Pingtung City ( Taiwanese: ; ;

Hokkien Hokkien ( , ) is a Varieties of Chinese, variety of the Southern Min group of Chinese language, Chinese languages. Native to and originating from the Minnan region in the southeastern part of Fujian in southeastern China, it is also referred ...

POJ: ''Pîn-tong-chhī'') is a

county-administered city A county-administered city is a third-level administrative divisions of Taiwan, administrative division in the Taiwan, Republic of China (Taiwan) below a Counties of Taiwan, county, which in turn is below of a Provinces of China, province. Under t ...

and the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

Pingtung County Pingtung () is a County (Taiwan), 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 ...

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 ...

History

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

Taiwanese Plains Aborigines Plains indigenous peoples, also known as Pingpu people ( zh, c=平埔族群, p=Píngpu zúqún, poj=Pêⁿ-po͘-cho̍k-kûn) and previously as plain aborigines, are Taiwanese indigenous peoples originally residing in lowland regions, as opposed ...

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, 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 Taiwan under Japanese rule, Japanese rule. The prefecture consisted of modern-day Kaohsiung City and Pingtung County. Population Administrative divisions Cities and district ...

. 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 ( zh, t=臺灣省 , p=Táiwān Shěng , poj=Tâi-oân-séng; PFS: ''Thòi-vàn-sén'' or ''Thòi-vân-sén'') is a ''de jure'' administrative division of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Provinces remain a titular division as ...

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, officially Kaohsiung City, is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsiung City has a population of approximately 2.73 million p ...

and commute daily by

train A train (from Old French , from Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles th ...

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 subtype 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 * Pingtung County Council

Education

National Pingtung University National Pingtung University (NPTU; ) is a public university in Pingtung City, Pingtung County, Taiwan. NPTU offers higher education, vocational education, and teacher education. It provides undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs acr ...

* National Pingtung Senior High School *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 * Pingtung Baseball Field * Pingtung Performing Arts Center *

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 centur ...

Transportation

Rail

Taiwan Railways Administration

* Guilai railway station * Liukuaicuo railway station * Pingtung railway station

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, who is currently the pitching coach for ANYO Fresh, an amateur team in Taiwan. He played in the Chinese Professional Baseball League ...

, baseball player * Hope Lin, actress * Pan Wei-lun, baseball player *

Su Tseng-chang Su Tseng-chang ( zh, t=蘇貞昌, poj=So͘ Cheng-chhiong, p=Sū Zhēnchāng; born 28 July 1948) is a Taiwanese politician who served as premier of the Republic of China (Taiwan) from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2019 to 2023. He was the chairma ...

, Premier of the Republic of China *

Ang Lee Ang Lee (; born October 23, 1954) is a Taiwanese filmmaker. His films are known for their emotional charge and exploration of repressed, hidden emotions. During his career, he has received international critical and popular acclaim and List o ...

, film director of ''Brokeback Mountain'', ''Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon'', and ''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. Musical career On 8 August 2000, HIM International Music held a 'Universal 2000 Talent and Beauty ...

, singer and actress * Shino Lin, singer and actress * Chou Chun-mi, Magisrate of Pingtung County * Tzeng Shing-Kwei, composer * Wen-Hsiung Li, biologist

References

Bibliography

External links

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