Zhonghe District (,
Pe̍h-ōe-jī
(; ; ), also sometimes known as the Church Romanization, is an orthography used to write variants of Southern Min Chinese, particularly Taiwanese Hokkien, Taiwanese and Amoy dialect, Amoy Hokkien.
Developed by Western missionary, missionaries ...
: Tiong-hô Khu), also spelled Chūwa and Jhonghe, is an inner city district in
New Taipei City
New Taipei City is a special municipality located in northern Taiwan. The city is home to an estimated population of 3,974,683 as of 2022, making it the most populous city of Taiwan, and also the second largest special municipality by area, b ...
in northern
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 ...
.
Geography and climate
Zhonghe lies just south-west of
Taipei City
Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...
and shares borders with
Banqiao Banqiao () may refer to:
Taiwan
*Banqiao District, seat of New Taipei
Mainland China
*Banqiao Dam (), dam on the Ru River near Zhumadian, Henan that suffered an infamous failure in 1975
*Banqiao Town (disambiguation)
*Banqiao Township (disambigua ...
,
Xindian,
Tucheng and
Yonghe Districts of
New Taipei City
New Taipei City is a special municipality located in northern Taiwan. The city is home to an estimated population of 3,974,683 as of 2022, making it the most populous city of Taiwan, and also the second largest special municipality by area, b ...
, as well as Taipei City. The average annual temperature is and the precipitation averages per year. Most of Zhonghe lies a few tens of meters above sea level and is heavily urbanized, with forested hillier country in the southeast. A mountainous ridge forms most of the eastern border with Xindian, which includes the highest point in Zhonghe, the 302-meter Fenglusai ().
History
The present-day area of Zhonghe District was originally settled by
aboriginal tribes. During conflict between the colonial forces of the Dutch and the Spanish, the area is recorded by the Dutch as Chiron, from the name of one of the tribes living there. This name is preserved in one of the constituent villages of the city, called ''Xiulang Li'' (), and the bridge which connects Zhonghe and Xindian.
The area was subsequently settled by
Han Chinese
The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctiv ...
migrants from
Fujian
Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capi ...
but remained relatively unimportant until the end of the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
Republic of China
In 1946, the population of the area of present-day Zhonghe and
Yonghe was 30,000 and it was classified as a
rural township.
Due to rapid population growth Yonghe was separated from Zhonghe in 1958. Subsequently, on 1 January 1979, Zhonghe was upgraded to
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 ...
status after reaching a population of 170,000.
On 25 December 2010, due to the changing from Taipei
County
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
to New Taipei
City
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
, Zhonghe City was changed to Zhonghe
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 counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...
.
Administrative divisions
Zhonghe is divided into 93 villages, which are further subdivided into ''lín'' (), of which there are 2,972 in total. Some administration is shared with neighbouring Yonghe District; due to both this and their proximity, they are sometimes collectively known as Shuanghe (). This is also reflected in the names of various institutions such as Shuang-Ho Hospital in Zhonghe and Shuanghe Libai Church in Yonghe District.
Transportation
Rail
Zhonghe is served by the
Zhonghe–Xinlu line
The Zhonghe–Xinlu or Orange line (code O) is a metro line in Taipei operated by the Taipei Metro, named after the districts it connects: Zhonghe, Xinzhuang and Luzhou. The line starts at in Zhonghe, passes through central Taipei, then splits ...
and the
Circular line of the
Taipei Metro
Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT), branded as Metro Taipei, is a rapid transit system serving the areas of Taipei and New Taipei City, New Taipei in Taiwan, operated by the State-owned enterprise, government-owned Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation ...
. three metro stations of the
Zhonghe–Xinlu line
The Zhonghe–Xinlu or Orange line (code O) is a metro line in Taipei operated by the Taipei Metro, named after the districts it connects: Zhonghe, Xinzhuang and Luzhou. The line starts at in Zhonghe, passes through central Taipei, then splits ...
are located in Zhonghe:
Yongan Market,
Jingan, and the terminal station,
Nanshijiao. Six metro stations of the
Circular line, , , , , , and are located in Zhonghe as well. Jingan Station is an interchange station between the Circular and Zhonghe-Xinlu lines. In the future, the
Wanda–Zhonghe–Shulin line and the north–south section of the
Yellow line will eventually bring the number of MRT stations in Zhonghe to fifteen. The closest regular rail and high-speed services are from
Banqiao station
Banqiao () is a railway and metro station in New Taipei, Taiwan served by Taiwan High Speed Rail, TRA and Taipei Metro. With the exception of the Circular Line, all other tracks and platforms in the station are located underground. The sta ...
in neighbouring
Banqiao District
Banqiao District () is a district and the seat of New Taipei City, Taiwan. It has the third-highest population density in Taiwan, with over . Until the creation of New Taipei City, Banqiao (then transliterated as Banciao or Pan-ch'iao) was an ...
.
Road
Zhonghe has an interchange on one of Taiwan's two main north–south road arteries; the
National Highway 3. Also providing road links is
Provincial Highway 64, an elevated expressway that cuts through the middle of the district, with several on and off-ramps in Zhonghe itself. There are two bridges over the
Xindian River
The Xindian River (or Xindian Creek) () is a river in northern Taiwan. It flows through New Taipei and the capital Taipei for .
Overview
The Xindian River is one of the three major tributaries into the Tamsui River. Its main tributary is the B ...
; Xiulang Bridge, which connects Zhonghe with
Xindian, and Huazhong Bridge, reaching
Taipei
Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the n ...
's
Wanhua District
Wanhua District, known in Taiwanese Hokkien as Báng-kah khu and historically as "Monga" or "Monka", is a district in Taipei, Taiwan. It is Taipei's oldest district. The district is home to historic buildings such as the Bangka Lungshan Temple, ...
.
Parks and Attractions
* Jinhe Sports Park
* Dinosaur Park
Education
Zhonghe is home to the
National Taiwan Library
The National Taiwan Library () is a library in Zhonghe District, New Taipei, Taiwan. It is the oldest public library in Taiwan. Founded in 1914, the library is home to a large collection of documents concerning the history, culture, politics an ...
, which is located in the grounds of the
8-23 Memorial Park. It has one of the best collections in Taiwan of factual books about Taiwan in English.
There are nine elementary schools, five junior high schools, four senior high schools (2 public and 2 private high schools) in Zhonghe. The
Hwa Hsia University of Technology is also located in the city.
*
Zhonghe Elementary School
*
Guangfu Elementary School
*
Fuxing Elementary School
*
Jingxin Elementary School
*
Xiushan Elementary School
*
Jisui Elementary School
*
Ziqiang Elementary School
The Self-Strengthening Movement, also known as the Westernization or Western Affairs Movement (–1895), was a period of radical institutional reforms initiated in China during the late Qing dynasty following the military disasters of the Opium ...
*
Xingnan Elementary School
*
Jinhe Elementary School
*
Zhonghe Junior High School
*
Zhanghe Junior High School
*
Jisui Junior High School
*
Ziqiang Junior High School
*
Jinhe High School
*
Jinhe High School
*
Chung Ho Senior High School
*
Private NanShan Senior High School
Private Nanshan Senior High School (NSSH; ) is a school in Zhonghe District, New Taipei, Taiwan. The current principal is Wu Po Chen (吳柏成).
School badge
The school badge of NSSH is a stylised version of the ancient rendition of the Chinese ...
*
Private Chu-Lin Senior High School
Economy
The offices of a number of technology companies are located in the district, including the
Asia-Pacific head office of
Viewsonic, SpotCam, a
Texas Instruments
Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) is an American technology company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, that designs and manufactures semiconductors and various integrated circuits, which it sells to electronics designers and manufacturers globall ...
research facility, the head offices of Cooler Master, and
Micro-Star International
Micro-Star International Co., Ltd (MSI; ) is a Taiwanese multinational information technology corporation headquartered in New Taipei City, Taiwan. It designs, develops and provides computer hardware, related products and services, including l ...
.
Cultural and religious sites
* Hongludi Temple (烘爐地南山福德宮)
* Yuantong Temple (中和圓通寺)
* Xingnan Night Market (中和興南夜市)
* Fangliao Night Market
Burma Street
Zhonghe Myanmar Street
The Zhonghe Myanmar Street () is an area name along the Huaxin Street () in Zhonghe District, New Taipei, Taiwan.
History
In the 1980s, many descendants of Republic of China Armed Forces migrated to Taiwan from Myanmar and Thailand seeking for ...
or Burma Street, near
Nanshijiao MRT Station, is home to a large proportion of Taiwan's small
Burmese immigrant population. Zhonghe District is home to 40,000
Burmese Chinese
Chinese Burmese, also Sino-Burmese or Tayoke, are a Burmese citizens of full or partial Chinese ancestry. They are group of overseas Chinese born or raised in Myanmar (Burma). As of 2012, the Burmese Chinese population is estimated to be as h ...
(2008), making up 10% of Zhonghe's population, and constituting one of the largest communities of Burmese Chinese outside of Burma. Consequently, there are numerous stores and restaurants in this area selling Burmese produce and there are also cultural events on occasion.
Image:Zhonghe 8-23 park.jpg, Archway in the 8-23 Park
Image:Tudi Gong at Hongludi 20060202.jpg, Statue of Tudi Gong at Hongludi Temple
Image:Trees in Zhonghe.jpg, Trees in the 8-23 Park
Image:National Taiwan Library entry 2005.jpg, National Taiwan Library
Image:Jingsin Elementary School.jpg, Jingxin Elementary School
Image:Singnan Night Market.jpg, Xingnan Night Market Entrance
Image:Highway 64 and Jingping Road 20070302.jpg, Jingping Road
Image:Nanshijiao Station.JPG, Nanshijiao Station, southern terminus of the MRT's Zhonghe Line
Image:Yuantong Temple.jpg, Yuantong Temple (Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
)
File:Jhonghe.jpg, High-rise buildings
Famous natives
* Lin Ching-i -
Chinese Taipei women's volleyball player
International relations
Twin towns — sister cities
Zhonghe, Taiwan is
twinned with:
*
Los Gatos, California
Los Gatos (, ; ) is an incorporated town in Santa Clara County, California, United States. The population is 33,529 according to the 2020 census. It is located in the San Francisco Bay Area just southwest of San Jose in the foothills of the ...
, United States
Los Gatos Weekly-Times , Monte Sereno Sister City
/ref>
References
External links
*
Government website
View of Zhonghe District
{{Districts in Taiwan