Jiji () or Chichi is an urban

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

located in the west central portion of

Nantou County Nantou is the second largest County (Taiwan), county of Taiwan by area, located in the central part of the country. It is also the only non-coastal county in Taiwan. Its name derives from the Hoanya people, Hoanya Taiwanese aborigines, Taiwanese ...

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 ...

. Jiji is the smallest of Taiwan's townships by area. The township is a popular destination on the Jiji Railway Line. In March 2012, it was named one of the ''Top 10 Small Tourist Towns'' by the Tourism Bureau of Taiwan.

History

Han Chinese The Han Chinese, alternatively the Han people, are an East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group native to Greater China. With a global population of over 1.4 billion, the Han Chinese are the list of contemporary ethnic groups, world's la ...

from

Zhangzhou Zhangzhou (, ) is a prefecture-level city in Fujian Province, China. The prefecture around the city proper comprises the southeast corner of the province, facing the Taiwan Strait and (with Quanzhou) surrounding the prefecture of Xiamen. Nam ...

began arriving in the area in 1771. The name originates from "Chiv-Chiv", a phrase in the

Formosan languages The Formosan languages are a geographic grouping comprising the languages of the indigenous peoples of Taiwan, all of which are Austronesian. They do not form a single subfamily of Austronesian but rather up to nine separate primary subfamili ...

. During the Japanese era (1895–1945), Jiji was a collection and shipping export point for camphor produced in the surrounding areas. By 1940, it was administrated as Shūshū Town (集集街), Niitaka District (新高郡),

Taichū Prefecture was one of the administrative divisions of Taiwan under Japanese rule, Japanese Taiwan. The prefecture consisted of modern-day Taichung City, Changhua County and Nantou County. It is also the origin of the name of modern-day Taichung. The Taich ...

(now

Taichung Taichung (, Wade–Giles: '), officially Taichung City, is a special municipality (Taiwan), special municipality in central Taiwan. Taichung is Taiwan's second-largest city, with more than 2.85 million residents, making it the largest city in Ce ...

.) Jiji township then encompassed a much larger area that included the present-day Shuili Township. In 1946, Niitaka District was renamed Yushan District (玉山區),

Taichung County Taichung County was a County (Taiwan), county in central Taiwan between 1945 and 2010. The county seat was in Yuanlin Township before 1950 and Fengyuan District, Fongyuan City after 1950. History Taichung County was established on 26 November ...

, and Jiji contemporaneously became a township. In 1950, Shuili Township was separated from Jiji. During World War II, a U.S. bomber was shot down by Japanese artillery, killing four airmen. The township was the epicenter of the eponymous and devastating 1999

Chi-Chi earthquake The Chi-Chi earthquake (later also known as the Jiji earthquake, 921 Earthquake, or the great earthquake of September 21), was a 7.3 ML or 7.7 Mw earthquake which occurred in Jiji (Chi-Chi), Nantou County, Taiwan on 21 September 199 ...

Demographics

As of February 2023, Jiji was home to a total population of 10,056, including 5,745 males and 5,290 females. Historically, the population peaked at 16,395 in 1970, and has fallen steadily since then. By contrast, the number of households grew from 2,772 in 1970 to a high of 4,376 in 2014, falling slightly to 4,308 by 2016.

Geography

Jiji is bordered by Zhongliao to the north,

Mingjian Mingjian Township is a rural township in western Nantou County, Taiwan. It is the second smallest township in the county, after Jiji Township. Name and etymology The name Mingjian originates from a Japanese transliteration of the original Ta ...

to the west, Zhushan and Lugu to the south, and

Shuili Shuili TownshipZhuoshui River flows westward along the south border of the township. Jiji Township has a total area of 49.72 square kilometers. The lowest point in the township is 230 m above sea level and its highest point is Big Jiji Mountain (集集大山) at 1392 m above sea level. The township is rather mountainous and is surrounded by mountains on all sides.

Administrative divisions

Jiji is divided into 11

villages A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban village ...

: Ailiao, Bazhang, Fushan, Guangming, Heping, Jiji, Linwei, Tianliao, Yongchang, Yuying and Wucuo.

Politics

The 2014 mayoral election was won by 29-year-old Chen Chi-heng of the newly formed Trees Party, in what was characterized by the media as a surprise.

Tourist attractions

* Jiji Rail Station * Jiji Military History Park * Jiji Weir *

Mingxin Academy The Mingxin Academy () is a former tutorial academy in Jiji Township, Nantou County, Taiwan. History The academy was built in 1885 during the Qing Dynasty rule as the first private school within the area. In 1908, it moved to its current loc ...

* Conservation Education Center * Taiwan Water Museum

Transportation

Jiji Township is served by Jiji Station and Longquan Station of the

Taiwan Railways 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 Rail transport, railway services on of track. Pa ...

Jiji line.

References

External links

Jiji Township Office
{{Townships in Taiwan Townships in Nantou County