Pingtung City (;

Hokkien The Hokkien () variety of Chinese is a Southern Min language native to and originating from the Minnan region, where it is widely spoken in the south-eastern part of Fujian in southeastern mainland China. It is one of the national languages in ...

POJ: ''Pîn-tong-chhī'') is a

county-administered city A county-administered city is a unit of administrative division in Taiwan. Under the administrative structure of Taiwan, it is at the same level as a township or a district. Such cities are under the jurisdiction of counties. It is also the lowes ...

and the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

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

The area of modern-day Pingtung City was originally a village of the

Taiwanese Plains Aborigines Plains indigenous peoples (), previously called plain aborigines, are Taiwanese indigenous peoples originally residing in lowland regions, as opposed to Highland indigenous peoples. Plains indigenous peoples consist of anywhere from eight to twe ...

which they called "Akau", which means "the forest". After the expulsion of the Dutch, the village grew into a Chinese market-town called "A-kau" ().

Empire of Japan

In 1901, 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 ...

, was one of twenty local administrative offices established. In 1909, this unit was merged with and to form . Beginning in 1920, the name was changed to , governed under

Takao Prefecture was one of the administrative divisions of Taiwan during the Japanese rule. The prefecture consisted of modern-day Kaohsiung City and Pingtung County. Population Administrative divisions Cities and districts In 1945 ( Shōwa 20), the ...

. In 1933, the town was upgraded to City status.

Republic of China

After the handover of Taiwan to the Republic of China from Japan on 25 October 1945, Pingtung City was established as a provincial city of

Taiwan Province Taiwan Province (; Pha̍k-fa-sṳ, PFS: ''Thòi-vàn-sén'' or ''Thòi-vân-sén'') is a nominal Administrative divisions of Taiwan, administrative division of the Taiwan, Republic of China (ROC). Its definition has remained part of the Constit ...

in December the same year. On 1 December 1951, it was downgraded to a

and has been administered as such since that time.

Geography

Pingtung City is located in northwestern Pingtung County. It is centered between the western coast and the eastern mountain range on the

Pingtung Plain Pingtung Plain () is a plain area including parts of Pingtung County and Kaohsiung City in Taiwan. It includes the alluvial fan of Kaoping River, which forms the largest drainage area of rivers in Taiwan, and also passed by other shorter rivers ...

. Many residents work in

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 ...

and commute daily by

train In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and Passenger train, transport people or Rail freight transport, freight. Trains are typically pul ...

Climate

Pingtung City is located within the tropics and has a

tropical monsoon climate An area of tropical monsoon climate (occasionally known as a sub-equatorial, tropical wet climate or a tropical monsoon and trade-wind littoral climate) is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification category ...

. The warmest month is July and the coldest month is January. The warm season lasts from mid March to late November with an average daytime temperature of over 30 degrees Celsius. The short cooler season starts in mid December and lasts until late February, and features relatively warm days and cool nights with temperatures ranging from 15-27 degrees Celsius. Pingtung County is the hottest county in Taiwan and Pingtung City is well-known for high daytime temperatures year round.

Administrative divisions

The city is administered as 79 villages: Anle, Anzeng, Beishi, Beixing, Bixin, Chonglan, Chongli, Chongwu, Chongzhi, Dahu, Dalian, Dapu, Datong, Dawu, Dazhou, Dingliu, Dingzhai, Duanzheng, Fengrong, Fengtian, Fengyuan, Fufeng, Gongguan, Goumei, Guanghua, Guangrong, Guangxing, Guixin, Haifeng, Hexing, Housheng, Huashan, Hunan, Huxi, Jianguo, Jinquan, Kongxiang, Lingyun, Longhua, Mingzheng, Minquan, Nanshu, Pengcheng, Pinghe, Qianjin, Qiaobei, Qiaonan, Qingchun, Qingxi, Renai, Renyi, Ruiguang, Sanshan, Shengfeng, Shengli, Siwen, Taian, Taiping, Tanqi, Wannian, Weixin, Wenming, Wumiao, Xingle, Xinhe, Xinsheng, Xinxing, Yixin, Yiyong, Yongan, Yongchang, Yongcheng, Yongguang, Yongshun, Yucheng, Zeren, Zhangan, Zhangchun and Zhongzheng.

Government institutions

Pingtung County Government The Pingtung County Government () is the local government of Pingtung County, 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 Pa ...

Pingtung County Council Pingtung County Council () is the county council of Pingtung County, Republic of China. It is currently composed of 55 councillors, all recently elected in the 2018 Taiwanese local elections. Being the largest county council in terms of seats, ...

Education

National Pingtung University National Pingtung University (NPTU; ) is a public university in Pingtung City, Pingtung County, Taiwan. History The university was established by the merging of National Pingtung University of Education and the National Pingtung Institut ...

National Pingtung Senior High School National Pingtung Senior High School () is a senior high school in Pingtung City, Pingtung County, Taiwan. Notable alumni * Steve Chang, Co-founder and former CEO of Trend Micro * CC Lee, Cleveland Indians pitcher * Chen Yun-wen, baseball play ...

*國立屏東女中 National Pingtung Girls' Senior High School *國立屏東高工 National Pingtung Industrial Vocational Senior High School *縣立大同中學 Pingtung County Tah-Tung Senior High School *私立屏榮高中 Private Ping-Jung High School *私立陸興中學 Private Loo-Hsing High School *私立華洲工家職業學校 Private Hua-Chou Senior Industrial & Domestic Science Vocational School *私立民生家商職業學校 Private Minsheng Economics & Commercial Vocational High School

Tourist attractions

Pingtung Art Museum The Pingtung Art Museum () is an art museum in Pingtung City, Pingtung County, Taiwan. History The construction of the building which houses the museum was completed in October 1953 and housed the Pingtung City Government. In July 2005, the cit ...

Pingtung Baseball Field Pingtung Baseball Field () is a multi-use stadium in Pingtung City, Pingtung County, Taiwan. Currently, it is mostly used for baseball; however, local cricket players have been using the field as a makeshift pitch for several years. It was opened ...

Pingtung Performing Arts Center The Pingtung Performing Arts Center () is a performance center in Pingtung City, Pingtung County, Taiwan. The performing arts center is Southern Taiwan’s first county/city-level concert hall with a pipe organ. Built by the Alexander Schuke Po ...

Pingtung Tutorial Academy The Pingtung Tutorial Academy () is a former tutorial academy in Taiping Village, Pingtung City, Pingtung County, Taiwan. History The tutorial academy was built in 1815 during the Qing Dynasty rule of Taiwan by Hsiadanshui County Deputy Govern ...

Zhong-Sheng-Gong Memorial The Zhong-Sheng-Gong Memorial () is a memorial in Pingtung City, Pingtung County, Taiwan. History The memorial was constructed in 1929 by the Zhen clan family members who moved to Taiwan from Guangdong during the Qing Dynasty in the 18th cent ...

Transportation

Rail

Taiwan Railways Administration

Guilai railway station Guilai railway station () is a railway station located in Pingtung City, Pingtung County, Taiwan. It is located on the Pingtung line and is operated by Taiwan Railways. Around the station * National Pingtung University National Pingtun ...

* Liukuaicuo railway station *

Pingtung railway station Pingtung () is a railway station in Pingtung County, Taiwan served by Taiwan Railways. Overview The station has two island platform. The station was rebuilt on elevated tracks on 23 August 2015. History *20 December 1913: The station opened ...

Taiwan High Speed Rail

There is no high speed rail station in Pingtung. The nearest high speed rail station is Zuoying, which is accessible by regular rail services from Pingtung.

Bus

Pingtung Bus (屏東客運), UBus (統聯客運) and Kuo-Kuang Bus operate services from Pingtung Bus station near Pingtung Rail Station.

Notable people from Pingtung City

Fu-Te Ni Fu-Te Ni (born 14 November 1982), nicknamed "Tudigong", is a former Taiwanese professional baseball pitcher for the CTBC Brothers of the Chinese Professional Baseball League. Ni was a professional baseball player from Taiwan's Chinese Professio ...

, baseball player *

Hope Lin Hope Lin () is a Taiwanese actress. Filmography Television series References External links * * 1981 births 21st-century Taiwanese actresses Living people Taiwanese television actresses People from Pingtung County {{Ta ...

, actress *

Pan Wei-lun Pan Wei-lun (; born 5 March 1982 in Pingtung County, Taiwan) is a Taiwanese professional baseball pitcher for the Uni-President Lions of the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL). Career After brief amateur career in the Taiwan Cooperat ...

, baseball player *

Su Tseng-chang Hope Su Tseng-chang (; born 28 July 1947) is a Taiwanese politician serving as premier of the Republic of China (Taiwan) since 2019, and previously from 2006 to 2007. He was the chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party in 2005 and from 2012 ...

, Premier of the Republic of China *

Ang Lee Ang Lee (; born October 23, 1954) is a Taiwanese filmmaker. Born in Pingtung County of southern Taiwan, Lee was educated in Taiwan and later in the United States. During his filmmaking career, he has received international critical and popula ...

, director of Brokeback Mountain, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Life of Pi *

Ella Chen Ella Chen Chia-hwa (; born 18 June 1981) is a Taiwanese singer, actress, and television host. She is a member of the Taiwanese girl group S.H.E. Career On 8 August 2000, HIM International Music held a 'Universal 2000 Talent and Beauty Girl Co ...

, singer and actress * Shino Lin, singer and actress

References

Bibliography

External links

Website of Pingtung City Office
* {{Authority control County-administered cities of Taiwan Populated places in Pingtung County