Nan'ao Township () is a mountain indigenous township in the southern part of Yilan County,

Taiwan 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 ...

. It is the largest township in the county.

History

The township was formerly the "Aboriginal Area" of Suō District,

Taihoku Prefecture Taihoku Prefecture (臺北州; ''Taihoku-shū'') was an administrative division of Taiwan created in 1920, during Japanese rule. The prefecture consisted of modern-day Keelung, New Taipei City, Taipei and Yilan County. Its government office, ...

, during Japanese rule. It was the site of the Sayun incident made famous through the movie '' Sayon's Bell''.

Geography

The population consists mainly of the

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology) In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often populari ...

Atayal people The Atayal (Atayal language, Atayal: Tayal), also known as the Tayal and the Tayan, are a Taiwanese indigenous peoples, Taiwanese indigenous people. The Atayal people number around 90,000, approximately 15.9% of Taiwan's total indigenous popula ...

. Many residents of Aohua Village still speak the Japanese language in daily life. Nan'ao Township contains part of the mountainous terrain of the

Central Mountain Range The Central Mountain Range is the principal mountain range on the island of Taiwan. It runs from the north of the island to the south. It acts as a barrier between the east and west coasts, hindering travel. The tallest peak of the range is ...

. *

Area Area is the measure of a region's size on a surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape or planar lamina, while '' surface area'' refers to the area of an open surface or the boundary of a three-di ...

: 740.65 km² *

Population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...

: 6,110 people in 2,092 households (September 2023)

Administrative divisions

Nanao is divided into seven villages (from north to south): * Dongyue * Nan'ao * Biho * Jinyue * Wuta * Jinyang * Aohua

Tourist attractions

Cueifong Lake Cueifong Lake () is a lake in Taipingshan National Forest Recreation Area, Nan'ao Township, Yilan County, Taiwan. Geography The lake is the largest alpine lake in Taiwan, located at an altitude of 1,900 meters. The lake covers an area of 20 ...

Transportation

Nan'ao is served by the North-Link Line of

Taiwan Railway Administration Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) was a governmental agency in Taiwan which operated Taiwan Railway from 1948 to 2023. It managed, maintained, and operated conventional passenger and freight railway services on of track. Passenger traffic ...

at three stations: Dong'ao Station,

Hanben Station Hanben Station () is a railway station on the Taiwan Railways Administration North-link line located in Nan'ao Township, Yilan County, Taiwan. History The station was opened on 1 February 1980. See also * List of railway stations in Taiwan ...

, and

Wuta Station Wuta Station () is a railway station on the Taiwan Railways Administration North-link line located in Nan'ao Township, Yilan County, Taiwan. History The station was opened on 1 February 1980. See also * List of railway stations in Taiwan ...

. Taiwan Highway 9 passes through Nan'ao. Between

Su'ao Suao Township (), alternately romanized as Su-ao or Su'ao, is located in southern Yilan County, Taiwan, is an urban township that is famous for its seafood restaurants and cold springs. It is a terminus of National Highway No. 5, the Suao ...

and

Hualien City Hualien City (; Wade-Giles: Hua¹-lien² Shih⁴; Hokkien Pe̍h-ōe-jī, POJ: ''Hoa-lian-chhī'' or ''Hoa-liân-chhī'') is a county-administered city and the county seat of Hualien County, Taiwan. It is located on the east coast of Taiwan on the ...

, to the south, this road is known as the Suhua Highway (蘇花公路), and it features some of the most dramatic oceanside scenery in Taiwan.

Notable natives

* Laha Mebow, writer, producer and director

References

External links

* {{Coord, 24, 28, N, 121, 48, E, region:TW_type:city, display=title Townships in Yilan County, Taiwan