Jiadong Township (also spelled Jiadung; ) is a rural township in

Pingtung County Pingtung County is a county located in southern Taiwan. It has a warm tropical monsoon climate and is known for its agriculture and tourism. Kenting National Park, Taiwan's oldest national park, is located in the county. The county seat is Pin ...

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 ...

History

Formerly called ''Katangkha'' ()., Jiadong Township was originally the residence of the

Makatao people The Makatao people (), also written Makatau or Makattau, are an indigenous people in Taiwan. The Makatao originally settled around lowland Kaohsiung in Southern Taiwan, later largely migrating to Pingtung and even further to Taitung in the early ...

of Pingpu tribe. The first colonists that began arriving into Jiadong were ethnic Hakkas from northeastern

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

, establishing the town and ultimately assimilating the local native Makatao aborigines. Jiadong was the location of the Battle of Chiatung, an engagement in the Japanese invasion of Taiwan. The battle took place on the 11 October 1895, and ended in a Japanese victory and a defeat for the

Republic of Formosa The Republic of Formosa was a short-lived republic that existed on the island of Taiwan in 1895 between the formal cession of Taiwan by the Qing dynasty of China to the Empire of Japan by the Treaty of Shimonoseki and its being taken over by ...

. In 1895 the township was described by

James W. Davidson James Wheeler Davidson (14 June 1872 – 18 July 1933) was an American-born Canadian businessman, diplomat, explorer, journalist, and philanthropist. He is remembered for writing ''The Island of Formosa, Past and Present'' (1903), a book on th ...

as a village "surrounded by a low stone wall loop-holed for rifle fire". He also describes "A body of water, which nearly surrounded the village". During the battle, Japanese forces set several of the houses on fire.Davidson, J. W., The Island of Formosa, Past and Present (London, 1903)

Geography

It has a population total of 20,247 and an area of .

Administrative divisions

The township comprises 12 villages: Changlong, Datong, Fenglong, Jiadong, Laijia, Liugen, Qiangyuan, Shiguang, Wanjian, Wenfeng, Yanwen and Yuguang.

Tourist attractions

Old House of Siiao Family The Old House of Siiao Family () is a former residence in Jiadong Township, Pingtung County, Taiwan. History The Siiao family came to Taiwan from Guangdong and worked as businessmen. They then decided to construct a house for their residential ...

Yang Family Ancestral Hall The Yang Family Ancestral Hall () is an ancestral shrine in Jiadong, Jiadong Township, Pingtung County, Taiwan. History The shrine was built in 1923 with funds collected by members of the Yang family living in Pingtung. Architecture The buildi ...

Transportation

TRA Tra or TRA may refer to: Biology * TRA (gene), in humans encodes the protein T-cell receptor alpha locus * Tra (gene), in ''Drosophila melanogaster'' encodes the protein female-specific protein transformer * Tra gene, a transfer gene * Triple rele ...

Jiadong Station

Notable natives

Chung Mong-hong Chung Mong-hong (; born 1965), also known by his pseudonym, Nagao Nakashima ( ja, 中島長雄, Nakashima Nagao; or in zh, p=Zhōngdǎo Zhǎngxióng), is a Taiwanese film director, screenwriter and cinematographer. Career Chung received Golde ...

, film director, screenwriter and cinematographer

References

External links

Jiadong Township Office
Townships in Pingtung County {{taiwan-geo-stub