Shizi Township is a mountain indigenous 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 ...

. It is the largest township of the county. The main population is the

Paiwan people The Paiwan () are an indigenous people of Taiwan. They speak the Paiwan language. In 2014, the Paiwan numbered 96,334. This was approximately 17.8% of Taiwan's total indigenous population, making them the second-largest indigenous group. The m ...

of the

Taiwanese aborigines Taiwanese may refer to: * Taiwanese language, another name for Taiwanese Hokkien * Something from or related to Taiwan ( Formosa) * Taiwanese aborigines, the indigenous people of Taiwan * Han Taiwanese, the Han people of Taiwan * Taiwanese people, ...

Names

The original Paiwan name for the area was Tjakuvukuvulj (Tjakuvukuvuɬ; historically rendered as ''Chaobo Obol'' or in ). Han Chinese settlers noted a rock outcropping in the shape of a lion's head () and called the village ''Sai-a-thau-sia'' (). Under

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...

rule, the name was changed to the current ''Shizi'', though in Taiwanese Hokkien the name ''Sai-a-thau'' is still normally used in spoken contexts.

Geography

The terrain of Shizi is mountainous, as the district is located near Taiwan's

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. Due to this separation, connecting between the west and east is not very convenient. The tallest peak of th ...

Administrative divisions

The township comprises eight villages: * Caopu () (Paiwan: ''Supaw'') * Danlu () (Paiwan: ''Tjakuljakuljai'') * Fenglin ()(Paiwan: ''Kaidi/Naimalipa'') * Nanshi () (Paiwan: ''Nansiku/Tjuladu'') * Neishi () (Paiwan: ''Kacedas'') * Neiwen () (Paiwan: ''Naibun/Tjakuvukuvulj'') * Shizi () (Paiwan: ''Tjaqaciljai'') * Zhukeng () (Paiwan: ''Tjuruguai'')

Economy

Agriculture

Agriculture produced in the township includes

mangoes A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree ''Mangifera indica''. It is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South a ...

, bird's-nest ferns and

watermelons Watermelon (''Citrullus lanatus'') is a flowering plant species of the Cucurbitaceae family and the name of its edible fruit. A scrambling and trailing vine-like plant, it is a highly cultivated fruit worldwide, with more than 1,000 varieti ...

Tourist attractions

Places of interest in or around Shizi are Shuangliu Forest Recreation Area, the Cultural Objects Museum, Lilongshan and Neiwen Village.

Transportation

Shizi is connected via railway through the TRA

South-Link Line The South-link line () is a line of the Taiwan Railways Administration running across the southern tip of the island of Taiwan, connecting the eastern and western coasts. It is 98.2 km long, of which 81.4 km is single-track. The secti ...

. A key station is Fangshan Station. Two highways run through the township: Provincial Highway No.1 and Provincial Highway No.9 ( South-Link Highway).

References

External links

Shizi Township Office website
{{Coord, 22.2018, N, 120.7054, E, source:wikidata, display=title Townships in Pingtung County