan. History The museum building was originally constructed in 1936 as a factory of the Chiayi branch of Taiwan Tobacco and Wine Monopoly Bureau during the Japanese r ...

Chiayi Botanical Garden The Chiayi Botanical Garden () is a botanical garden in East District, Chiayi City, Taiwan belongs to the Taiwan Forestry Research Institute of Council of Agriculture. History The botanical garden was established in 1908. Geology The botanic ...

Chiayi Cheng Huang Temple Chiayi Cheng Huang Temple () is a Chinese temple dedicated to the City God or Cheng Huang Ye () which is located in East District, Chiayi City, Taiwan. The temple was founded in 1715, it is one of the oldest and prominent temples in the region. ...

* Chiayi City Municipal Baseball Stadium *

Chiayi Cultural and Creative Industries Park The Chiayi Cultural and Creative Industries Park () or G9 Creative Park is a multi-purpose park in West District, Chiayi City, Taiwan. History The area was originally opened in 1916 as Chiayi Brewery by the Japanese government. In 1922, the br ...

* Chiayi Jen Wu Temple *

Chiayi Municipal Museum The Chiayi Municipal Museum () is a museum in East District, Chiayi, East District, Chiayi City, Taiwan. History The founding of the museum was a collective community effort in the hope to establish a cultural public space for all of the residen ...

Chiayi Park Chiayi Park () is a park at East District, Chiayi City, Taiwan. History The park was built in 1911 during the Japanese era. It was once renamed to Zhongshan Park in 1949, but reverted to its current name in 1997. Architecture The park spans o ...

Chiayi Confucian Temple The Chiayi Confucian Temple () is a Confucian temple in Chiayi Park, East District, Chiayi City, Taiwan. History The temple was originally built in 1706. In 1815, the temple restoration stele was inscribed and erected. In 1907, an earthquake ...

Kagi Shrine was a Shinto shrine located in previously ''Soa-a-teng'' (), Kagi City, Tainan Prefecture, Japanese Taiwan (modern-day Chiayi Park, Chiayi City, Taiwan). The shrine was built on 28 October 1915 ( Taishō 4) facing south but later altered in 1 ...

Sun-Shooting Tower The Sun-Shooting Tower () or Chiayi Tower is a tower built inside Chiayi Park, East District, Chiayi City, Taiwan. Architecture The tower stands at a height of 62 meters. Its exterior designed was inspired by a giant sacred tree in Alishan. T ...

* Chiayi Prison Museum * Hinoki Village * Lantan Lake * Museum of Old Taiwan Tiles * St. John's Cathedral * Taiwan Hinoki Museum * Water Source Water Meter Room * Wenhua Road Night Market *

Historic Archives Building of Chiayi City History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

() *

228 Memorial Park 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. In mathematics 8 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2. * a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of t ...

National 228 Memorial Park National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

* Chung Cheng Park * Alishan Forest Railway & Railway Park * Chiayi International Band Festival Chiayi is the city of wind music in Taiwan. The wind music festival started as a local event in 1988, when it was more like a joint performance by local wind music bands. Over the years the festival has become the most anticipated annual event in Chiayi.

Sports

Major sporting events held by Chiayi include: *

1999 Asian Youth Boys Volleyball Championship The 1999 Asian Youth Boys Volleyball Championship was held in Chiayi City, Taiwan from 20 to 25 April 1999. Pools composition The teams are seeded based on their final ranking at the 1997 Asian Youth Boys Volleyball Championship. Preliminary ...

2001 Baseball World Cup The 2001 Baseball World Cup (BWC) was the 34th international Men's amateur baseball tournament. The tournament was sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation, which titled it the Amateur World Series from the 1938 tournament through the ...

(Co-hosted with Taipei, New Taipei, and

Kaohsiung Kaohsiung City (Mandarin Chinese: ; Wade–Giles: ''Kao¹-hsiung²;'' Pinyin: ''Gāoxióng'') is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsi ...

) *

2012 Asian Soft Tennis Championship 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

2018 World University Baseball Championship Eighteen or 18 may refer to: * 18 (number), the natural number following 17 and preceding 19 * one of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018 Film, television and entertainment * ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on the short s ...

Notable residents/natives

Tan Ting-pho Tan Teng-pho (; 2 February 1895 – 25 March 1947), was a Taiwanese painter and politician. In 1926, his oil painting '' Street of Chiayi'' was featured in the seventh in Japan, which was the first time a Taiwanese artist's work could be d ...

(1895–1947), Taiwan famous painter. * Sow-Hsin Chen (1935–2021), American physicist, Professor. * Vincent Siew (1939), Taiwanese politician, Vice President of the Republic of China (2008–2012), Vice-Chairman of the Kuomintang. * Huang Min-hui (1959), former mayor of Chiayi City, vice chairperson of Kuomintang, a member of the Legislative Yuan (1999 and 2005). * Lo Chen-Jung (1961), Taiwanese left-handed baseball pitcher. * Wu Bai (1968), Taiwanese rock singer.

International relations

Twin towns — sister cities

Chiayi is twinned with: *

East Orange East Orange is a City (New Jersey), city in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 69,612. The city was List of municipalities in ...

, New Jersey, United States (1972) * Jackson, Mississippi, United States (1972) *

Juneau The City and Borough of Juneau, more commonly known simply as Juneau ( ; tli, Dzánti K'ihéeni ), is the capital city of the state of Alaska. Located in the Gastineau Channel and the Alaskan panhandle, it is a unified municipality and the se ...

, Alaska, United States (1977) *

Murray Murray may refer to: Businesses * Murray (bicycle company), an American manufacturer of low-cost bicycles * Murrays, an Australian bus company * Murray International Trust, a Scottish investment trust * D. & W. Murray Limited, an Australian who ...

, Utah, United States (1977) *

Bulacan Province Bulacan, officially the Province of Bulacan ( tl, Lalawigan ng Bulacan), is a province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is the city of Malolos. Bulacan was established on August 15, 1578, and part of the Metr ...

, Philippines (1980) * Martinsburg, West Virginia, United States (1988) *

Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, United States (1995) * Hsinchu City, Taiwan (2002)

Transportation

Rail

Chiayi City is served by

Chiayi Station Chiayi () is a railway station in Chiayi, Taiwan served by Taiwan Railways and Alishan Forest Railway. History The station was firstly constructed in 1896 and opened on 20 April 1902 with service on the West Coast line. The station was a s ...

and Jiabei Station of the Taiwan Railways Administration. Chiayi Station is the starting point for the

. The city is also accessible from THSR Chiayi Station in Chiayi County.

Bus

Chiayi Bus Rapid Transit connects Chiayi City to

Chiayi HSR station Chiayi () is a high-speed rail station in Taibao City, Chiayi County, Taiwan served by Taiwan High Speed Rail. Overview The station is elevated with two side platforms. The two platforms are connected by an overhead skyway. The station was de ...

in the neighboring

Taibao City Taibao (Hokkien POJ: ''Thài-pó'') is a county-administered city and the county seat of Chiayi County, Taiwan. Name The city was named after the government position of Wang De-lu, whose hometown is Taibao, in the 19th century. History For ...

Chiayi City Bus Chiayi City Bus is a bus service managed by the Transportation Department, Chiayi City Government and operated by Kuo-Kuang Motor Transportation Kuo-Kuang Motor Transportation () is a bus company in Taiwan. History Kuo-Kuang was established on ...

serves the urban areas of Chiayi City.

Air

Chiayi City is served by Chiayi Airport in the neighboring Shuishang Township.

In popular culture

Chiayi City and its street foods, including the famous

Chiayi turkey rice Chiayi turkey rice () is a bowl of rice with shredded turkey layered on top, often accompanied by pickled radish. The rice is drizzled with a kind of gravy made from the turkey drippings and soy sauce. It is an iconic specialty from Chiayi C ...

, were featured on the Netflix TV series, '' Street Food'', in season 1.

References

External links

*
Chiayi City/County tourism official website

Chiayi City Police Bureau official website
* * * National Chung Cheng Universitybr>official website
{{Authority control 1982 establishments in Taiwan Provincial cities of Taiwan