Datong District or Tatung is a

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 county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

Taipei City , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Countr ...

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 located between the

Taipei Metro Taipei Metro (also known as Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and branded as Metro Taipei) is a rapid transit system operated by the Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation serving the capital Taipei and New Taipei City in Taiwan. It was the first rapi ...

Red Line and eastern shore of the Tamsui River, and between Civic Boulevard and the Sun Yat-sen Freeway. The southern part of this district is known as Twatutia, one of the first settlements in what is now Taipei and once the commercial center. Taipei's commercial center has since shifted southeast to Zhongzheng, Da'an and Xinyi, and Datong is far less important economically. Some of the last vestiges of Twatutia's commercial importance is preserved on Dihua Street. The

old town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins. In some cases, newer developments on t ...

of Daronpon is in the northern part of the district.

History

During the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

, the district was named ''Daronpon'' (), ''Paronpon'', and other variants, but was renamed ''Toaliongtong'' () in 1844. Following the

Second Opium War The Second Opium War (), also known as the Second Anglo-Chinese War or ''Arrow'' War, was fought between the United Kingdom, France, Russia, and the United States against the Qing dynasty of China between 1856 and 1860. It was the second major ...

, a port was opened in Twatutia for international trade. Foreign trade resulted in the economic development of the district. In 1946, the district's name was changed to ''Tatung'' (), which means " Great Unity", the

Confucian Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, religion, theory of government, or way of life. Founded by Confucius ...

notion of

utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imagined community or society that possesses highly desirable or near-perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia (book), Utopia'', which describes a fictiona ...

which is in the lyrics of the

National Anthem of the Republic of China The "National Anthem of the Republic of China", also known by its incipit "Three Principles of the People", is the national anthem of the Republic of China, commonly called Taiwan, as well as the party anthem of the Kuomintang. It was adop ...

. In 1990, the district merged with neighboring Jiancheng and Yanping Districts to create today's enlarged Datong District. The spelling became "Datong" due to switching to the

Pinyin Hanyu Pinyin, or simply pinyin, officially the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet, is the most common romanization system for Standard Chinese. ''Hanyu'' () literally means 'Han Chinese, Han language'—that is, the Chinese language—while ''pinyin' ...

Chinese romanization system.

Administrative divisions

The district consists of Bao'an, Dayou, Guangneng, Guoqing, Guoshun, Jiangong, Jianming, Jiantai, Jingxing, Laoshi, Linjiang, Longhe, Minquan, Nanfang, Penglai, Shuanglian, Siwen, Xingming, Yangya, Yanping, Yongle, Yuquan, Zhaoyang, Zhisheng and Zhongqing urban villages.

Government institutions

* Ministry of Labor

Tourism

Dihua Street is most notable for its Qing period and Japanese period architecture. It is also famous for street market during the

Lunar New Year Lunar New Year is the beginning of a new year based on lunar calendars or, informally, lunisolar calendars. Lunar calendar years begin with a new moon and have a fixed number of lunar months, usually twelve, in contrast to lunisolar calendar ye ...

holidays. The market sells dried fruits, nuts, dried meats, dried seafood, snacks, and health drinks. Other attractions in Datong include: * Tianma Tea House * Taiwan New Cultural Movement Memorial Hall * Chen Tian-lai Residence * Ama Museum * Chiang Wei-shui Memorial Park * Chen Dexing Ancestral Hall * Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei * Customs Museum * Taipei Confucius Temple * Bao-an Temple * Xia Hai City God Temple * Cisheng Temple Also in the district are Qsquare shopping mall, Yongle Market (also on Dihua Street), Ningxia Night Market, Yansan Night Market and Dalong Night Market.

Transportation

Metro

Datong is served by the following stations of the

: * Shuanglian metro station * Yuanshan metro station * Beimen metro station * Daqiaotou metro station * Zhongshan metro station * Minquan West Road metro station

Road

By road, the district is served by National Highway No. 1, Provincial Highway No. 1, and Provincial Highway No. 2. It is also the location of the Yuanshan Bus Station and Taipei Bus Station, the largest bus terminal in the city.

Ferry

The Dadaocheng Wharf is located within the district.

Notable natives

* Chiang Chia, manager of Chinese Taipei national football team (1981–1985) * Chiang Peng-chien, chairperson of

Democratic Progressive Party The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a centre to centre-left Taiwanese nationalist political party in Taiwan. As the dominant party in the Pan-Green Coalition, one of the two main political camps in Taiwan, the DPP is currently the ...

(1986–1987) * Frank Hsieh, Premier of the Republic of China (2005–2006) * Huang Tien-fu, member of

Legislative Yuan The Legislative Yuan () is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of China (Taiwan) located in Taipei. The Legislative Yuan is composed of 113 members, who are directly elected for four-year terms by people of the Taiwan Area through a ...

(1981–1984, 1996–1999) * Kuo Chin-fa, former singer * Tsai Eng-meng, businessperson * Yeh Ching-chuan, Minister of the Department of Health (2008–2009)

References

External links

* * {{coord, 25, 03, 35, N, 121, 30, 51, E, region:TW_type:city_source:kolossus-frwiki, display=title Districts of Taipei