Taichung
From Open Encyclopedia
| Image:Taichung City flag.gif City Flag | Image:Taichung City seal.png City Seal |
| Abbreviation | Central City 中市 |
| Nickname | The cultural city 文化之都 |
| Capital | West Dist. |
| Region | Central Taiwan |
| Mayor | Jason Hu(胡志強) |
| Area | 163.4256 km² (Ranked 18 of 25) |
| Population (May 2004) | |
| - Population | 1,114,080 (Ranked 9 of 25) |
| - Density | 6205 /km² |
| Districts | 8 |
| Website | English Trad. Chinese |
| Symbols | |
| - Bird | Little egret |
| - Flower | - |
| - Tree | Dita bark |
| Image:Taichung City location.png | |
Taichung (Chinese: 臺中市 or 台中市; Hanyu Pinyin: Táizhōng; Wade-Giles: T'ai-chung; POJ: Tâi-tiong) 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. The city's name is Chinese for "Central Taiwan." Taichung City (台中市) is administratively a municipality of Taiwan Province of the Republic of China. It is surrounded completely by Taichung County.
Contents |
Districts
Beitun District(北屯區): This is geographically the largest district in the city, spreading from the northern to the northeasternmost reaches of the city. It includes the comparatively rural area of Dakeng.
Central District(中區): This is the smallest and most densely populated district in the city. It is home to the Taichung Train Station and a large number of traditional businesses. It is also home to the original suncake shop on Tsu-you Road. (自由路)
East District(東區): Literally on the other side of the tracks from the main part of the downtown area.
Nantun District(南屯區): Occupies the southwesternmost portions of the city. There is still consderable farmland in this area, but with the opening of the High Speed Rail expected in a few months in adjacent Wuri, this district is expected to be a high growth area in the years to come.
North District(北區): Nestled between Central and Beitun Districts, it is home to the Taichung Number One High school and YiJhong Street 一中街, one of the best known night markets in the city.
Situn District(西屯區): This district spreads out to the western edge of the city and is home to Feng Chia and TungHai Universities as well as Morrison Christian Academy. It is also the location of many of the new, fashionable department stores in the city and is the area of greatest growth.
South District(南區): Occupying the southernmost part of the city, it is home to JhongSing 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.
Education
Higher education
There are 11 colleges and universities located in Taichung city.
- National Chung Hsing University(中興大學)
- Chung Shan Medical University
- Feng Chia University(逢甲大學)
- Ling Tung College
- National Chung Hsing University(中興大學)
- Central Taiwan University of Science and Technology
- National Taichung Institute of Technology
- National Taichung Nursing College
- National Taichung University – Formerly known as National Taichung Teacher’s College (國立台中師範學院) and is still commonly referred to as such in the city. The name was officially changed in 2005. http://campus.ntcu.edu.tw/www/ntctc_main.htm
- National Taiwan College of Physical Education(國立台灣體育學院)http://www.ntcpe.edu.tw/
- Tunghai University (東海大學)
- China Medical University(中國醫藥大學)http://www.cmu.edu.tw
International Schools
There are three schools in Taichung City designed to educate children of expatriate residents of the Taichung area. A foreign passport is required to enter any of these schools.
- Morrison Christian Academy
- The American School in Taichung (formerly known as Lincoln American School)
- Taichung Japanese School (through grade nine)
Transportation
Inner City Driving
Driving in Taichung City is not as bad as it is in other Asian cities. Even during rush hour, driving in the downtown area is not as arduous as it is in Taipei or other large Taiwanese cities. The major exception is Taichung Harbor Road (中港路), which can get congested not only during rush hour during the weeks, but also on weekend as many of the most popular shopping centers and movie theaters are on that stretch of road.
In the downtown area, there are a number of wide, two-lane roads there the traffic moves rather smoothly with a number of narrower one-lane roads more often used by local traffic or motor scooters. The downtown area is more or less a grid pattern with Tsu-you Road (自由路)and Sanmin 三民路 running basically southwest to northeast while Jhongjheng Road (中正路) and Linsen Road (林森路) run northwest from the center of the city.
A large number of multi-lane roads then lead out of the downtown area in all directions. Most of them are divided by a barrier in the middle to enhance safety. These roads include Taichung Harbor Road (中港路), WuChuan West Road (五權西路), Beitun Road (北屯路), Taiyuan Road (太原路), HanXi Road (旱溪路), KuoKuang Road (國光路), WuChuan South Road (五權南路) and WenHsin South Road (文心南路).
Expressways
The Sun Yat Sen Expressway (Also known as National Highway Number One (國道一號) passes through the western part of the city and has three interchanges in Taichung City. One is at Jhongching Road (中清路), another at Taichung Harbor Road (中港路) and the southernmost at Wuchuan West Road (五權西路).
The Taichung-Chuanghwa Expressway (中彰快速道路) runs from northwestern Taichung City through part of Taichung County into the northern part of Changhwa City situated in Changhwa County just to the south of Taichung. In parts, it is just a few dozen meters to the east of the Sun Yat Sen Expressway. While it doesn't connect directly to that highway, it does have an interchange with National Highway Number Three (國道三號) in Taichung County.
Famous features
Taichung is famous for suncakes (taiyang bing) and its monumental number of KTV lounges. Taichung's Chun Shui Tang teahouse (春水堂) is where bubble tea was invented. Taichung First Senior High School (TCFSH, 台中一中) is the first Taiwanese-established high school, while other modern high schools at the time are established by Japanese colonist authorities. Nowadays, TCFSH remains one of the most reputed senior high schools in Taiwan.
Sister cities
- Image:Flag of the United States.svg Austin, Texas, USA
- Image:Flag of Canada.svg Winnipeg, Canada
- Image:Flag of New Zealand.svg North Shore City, New Zealand
External links
| Administrative divisions of the Republic of China | Image:Flag of the Republic of China.svg | ||||||||||
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