Toucheng

thumb|Toucheng Township Office

Toucheng Township () is an urban township in Yilan County, Taiwan. The township includes Guishan Island and Guiluan Island in the Philippine Sea. The Senkaku Islands, known in Mandarin as the Diaoyu Islands, are claimed as part of the township.

History

left|thumb|Map of Toucheng (labeled as Tōi) and surrounding area (1944)

Toucheng was formerly called Thau-ui (). Toucheng Township () was established on 9 September 1946. Toucheng Township was upgraded to an urban township () on 1 January 1948.

Geography

left|thumb|Map including Toucheng (labeled as T’ou-wei (Tōi) ) (1954)

Area: 100.89 km<sup>2</sup> (39 sq. mi.)
Population: 28,334 people (September 2023)

Administrative divisions

Toucheng includes twenty-five urban villages:

Shicheng/Shihcheng (Shih-ch'eng-tzu, Sekijōshi, Tsio̍h-siânn; ), Dali (Ta-li-chien, Dairikan, Tāi-lí-kán; , 大里簡), Guishan (Kuei-shan, Kīzan, Ku-suann; ), Daxi (Ta-ch'i, Taikei; ), Hexing (Ho-hsing, Gōkō; ), Gengxin (), Waiao (Wai-ao, Gaiō; ), Gangkou (Chiang-k'ou, Kōkō; ), Wuying (), Dakeng (), Chengtung (), Chengbei (), Chengxi (), Chengnan (), Zhuan (), Xinjian (), Baya (), Fucheng (), Jinmian (Hsiao-chin-mien, Shō-kimmen; , 小金面), Jinying (), Dingpu (), Xiapu (), Zhonglun (Chung-lun, Chūron; ) and Ercheng () Village.

Education

Lan Yang Institute of Technology

Infrastructure

Submarine communication cables

Toucheng is one of the two cable landing points of Taiwan island (the other one is Fangshan). Four submarine communication cables, including APCN, APCN2, RNAL, and SEA-ME-WE 3, connect here.

Tourist attractions

thumb|centre|500px|Aerial panorama of Wushi Harbour, including [[Lanyang Museum]]

The township has several fresh seafood restaurants and also black sand beach for surfing activities.

Several boat operators offer trips from the Wushi Harbour to Guishan Island and also for whale and dolphin watching.

The Juh-an River Bird sanctuary is another attraction of Toucheng.

Once the economic center of the area, the Ho-Ping street in Toucheng is one of the few unaltered and typical Qing dynasty Taiwanese urban structures.

thumb|View from Caoling Historic Trail

thumb|View of Guishan Island ([[Languages of Taiwan|Taiwanese: Ku-suann-tó)]]

Beiguan Crabs Museum
Beiguan Tidal Waves
Caoling Historic Trail
Guishan Island
Hedung Hall Lions Museum
Honeymoon Bay
Lanyang Museum
Lee Rong-chun Literary Museum
Old Dali Bridge
Old Tsau Ling Tunnel
Sea Eroded Rock Formation
Shihpai Boundary Park
Taoyuan Valley
Toucheng Leisure Farm
Toucheng Old Street

Taiwanese indie rock band Accusefive (告五人) filmed a music video for their hit single 愛人錯過 at the Wushi Harbour North Jetty. The music video was released on 7 August 2019.

Transportation

thumb|[[Toucheng Station]]

Toucheng is served by the Yilan Line of Taiwan Railway on Dali Station, Daxi Station, Dingpu Station, Guishan Station, Sicheng Station, Toucheng Station and Wai-ao Station. Toucheng has more rail stations (three) than any other townships in Taiwan. There are seven stations along the route.

The township has recently seen a marked increase in tourism due to the opening of the Freeway 5 linking it with western Taipei. The freeway consists of a series of tunnels dug through the Snow Mountains, the longest of which measures . The distance between western Taipei and Toucheng is now and takes roughly thirty minutes of driving, compared to several hours in the past.

Wushi Harbor is located in the township.

Notable natives

Lu Kuo-hua, Magistrate of Yilan County (2005–2009)