Dongshi District (;

Pha̍k-fa-sṳ Pha̍k-fa-sṳ () is an orthography similar to Pe̍h-ōe-jī and used to write Hakka, a variety of Chinese. Hakka is a whole branch of Chinese, and Hakka dialects are not necessarily mutually intelligible with each other, considering the large geo ...

: Tûng-sṳ) is a suburban

district 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 county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

in eastern

Taichung Taichung (, Wade–Giles: '), officially Taichung City, is a special municipality (Taiwan), special municipality in central Taiwan. Taichung is Taiwan's second-largest city, with more than 2.85 million residents, making it the largest city in Ce ...

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

(Taiwan). It is the third largest district by area in Taichung City after Heping District and Taiping District. A majority of the residents are

Hakka The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka-speaking Chinese, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas, are a southern Han Chinese subgroup whose principal settlements and ancestral homes are dispersed widely across the provinces of southern China ...

, making it an enclave in an otherwise non-Hakka county. Its Hakka dialect is very distinct compared to the dialects of other counties. Dongshi is situated on a narrow, north–south oriented plain, flanked by the

Dajia River Dajia River () is the fifth-longest river in Taiwan located in the north-central of the island. It flows through Taichung City for 142 km. The sources of the Dajia are: Hsuehshan and Nanhu Mountain in the Central Mountain Range. The Dajia ...

to the west and the

Xueshan Range The Xueshan Range is a mountain range in northern Taiwan. It is bordered by the Chungyang Range to the southeast. The tallest peak of the Xueshan Range is Xueshan, Xueshan/Sekuwan, which has a height of . Shei-Pa National Park is located around ...

to the east. It is this sense of being pressed up against that ridge, at the easternmost edge of the large west-central plain, that gives the town its name. Its elevation ranges from about 330 meters along the Dajia River to 1201 meters in the foothills of the Central Mountain Range. The township is bounded by (clockwise from the north)

Zhuolan Zhuolan Township is an urban township in Miaoli County, Taiwan. History Formerly called ''Talan'' (). Geography In January 2023, Zhuolan's population was estimated at 15,505. The township occupies an area of . It receives approximately of ra ...

, Heping, Xinshe,

Shigang Shigang District () is a rural district in Taichung City, Taiwan. Geography It has a population total of 14,131 and an area of 18.2105 square kilometres. Administrative divisions Shigang, Wanan, Jiufang, Jinxing, Longxing, Wanxing, Meizi, ...

, Fengyuan, Houli, and

Sanyi Sanyi () or Nanpanshun (), also known by Cantonese romanizations such as Sam Yup and Nam Pun Shun, refers to the three districts (former counties) of Nanhai, Panyu and Shunde surrounding Guangzhou and Foshan in Guangdong, China. Geography Th ...

History

After the handover of Taiwan from Japan to the

in 1945, Dongshi was organized as an urban township of

Taichung County Taichung County was a County (Taiwan), county in central Taiwan between 1945 and 2010. The county seat was in Yuanlin Township before 1950 and Fengyuan District, Fongyuan City after 1950. History Taichung County was established on 26 November ...

. On 25 December 2010, Taichung County was merged with Taichung City and Dongshi was upgraded to a

of the

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

. Buildings in Dongshi were severely damaged by the

Chi-Chi earthquake The Chi-Chi earthquake (later also known as the Jiji earthquake, 921 Earthquake, or the great earthquake of September 21), was a 7.3 ML or 7.7 Mw earthquake which occurred in Jiji (Chi-Chi), Nantou County, Taiwan on 21 September 199 ...

in 1999.

Administrative divisions

Dongshi is divided into 25 villages , which are Beixing, Zhongning, Tungan , Nanping, Yanping, Shangxin, Guangxing, Taichang, Zhongke, Fulong, Longxing, Xincheng, Yifu, Shangcheng, Xiacheng, Qingdong, Qingfu, Tungxin, Yuening, Xiaxin, Xinglong, Maoxing, Taixing, Beitou and Mingzheng.

Famous features

Dongshi includes some greenspace and significant farmland; largely orchards. Dongshi is known for its pears, which are large and almost spherical with a thin, light yellowish-brown rugose skin. In a good year, their flavor is excellent. Intensive topwork at the start of each season involves grafting Japanese pear bud slips to the tree stock. Dongshih Hakka Culture Area

The old train station has been converted into the Dongshih Hakka Cultural Park. Historical Hakka cultural artefacts along with modern works of art are on display. This area also marks the eastern terminus of the Dongshih-Fongyuan Bicycle Greenway (東豐自行車綠廊.) This greenway was converted from a former railway track. The town is also noted for two large forest parks in the mountainous eastern parts of the county. Dongshi Forest Park (東勢林場) and Sijiaolin (四角林林場) are managed by the

Changhua County Changhua (Wade-Giles: ''Chang¹-hua⁴'') is a Taiwanese County (Taiwan), county that is the smallest on the Geography of Taiwan, main island of Taiwan by area, and the fourth smallest in the country. With a total population of 1.24 million, Chan ...

and

Taichung City Taichung (, Wade–Giles: '), officially Taichung City, is a special municipality in central Taiwan. Taichung is Taiwan's second-largest city, with more than 2.85 million residents, making it the largest city in Central Taiwan. It serves as th ...

Agricultural Committees respectively.

Native products

Persimmon The persimmon () is the edible fruit of a number of species of trees in the genus '' Diospyros''. The most widely cultivated of these is the Chinese and Japanese kaki persimmon, ''Diospyros kaki''. In 2022, China produced 77% of the world's p ...

Pear Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in late summer into mid-autumn. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus ''Pyrus'' , in the Family (biology), family Rosaceae, bearing the Pome, po ...

Tourist attractions

Dongshi Forestry Culture Park The Dongshi Forestry Culture Park () is a forest in Dongshi District, Taichung, Taiwan. History The forest area was originally established in 1956. In 1960, the Taiwan Daxueshan Forestry Corporation was established to collaborate with the Gove ...

* Fuxing Suspension Bridge *

Shihgang Dam Shigang Dam () is a concrete gravity barrage dam across the Dajia River in Shigang District and Dongshi District of Taichung, Taiwan, located near Fengyuan District. The dam was built from 1974 to 1977 for flood control and irrigation purposes ...

* Dongshi Forest Garden * Dongshi Hakka Cultural Park

Transportation

Dongshi is served by Provincial Highway 8, known as the

Central Cross-Island Highway The Central Cross-Island Highway () or Provincial Highway 8 is one of three highway systems that connect the west coast with the east of Taiwan. Construction The construction of the Central Cross-Island Highway began on July 7, 1956 and was ...

, Provincial Highway 3, and Taichung Special Route 1, which leads to the Daxueshan National Forest Recreation Area.

Notable natives

Chan Hao-ching Chan Hao-ching (; ; born September 19, 1993), also known as Angel Chan, is a Taiwanese professional tennis player. She is primarily a doubles specialist, having won twenty-one WTA Tour, two WTA Challenger and six ITF titles in that discipline. ...

, tennis athlete *

Latisha Chan Latisha Chan (born 17 August 1989), formerly known by her Chinese name Chan Yung-jan (; ), is a Taiwanese professional tennis player who is a former world No. 1 in doubles. She has won 33 career titles in doubles, including a Grand Slam title ...

, tennis athlete *

Shyu Jong-shyong Shyu Jong-shyong (; born 7 October 1957) is a Taiwanese politician. Education Shyu obtained his bachelor's degree in political science from Soochow University in 1981. He then continued his studies in the United States and obtained his master's ...

, Deputy Secretary-General of

Executive Yuan The Executive Yuan () is the executive (government), executive branch of the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Under the Additional Articles of the Constitution of the Republic of China, amended constitution, the head of the Execut ...

(2015–2016)

References

* * {{Taichung Districts of Taichung