Dapu Township () is a rural township in

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 the sixth largest county in Taiwan. Name The former Chinese placename was ...

Taiwan 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 nort ...

. Part of the

Siraya National Scenic Area Siraya National Scenic Area () is the newest of Taiwan's national scenic areas. It was designated by the central government of the Republic of China on 26 November 2005. The scenic area is named after the Siraya people, an indigenous ethnic grou ...

, Dapu gets a major portion of its revenue from tourism. Among the birds that can be seen in the area is the

fairy pitta The fairy pitta (''Pitta nympha'') is a small and brightly colored species of passerine bird in the family Pittidae. Its diet mainly consists of earthworms, spiders, insects, slugs, and snails. The fairy pitta breeds in East Asia and migrates s ...

History

Human activity is believed to have existed in Dapu since

prehistoric times Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of ...

. Artifacts have been found in archaeological sites nearby. The

Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock ...

started its colonization of Taiwan in 1624. When it established its presence in what is now

in 1636, Dapu was a Tsou territory with no recorded

Han Chinese The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctive va ...

activity. According to a 1647 census conducted by the Dutch, Kanakannavo, the tribe that resided in Dapu, contained 37 households (157 residents).

Geography

The township has an area of 173.2472 km² with a population of 4,504 people as of May 2022.

Administrative divisions

The township comprises five villages: Dapu, Heping, Jiadong, Xixing and Yongle.

Economy

A total of 5.2% of its land is used for agriculture.

Tourist attractions

Zengwen Reservoir Zengwen Dam, also spelled Tsengwen Dam, () is a major earthen dam in Dapu Township, Chiayi County, Taiwan on the Zengwen River. It is the third tallest dam in Taiwan, and forms Zengwen Reservoir (曾文水庫), the biggest reservoir in Taiwan b ...

Transportation

The township is served by three access roads, which lead northwards towards

Fanlu Fanlu Township () is a rural township in Chiayi County, Taiwan. History After the World War II in October 1945, the township became part of Tainan County. After readjustment in October 1950, the township became part of Chiayi County. In 1951, t ...

and Zhongpu Townships and southwards towards Nansi District in

Tainan Tainan (), officially Tainan City, is a Special municipality (Taiwan), 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" ...

References

{{Townships in Taiwan Townships in Chiayi County