Get in
By plane
Taichung airport operates mostly as domestic hub, though it does also offer a limited international service to neighboring counties. A flight to Taipei takes 40 minutes
By train
All Taiwan High Speed Rail trains between Taipei and Kaohsiung stop at Taichung.
In addition, Taichung is a major stop along the Western Line with all north and south bound trains a making a stop here. Midrange ticket prices (Jukuang class) typically run around NT$300 from Taipei or NT$350 from Kaohsiung. The entire trip takes about three hours from both Taipei and Kaohsiung.
By car
You can rent small car for about US$100 per day.
By bus
By boat
Get around
Taichung has a convenient and efficient bus service. For those with a Taiwanese driver's license, renting a used 125cc scooter is also an option worth considering. Otherwise, you will need to take taxis. The down-town area is sufficiently compact to make it easy to get around on foot, although many shop owners will utilize the sidewalk in front of their business. This can make walking something of an ordeal, dodging traffic as you are forced to walk on the street.
See
Do
Eat
With a proliferation of noodle shops and street vendors peddling anything from the exotic to common household dishes, there is no lack of choice for enjoying local delicacies. Fortunately, the Taiwanese are quite accustomed to non-Chinese speakers, so using gestures will get you what you want (with a perhaps a little surprise!)
Budget
Mid range
Splurge
Drink
Sleep
Budget
Mid-range
Splurge
Contact
The area dialling code for Taichung is 04. From overseas, dial: +886 4 XXXX XXXX
Get out
As Taichung is located in the middle of Taiwan, it is convenient for making trips to both Taipei and Kaohsiung. There are frequent, comfortable and inexpensive freeway-bus services plying the routes. The journey to either city by bus or train takes around 3 hours.
A new high speed train is now ready to go, and as it will run at over 300 mph, traveling time to both Taipei and Kaohsiung will be cut to under 45 minutes.
Taichung is located near several recreational areas. A short distance to the north is a large waterpark - especially enticing during the hot summer months, while the mountains and lush plains of Puli and Nantou County are within an hour's journey to the east. The coast is a half-hour drive to the west.
Taichung () is a city located in west-central Taiwan with a population of just over one million people, making it the third largest city on the island, after Taipei and Kaohsiung, and the largest city of Taiwan Province. The city's name is Chinese for "Central Taiwan." Taichung City (台中市) is administratively a provincial city of Taiwan Province, Republic of China.
Geography
Taichung City is located in the Taichung Basin along the main western coastal plan that stretches from northern Taiwan along the west coast nearly to the southern tip. The city is located just north of 24° north and about 120.5° east longitude.
It is surrounded completely by Taichung County. Taichung City borders Tanzih Township (潭子鄉) Fongyuan City (豐原市), Sinshe Township (新社鄉), Taiping City (太平市), Dali City (大里市), Wurih Township (烏日鄉), Dadu Township (大肚鄉), Longjing Township (龍井鄉), Shalu Township (沙鹿鎮), and Daya Township (大雅鄉).
The Central Mountain Range lies just to the east of the city. Lower, rolling hills run to the north leading to Miaoli County. Flat coastal plains dominate the landscape to the south leading to Changhua County and the Taiwan Strait to the west.
Climate
The average temperature of Taichung city is about 23 °C (73 °F), with an average annual rainfall of 1,708 millimeters (67.25 in). The city sees an average humidity of 80%. Taichung has a milder climate than other major cities in Taiwan. Due to the protection provided by the Central Mountain range to the east and the Miaoli hills to the north, Taichung is rarely severely affected by typhoons, a notable exception being Typhoon Wayne in 1986 which landed Taiwan from the west coast near Taichung.
Demographics
Taichung’s population was an estimated 1,040,725 in August, 2006. There are slightly more females in the city (50.97%) than males.
24.32% of the people are children, while 16.63% are young people, 52.68% are middle-age, and 6.73% are elderly.
History
Aboriginal era
Taiwanese aborigines populated the plains that make up modern Taichung City. They lived by cultivating millet and taro and were hunter gathers. Several local names in central Taiwan, including Shalu Township and Lukang Township in Changhua County contain the word for “deer.”
Early history of Taichung
Taichung was founded in 1705 as a part of Changhua County with the name of Dadun (ch: 大墩; p: Dàdūn; w: Ta-tun; lit. large mound). At this point in history, the Qing Dynasty, formed by invading Manchus in the 1640s, was consolidating its hold on western Taiwan, which it had wrested from the Cheng family in 1682. As a part of strengthening its control, a garrison was founded in 1721 near the site of present-day Taichung Park by Lan Ting-chen.
All was not peaceful for Qing authorities in central Taiwan. North of the city, at the Dajia River (大甲溪), an aboriginal revolt broke out in 1731 after Chinese officials moved in and compelled them to provide labor. After being joined by other aboriginals, they drove as far south as the county seat of Changhua in May, 1732 before being chased into the mountains by Qing forces.
Another rebellion, this one in 1786, against Qing authorities had its roots in the nearby town of Dali, just south of Taichung City. Led by Lin Shuang-wen, it began as an attempt to overthrow the Manchu government and restore the Ming Dynasty. Unfortunately, as they moved northward, they turned to slaughter and looting. They were eventually defeated by a coalition of Hakka, Quanzhou Fujianese descendants, and Aboriginal volunteers who joined with the government to defeat the rebels.
Qing Dynasty rule era
Taiwan became a province of the Qing Dynasty in 1885, and the city, named Taiwan at the time, was named capital of Taiwan Prefecture, one of three prefectures in the newly created Taiwan Province. It was also initially designated as the provincial capital, and Qing official Liu Ming-chuan received the authority from Emperor Kuang Su to oversee development of the area. However, four years later, Liu was forced to “retire” by Cixi, and the provincial capital was moved to what is now known as Taipei.
Japanese colonial era
China lost the Sino-Japanese War in 1895. As a consequence, the Qing Dynasty was forced to surrender Taiwan to the Japanese in the Treaty of Shimonoseki. The Japanese changed the name of the city from Dadun to Taichū (台中), and began to develop the city, setting themselves out to make it the first “modern” area of Taiwan.
However, Taichū bore the brunt of early Japanese repression. There were many rebels who stated that they had accepted amnesty from the earlier period of rebellion when the Republic of Taiwan was declared in 1895. However, many of those same people continued anti-Japanese activities. On May 25, 1902, some 360 rebels and their families accepted invitations to surrender and receive amnesty and rewards. Instead of receiving amnesty, once inside, the Japanese locked the doors and slaughtered the former rebels.
Taichū Park was completed in 1903. The old north gate, one of the few Liu-era structures to survive the Japanese reconstruction of the city was move to the new park. (reference) To this day, Taichung Park is one of the most popular places in the city for people to relax.
The first market in Taichū was built in 1908 along JiGuang Road between ZhongZheng and ChengGond Roads. It is still used today, and is a popular spot to purchase food and other items in downtown Taichung.
Taichung Middle School (now known as Taichung First High School) was founded in 1913 by Lin Hsien-tang and his brother Lin Lie-tang, two wealthy Taiwanese intellectuals of the era. This was done in an effort to teach children the Culture of Taiwan and to foster a spirit of Taiwanese localization movement.
Taichū Train Station was completed and began operation in 1917, and still operates today.
Taichū was officially designated as a city by Japanese Imperial authorities in 1920, and Taichū City Hall was completed in 1924 after eleven years of construction.
A Taiwanese cultural association founded in 1921 in Taipei by Lin Hsien-tang was moved to Taichū in 1927. Most of the members of this association were from Taichū and the surrounding area. The city became a center of Taiwanese culture and nationalism.
The newfound prosperity of Taichū was eventually squandered by the war effort. When World War II ended in 1945, Taiwan’s economy, like Japan’s, was in shambles.
Nationalist-rule era (1945-1996)
The Japanese were forced to surrender to Republic of China forces on behalf of Allied forces on October 25, 1945, who came across the Strait on U.S. ships and accepted their surrender on behalf of the Allied Powers.
The early post-war era was one of transition and turmoil for Taiwan. Taiwanese nationalists had divided into three prominent groups, one of which was known as the Taichung Clique. These were men with relatively high social standing during the Japanese era, such as Lin Hsien-t’ang, Yang Chao-chia, Yeh Jung-chung, and others. These men attempted to take what they believed to be their rightful place as the political leaders of the island. However, the administrator of the island, Chen Yi (Kuomintang), opposed this faction as it contained many people, especially merchants and landlords, who had opposed his policies.
Under the authorities of the Republic of China, Taichung had become the center for organized crime and associated businesses.
The Kuomintang (KMT), also known as the Chinese Nationalist Party, relocated the government of the Republic of China to Taiwan upon losing the Chinese Civil War to the Communists.
Taichung was declared a special municipality in 1949 by the R.O.C. government.
Politics
Local Politics
Unlike Taipei in the north, which is solidly in the Pan-Blue (pro-unification) political camp, and the southern cities of Kaohsiung and Tainan that are solidly Pan-Green (pro-independence) , Taichung is far more balanced with the city leaning Blue and the county leaning Green. In fact, each of the two major political parties has won a mayoral election among the last three with at least 49 percent of the vote (Democratic Progressive Party in 1997 and the Chinese Nationalist Party in 2001 and 2005.) Similarly, the Chinese Nationalist Party majority in the City Council is not as large as it is in other cities, and is only negligible when one excludes Beitun District, which is solidly pro-Chinese Nationalist Party. As a result of the relative moderate stand of the city residents, political upheaval and violence are far rarer in Taichung than in other large cities of the country.
Government
Taichung City’s executive branch is headed by a strong-mayor. Jason Hu of the Chinese Nationalist Party won re-election in December, 2005 with more than fifty-eight percent of the vote. This makes him the first candidate to achieve more than fifty percent of the vote in the Democratic Era of Taiwan, and represents an improvement of more than nine percent over his 2001 showing despite the fact that he was one of four candidates (as opposed to there being only three in 2001.) The 1997 election was won by Chang Wen-Ying of the Democratic Progressive Party
Taichung’s legislative branch is a unicameral 46-member City Council. Each member is elected from one of six multiple member districts where each voter has only one vote. Thus, none of the elected council members has anywhere close to a majority of votes in their electoral district.
Council member breakdown by electoral district
Districts
#Beitun District(北屯區): Geographically, this is the largest district in the city, spreading from the north to the northeastern-most reaches of the city. It includes the comparatively rural area of Dakeng. It also includes the Taichung Folk Park and Morrison Academy.
#Central District(中區): This is the smallest and most densely populated district in the city. It is home to the Taichung Train Station, Taichung Park, and a large number of traditional businesses in the downtown area. This district is home to the original suncake shop on ZiyouRoad (自由路) and is where most of Taichung's major businesses used to be located.
#East District(東區): Literally on the other side of the tracks from the main part of the downtown area. The Taichung Central Department Store is located here.
#Nantun District(南屯區): Occupies the southwestern-most portions of the city. There is still considerable farmland in this area, but a High Speed Rail is expected to open in a few months in adjacent Wuri, and the Taichung city government plans to move the city hall into this district. Currently, Nantun is most well-known for high property values and expensive, luxurious cottages, which have in turn attracted many large department stores into adjacent areas of Xitun District.
#North District(北區): Nestled between Central and Beitun Districts, it is home to the Taichung First Senior High school and Yizhong Street (一中街,) one of the best known night markets in the city. It is also home to the Natural Science Museum, Chungyou Department Store, and Zhongshan Hall.
#Xitun District(西屯區): This district spreads out to the western edge of the city and is home to Feng Chia and Tung Hai Universities. It is also the location of many of the new, fashionable shopping areas in the city and is the area of greatest growth. The Taichung Industrial Park, World Trade Center, and the Chaoma Bus Station, a major embarkation point from the city. Major department stores include Idee, Shinkong Mitsukoshi, and Tiger City.
#South District(南區): Occupying the southernmost part of the city, it is home to National Chung Hsing University and the Taichung Industrial High School.
#West District(西區): West District is home to the National Fine Arts Museum as well as the Municipal Cultural Center. A lot of cultural activities were held here. This area is also known for its restaurants, which have attracted many people come with their reputation for exotic cuisine. Taichung’s City Hall is here, as is National Taichung University. Sogo Department store is in the northern part of the district.
Recreation
Professional Sports
The Sinon Bulls is a professional baseball team playing in the six-team Chinese Professional Baseball League. While they are identified with Taichung City, many of their “home games” have been played outside of the city due to the inadequacies of the old Taichung Baseball Field. However, the team is expected to move into the newly completed Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium in 2007.
Other Sporting Activities
Taichung hosts two road races annually. The ING Marathon preparation 10K race is held every September in the Metropolitan Park. The Supau Cup Marathon is held on the city’s streets every autumn, either in October or November.
Museums and Cultural Centers
Performance Venues
Temples
Temples can be found all over the city of Taichung. While many of them are of recent construction, others are considered historic and are indicative of the changing currents through Taichung’s history.
National and Municipal Historical Sites
:National Category 3 Historical Sites
Chang-Liao Family Shrine, Wenchang Temples, Lin Family Shrine, Chang Family Ancestral Shrine, Wanhe Temple, Lecheng Temple
:National Category 2 Historical Site
Taichung Train Station,
:Municipal Historical Sites
Lake Pavilion in Taichung Park, Chishan Gate, Japanese-era Municipal Building
:Unclassified
Taichung City Hall
Other Annual Activities
Economy
Taichung has a vibrant, diverse economy that incorporates traditional businesses, small family-run shops and factories, large industrial areas, and a thriving commercial sector.
The heart of Taichung’s economy has long been the small business. The small business sector still thrives in the city and is in most evidence in the downtown area with small eateries, traditional markets, and other various family businesses.
Xitun District is the home of Taichung’s Industrial Zone. Taichung’s World Trade Center Building is the symbolic heart of the zone, where various trade shows and exhibitions are held throughout the year. Most of Taichung’s traditional manufacturing base is in this area, which is the area of Taichung City that is nearest the port.
In the northeast part of Xitun District, along the border with neighboring Taichung County, a new Science-based Industrial Park is under construction and is partially open. This is expected to bring in thousands of additional quality jobs into the city.
The growing prosperity of Taichung residents has resulted in the explosive growth of the upscale retail sector, with the opening of massive up-market department stores, as well as the construction of more luxurious condo complexes in the rapidly growing areas near the new government complex, as well as the growth of up-market neighborhoods in Beitun District.
Education
Taichung City offers a full range of educational opportunities for its residents. From Kindergartens to National Universities, Taichung has schools that fit nearly every need from bilingual kindergartens to world class public and private university education.
Below is an accounting of the schools that can be found in Taichung City:
Transportation
Train Service
Taichung Station is located on JianGuo Road (建國路). There is a small square in the front of the station, and numerous bus companies have stations within a three-minute walk of the station. They provide comprehensive local bus service along with long-distance bus services, many of which are to towns not served by trains.
Taichung Station lies on the mountain line, which splits from the coastal line from Changhua City to the south of Taichung, to Jhunan, near Hsinchu, to the north.
The first southbound train departs for Pingdong at 6:05 in the morning while the first northbound train departs for Taipei at 6:10 am. The last trains in the early morning depart at 2:37 am and 2:46 for Pingdong and Taipei respectively.
The new High Speed Rail Road is finally scheduled. You can go to Taipei and Kaoshiug in 40 minutes. The Wurih High Speed Rail Station is the best in Taiwan. It is only a 10 minute subway ride from down town.
Sea Port
Taichung Harbor, located on the coast in Taichung County, is the second largest cargo facility on the island capable of handling container shipping.
Despite being the second largest port on the island of Taiwan, there are no passenger ferry services available and the port is closed to unauthorized personnel.
Inner City Traffic
Unlike other major cities, Taichung has no expressway crossing the city. The heaviest traffic congestion is on Taichung Harbor Road (台中港路), which can come to a stand still not only during rush hour, but also on weekends or late evenings as many of the most popular shopping centers and movie theaters are on that stretch of road. Other busy stretches of road include SanMin Road near Chungyou Department Store and Yizhong Street, especially around 9:00 PM, when local cram schools and baseball games typically let out.
The downtown area is vaguely a grid pattern with Ziyou Road (自由路) and SanMin （三民路） running basically southwest to northeast while Zhongzheng Road (中正路) and Linsen Road (林森路) run northwest from the center of the city, in addition to the more narrow one-way roads that follow the grid pattern as well.
A large number of multi-lane roads then lead out of the downtown area in all directions. Some of them are divided by a physical barrier or median to enhance safety. These roads include Taichung Harbor Road (台中港路), Wuquan West Road (五權西路), Beitun Road (北屯路), Taiyuan Road (太原路), Hanxi Road (旱溪路), Guoguang Road (國光路), Zhongqing Road (中清路,) Wuquan South Road (五權南路) and Wenxin South Road (文心南路).
Stop lights and lane indicators are generally observed on major streets, but are often viewed more as suggestions rather than legally enforced traffic rules unless traffic police officers are present. Speed limits are often not enforced, except where specifically designated speed detection cameras are present and marked with signs, making traffic conditions some of the most dangerous on the island. Most major intersections have traffic signs with Romanized names. However, despite the fact that Taichung City has recently declared Hanyu Pinyin the official Romanization (citiation needed) system for the city, there are numerous signs leftover from previous Romanization regimes while the a large number of minor intersections have no Romanization of any kind. Navigation in Taichung city is extremely difficult for those who are unable to read Chinese characters.
Mass Transportation
In sharp contrast to its rapid economic development, and especially considering it is the island's third largest city by population, Taichung has what can only be described as a Third World transportation system. The city currently does not have a subway, lightrail or any type of (MRT) system, though according to a pamphlet and a published report in 2000, one has been in the planning stages for several years. Construction is expected to begin before the end of 2007. As of June, 2007, there were no signs that these plans were nearing implimentation.
While a bus system exists covering parts of the city, it is not reliable in all places. Among the bus companies providing local service are Taichung Bus Company（台中客運,） Fengyuan Bus Company (豐原客運,) Changhua Bus Company (彰化客運,) and Presidential Bus Company. While heavily congested areas have buses, other areas have intermittent to no service. While there is theoretically a schedule when buses are to arrive, they are often not reliable. Signs at bus stops are not bilingual, not complete and often, not current.
Freeways and Expressways
National Highway No. 1 (國道一號), also known as the Sun Yat-Sen Freeway, passes through the western part of the city and has three interchanges in Taichung City. One is at Zhongqing Road (中清路), another at Taichung Harbor Road (中港路) and the southernmost at Wuquan West Road (五權西路).
Taichung-Changhua Expressway (中彰快速道路,) is the main stretch of Provincial Highway No. 74 that runs from northwestern Taichung City through part of Taichung County into the northern part of Zhanghua City just to the south of Taichung. At some points, it is just a few dozen meters east of the Sun Yat-Sen Freeway. While it does not connect directly to that highway, it does have an interchange with National Highway No. 3 (國道三號) in Taichung County, where one can then access it in a couple of minutes.
Taichung-Nantou Expressway (中投公路,) also known as Provincial Highway No. 63, runs from Dali City (just south of the border from Taichung City) to Nantou County. It can be accessed by driving out of Taichung City on Wuquan South Road, where it becomes the Taichung-Nantou Expressway within a kilometer of the city line. While there is no direct interchange with National Highway No. 3, one can get off in Wufeng and, after about two minutes on surface roads, easily access the highway.
Taichung International Airport
The Taichung International Airport is the third, and newest, international airport in Taiwan.
The Taichung International Airport civilian terminal is located on the western corner of CCK Air Force Base, about 20 kilometers (12 mi) from Taichung City. The main road linking Taichung and the airport is Zhongqing Road (Provincial Route 10.) The airport is located within a kilometer (1,100 yd) of the Shalu (沙鹿) Exit on National Highway Number 3.
In 2002 Ministry of Transportation and Communications began working on a plan to move air traffic from Taichung's ShuiNan Airport to the Qingquangang (CCK) Air Force base as a first step to converting CCK into a new international airport to facilitate larger aircraft.
The airport opened in early 2004, and the expanded facility at Qingquangang (CCK) Air Force Base has a much longer runway capable of handling larger aircraft. International charter flight service from the city began the same day.
The opening of the The Taichung International Airport did spark a spat of partisan controversy about being incomplete and safety concerns were raised. The fact that Taiwan has more airports per capita than any other country in the region and prohibits private airplanes fell on deaf ears because the anticipated and protracted opening of direct links with the Chinese mainland are expected to require an increase in air traffic.
Taichung's airport currently handles daily scheduled flights between Taichung and the cities of Taipei and Hualian, as well as the offshore islands of Penghu (Pescadores) and Jinmen. Airlines operating out of Taichung include Mandarin and UNI. International air services are expected to continue growing to include charter flights between Taichung and South Korea, plus special charter flights to other destinations and possibly the Chinese mainland.
Hanyu Pinyin
Taichung City, like the rest of Taiwan administered by the Republic of China, has been unable to standardize the various Pin Yin or romanization systems sporadically in use throughout the city.
Taichung City has not formally adopted the use of the Hanyu Pinyin system (citation needed) of Romanizing Chinese. Unlike Taipei City which uses a capital letter at the beginning of every syllable, Taichung City uses various abscure forms of Hanyu pinyin, at least on street signs. The municipal website uses the Taipei system. Some intersections have at least one sign containing some form of Pinyin. However, outside of the central district area, few intersections have Romanized signs, and most of those are in other Romanization systems (especially Wade-Giles and MPS2.)
Sister cities
Taichung has signed sister city agreements with seventeen cities in six countries since 1965. They are listed below along with the dates that the agreements were signed.
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External links
