Chiayi City
| Chiayi 嘉義 |
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| — Provincial city — | |||
| Chiayi City · 嘉義市 | |||
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| Nickname(s): Peach City (桃城) or Jia City (嘉市) | |||
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| Country |  Taiwan |
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| Region | Southwestern Taiwan | ||
| Capital | East District (東區) | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor | Huang Ming-hui | ||
| Area(Ranked 24 of 25) | |||
| • Total | 60.0256 km2 (23.1760 sq mi) | ||
| Population (April 2009) | |||
| • Total | 274,212 | ||
| • Density | 4,600/km2 (12,000/sq mi) | ||
| Population ranked 21 of 25 | |||
| Districts | 2 | ||
| Bird | |||
| Flower | Hong Kong orchid tree (Bauhinia blakeana) |
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| Tree | Hong Kong orchid tree | ||
| Website | English Chinese | ||
| Chiayi City | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Daxili, country small town in administrative Chiayi City | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 嘉義市 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 嘉义市 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Chiayi City (sometimes romanized as Jiayi) (Chinese: 嘉義市; Hanyu Pinyin: Jiāyì Shì; Tongyong Pinyin: Jiayì Shìh; Wade–Giles: Chia-i Shih; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Ka-gī chhī) is a city located in the plains of southwestern Taiwan. Formerly called Kagee during the late Qing Dynasty and Kagi during the Japanese era, its historical name is Tirosen.
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History [edit]
First inhabited by the Hoanya aborigines, the region was named Tirosen.
With the arrival of Han Chinese in southwestern Taiwan, the name Tirosen evolved to become Chu-lô-san (Chinese characters: 諸羅山) in Hokkien. Eventually, Chu-lô-san was shortened to simply Chu-lô. Because of the choice of the characters, it has been mistakenly suggested that the origin of the name Chu-lô-san or Chu-lô came from the expression "mountains surrounding the east." "Peach City" is another name for Chiayi City due to its peach-shaped territory in ancient times. The tip of the peach is around Central Fountain and was called "Peach-tip" by citizens.
Chulôsan was once the foothold to which people from the mainland immigrated. In 1621, Yen Szu-Chi, who came from Zhangzhou, Fujian Province, first led his people to cultivate this land after they landed at Penkang (Peikang). In 1661 (the 15th year of Yung-Li, Ming Dynasty), Koxinga defeated the Dutch based in Taiwan. Then he established one province, Cheng-Tien-Fu (承天府), and two counties, Tien-Hsing (天興縣) and Wan-Nien (萬年縣), demarcated by the Hsin-Kang River (新港溪, the Yen-Shui River now). Chiayi was under the jurisdiction of the Tien-Hsing County.
In 1684 (the 23rd year of Kangxi, the Qing Dynasty, see Taiwan under Qing Dynasty rule), Taiwan was established as Taiwan Sub-Province governing three counties, Taiwan (台灣) and Feng-Shan, which were divided from Wan-Nien County in Ming Dynasty, and Chu-Lo (諸羅縣), which was changed from Tien-Hsing County. The county government of Chu-Lo County was in Chia-li Hsing (佳里, modern Jiali, Tainan).
In 1704 (the 43rd year of Kangxi), the county government of Chu-Lo County moved from Chia-li Hsing to Chulosan, the current Chiayi City, with city walls in wood railing. In 1727 (5th year of the Yongzheng Emperor), the county magistrate, Liu Liang-Bi rebuilt the gatehouses and set a gun platform for each gatehouse. The four gatehouses were named: "Chin Shan" (襟山) for East, "Tai Hai" (帶海) for West, "Chung Yang" (崇陽) for South, and "Kung Chen" (拱辰) for North. In 1734 (the 12th year of Yongzheng), magistrate Lu-Hung built piercing-bamboo to better protect the city.
In 1786 (the 51st year of Qianlong), Lin Shuang-Wen headed his people to siege Chulosan but failed because of the assisting defense from the inhabitants. Consequently, on November 3 of the next year, the Qing Emperor made an imperial announcement: awarded the name "Chiayi" to replace "Chulosan" for praising the citizens' loyalty.
In 1885 (the 11th year of Guangxu Emperor), Taiwan was approved to be a province. Two years later, the jurisdiction was divided as three sub-provinces, one direct county, eleven counties and three bureaus. Chiayi belonged to Taiwan sub-province and the hall was still in Chiayi.
In 1895, Taiwan was ceded to Japan in the Treaty of Shimonoseki.
In 1906, a major earthquake devastated the entire city wall except the Eastern Gate. The Japanese authorities reconstructed the city. Industries and trades started to flourish. In 1907, the construction of forest railroad to Alishan (Mt. Ali) was begun. Chiayi became an autonomy group as Chiayi Town and later (1930) promoted as an autonomous city.
In 1945, when Japan relinquished control of Taiwan, Chiayi City was elevated to a provincial city under the jurisdiction of the Republic of China.
In 1950, because of the re-allocation of administrative areas in which Taiwan was divided into 16 counties, five provincial cities, and a special bureau, Chiayi City was downgraded to a county-government status. As a result, a shortage of capital hindered its development.
On July 1, 1982, it was elevated again to a provincial city as a result of pressure from local elites.
Administration [edit]
| Chiayi has two districts (區 qu): | District | Population | Land area | |
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as of 2009 | km² | ||
| ■ East District | 東區 | 128,282 | 29.1195 | |
| ■ West District | 西區 | 145,786 | 30.9061 |
City attractions [edit]
- Chiayi Park
- Sun-Shooting Tower (射日塔) (in Chiayi Park)
- Lantan (蘭潭水庫) (also known as Dutch Lake or Holland Lake)
- Historic Archives Building of Chiayi City (史蹟博物館)
- 228 Memorial Park
- National 228 Memorial Park
- Chiayi Museum
- Culture Road (文化路) Night Market
- Carrefour Night Market
- The High Speed Railway
| Name | Feature | Location |
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| Wenhua Night Market | Thousand of vendors gather here. Among the cuisines are fountain chicken rice, Kuo-jing-chen flat noodles soup, and fried preserved cabbage and shrimp egg. | At fountain traffic circle on Jungshan Rd. extend to Chuei-yang Rd., Chiai |
quote from Tourism Bureau, MOTC, R.O.C.
- Chiayi International Band Festival
Chiayi is the city of wind music in Taiwan. The wind music festival started as a local event in 1988, when it was more like a joint performance by local wind music bands. Over the years the festival has become the most anticipated annual event in Chiayi.[1]
Climate [edit]
Chiayi has a warm, monsoon-influenced humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cwa). Northeasterly winds during fall and winter mean that rainfall is depressed during that time, while southwesterly winds during summer and the later portion of spring bring most of the year's rainfall, with more than 60% falling from June to August. Humidity is high year-round, even during winter.
| Climate data for Chiayi (1971-2000) | |||||||||||||
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| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 21.8 (71.2) |
22.0 (71.6) |
24.7 (76.5) |
27.9 (82.2) |
30.3 (86.5) |
32.2 (90) |
32.9 (91.2) |
32.2 (90) |
31.6 (88.9) |
29.8 (85.6) |
26.9 (80.4) |
23.7 (74.7) |
28.0 (82.4) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 16.1 (61) |
16.8 (62.2) |
19.4 (66.9) |
22.9 (73.2) |
25.5 (77.9) |
27.6 (81.7) |
28.4 (83.1) |
27.8 (82) |
26.7 (80.1) |
24.3 (75.7) |
20.9 (69.6) |
17.4 (63.3) |
22.8 (73) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 12.1 (53.8) |
13.3 (55.9) |
15.5 (59.9) |
18.9 (66) |
21.8 (71.2) |
24.0 (75.2) |
24.9 (76.8) |
24.6 (76.3) |
23.2 (73.8) |
20.6 (69.1) |
16.8 (62.2) |
13.0 (55.4) |
19.1 (66.4) |
| Rainfall mm (inches) | 27.6 (1.087) |
57.7 (2.272) |
62.2 (2.449) |
107.6 (4.236) |
189.2 (7.449) |
350.7 (13.807) |
304.3 (11.98) |
422.1 (16.618) |
148.9 (5.862) |
22.7 (0.894) |
12.2 (0.48) |
20.9 (0.823) |
1,726.1 (67.957) |
| Avg. rainy days (≥ 0.1 mm) | 5.4 | 7.0 | 7.4 | 8.4 | 11.1 | 14.4 | 14.9 | 18.1 | 9.8 | 3.6 | 3.0 | 3.7 | 106.8 |
| % humidity | 81.8 | 83.1 | 83.7 | 84.1 | 84.5 | 82.0 | 80.4 | 83.6 | 84.7 | 84.1 | 81.4 | 80.3 | 82.8 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 153.2 | 121.8 | 143.0 | 150.3 | 156.8 | 176.9 | 208.6 | 184.1 | 186.9 | 174.0 | 151.7 | 158.7 | 1,966 |
| Source: [2] | |||||||||||||
Higher education [edit]
Chiayi is the location of National Chiayi University, and is only 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) away from National Chung Cheng University, one of Taiwan's research institutions.
International relations [edit]
Twin towns — sister cities [edit]
Chiayi is twinned with:
East Orange, New Jersey, United States (1972)- Jackson, Mississippi, United States (1972)
- Juneau, Alaska, United States (1977)
- Murray, Utah, United States (1977)
Bulacan Province, Philippines (1980)- Martinsburg, West Virginia, United States (1988)
- Syracuse, New York, United States (1995)
Hsinchu City, Republic of China (2002)
Transportation [edit]
Chiayi City is accessible from TRA Chiayi Station or a slightly further THSR Chiayi Station.
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ "The sound of wind music: 2008 Chiayi City International Band Festival"by Eva Tang, 17 January 2009,Taiwan Culture Portal. http://www.culture.tw/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1080&Itemid=157
- ^ "Statistics > Monthly Mean". Central Weather Bureau.
External links [edit]
| Find more about Chiayi at Wikipedia's sister projects | |
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Definitions and translations from Wiktionary |
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Media from Commons |
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Learning resources from Wikiversity |
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News stories from Wikinews |
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Quotations from Wikiquote |
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Source texts from Wikisource |
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Textbooks from Wikibooks |
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Travel information from Wikivoyage |
- Chiayi City/County tourism official website
- Chiayi City government official website (Chinese) (English)
- Chiayi City Police Bureau official website
Chiayi City travel guide from Wikivoyage- National Chung Cheng University official website
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Coordinates: 23°28′48″N 120°26′59″E / 23.48000°N 120.44972°E
