thumb|Taitung City in Taitung County

Taitung City () is a county-administered city and the county seat of Taitung County, Taiwan. It lies on the southeast coast of Taiwan facing the Pacific Ocean, southwest of the Beinan River estuary. Taitung City is the most populous subdivision of Taitung County and it is one of the major cities on the east coast of the island.

Taitung City is served by Taitung Airport. Taitung is a gateway to Green Island and Orchid Island, both of which are popular tourist destinations.

History

thumb|Taitung City under Japanese rule

Before the 16th century the Taitung plain was settled by agriculturalist Puyuma and Amis aboriginal tribes. Under Dutch rule and during Qing rule, a large part of eastern Taiwan, including today's Taitung, was called "Pi-lam" (). Many artifacts of the prehistoric sites of the city are located at Beinan Cultural Park, which was discovered in 1980 during the construction of Taitung Station.

In the late 19th century, when Liu Mingchuan was the Qing Governor of Taiwan, Han Chinese settlers moved into the Taitung region. Pi-lam Subprefecture (卑南廳) was established in 1875, and was upgraded and renamed to Taitung Prefecture in 1888, after the island was made Fujian-Taiwan Province.

Japanese rule

left|thumb|Map of Taitung (labeled as TAITŌ) and surrounding area (1944)

During Japanese rule, the central settlement was called . was one of twenty local administrative offices established in 1901. English-language works from the era refer to the place as Pinan (from Japanese) and Pilam (from Hokkien). Taitō Town was established in 1920 under Taitō Prefecture, and included modern Taitung City and eastern Beinan Township. There were no Americans living here during the Japanese rule.

Post-war

left|thumb|Map of the region including Taitung (labeled as T'ai-tung (Taitō) ) (1951)

After handover of Taiwan from Japan to the Republic of China in 1945, it became Taitung Township and in 1948 it was promoted to Taitung City.

City government

Taitung City government is headquartered at Taitung City Hall which takes the responsibility for the city's general administration and all of its other affairs, including folk, education, cultural popularization, negotiation, emergency help, disaster prevention, environmental taxation, cleaning control, finance, public property control, tellership, taxing help, farming and fishing control, wholesale products, marketing and business administration, urban planning, public establishment, tourism, community development, army service administration, welfare, national health insurance program and indigenous administration affairs.

Departments

  • Civil Affair Section
  • Financial Section
  • Construction Section
  • Labor Affair Section
  • Social and Army Service Section
  • Aboriginal Administration Section
  • Administration Section
  • Personnel Office
  • Budget, Accounting and Statistics Office
  • Ethics Section

Climate

Taitung has a tropical monsoon climate, with a wet season from May to October, a dry season from November to April, and consistently very warm to hot temperatures with high humidity. Unlike most tropical climates, however, the dry season is foggy rather than sunny, so that moisture availability during this period is greater than the low rainfall and warm temperatures would suggest. The highest record of temperature of Taiwan was recorded in Taitung on May 9, 2004, with temperatures peaking above 40 degrees Celsius for the first time in Taiwan's recorded history.

Administrative divisions

Wenhua, Minzu, Zijiang, Minsheng, Baosang, Minquan, Siwei, Zhonghua, Renai, Jiangguo, Datong, Chenggong, Jianguo, Zhongzheng, Zhongshan, Xingguo, Tiehua, Tunghai, Fuguo, Fuxing, Xinxing, Xinsheng, Zhongxin, Malan, Guangming, Fengnian, Fengle, Yongle, Kangle, Fengrong, Fenggu, Fengli, Fengyuan, Fugang, Fufeng, Nanrong, Yanwan, Beinan, Nanwang, Fengtian, Xinyuan, Jianhe, Jianxing, Jianye, Zhiben and Jiannong Village.

Government institutions

  • Taitung County Government
  • Taitung County Council

Education

thumb|[[National Taitung University]]

  • National Taitung Junior College
  • National Taitung University

Tourist attractions

  • Beinan Cultural Park
  • Datong Theater
  • Fugang Fishery Harbor
  • Kararuan (加路蘭) Recreation Area

thumb|Kararuan Coast

  • Liyushan (鯉魚山) Park
  • Makabahai Park (馬卡巴嗨公園)
  • Moving Castle
  • National Museum of Prehistory
  • Paposogan (Seaside Park)
  • Taitung Aboriginal Gallery
  • Taitung Art Museum
  • Taitung Chinese Association
  • Taitung Forest Park
  • Pipa Lake
  • Taitung Performing Art Center
  • Taitung Railway Art Village
  • Taitung Story Museum
  • Tiehua Music Village (鐵花村)
  • Xiao Yehliu (小野柳)
  • Zhiben Wetlands

Transportation

thumb|TRA Taitung Station

thumb|Taitung Airport

thumb|Taitung Bus Station

  • Taiwan Railway: Hwa-tung Line, South-Link Line
  • Taitung Station
  • Kangle Station
  • Zhiben Station
  • Taiwan Provincial Highway System
  • Provincial Highway No. 9
  • Provincial Highway No. 11
  • Port
  • Fugang Fishery Harbor - ferry port to Orchid Island and Green Island
  • Airport
  • Taitung Airport

Notable natives

  • Jia Jia, singer and songwriter.

References