Hsinchu


Hsinchu is a city in northern Taiwan. Hsinchu is the 7th largest city in Taiwan by population, with 446,701 inhabitants, and the largest not to be a special municipality. Hsinchu is a coastal city bordering the Taiwan Strait to the west, Hsinchu County to the north and east, and Miaoli County to the south.
The area was settled by Taiwanese indigenous peoples, with the settlement bearing the Hokkien name Tek-kham. The city was founded by Han settlers in 1711, and was renamed to its current form in 1878. During the Japanese Era, the city was made the seat of Shinchiku Prefecture, named after the city. The Republic of China regained control of Hsinchu after World War II.
In 1980, the Taiwanese government established the Hsinchu Science Park, a major industrial park, currently one of the world's most significant centers for semiconductor manufacturing, industrial and computer technology development. The park contributes a major proportion of Taiwan's GDP. This made Hsinchu a vital economic hub for the worldwide semiconductor industry; the headquarters of TSMC, world's largest independent semiconductor foundry, and United Microelectronics Corporation, are both located in the park.
Besides its industry, Hsinchu is also an important cultural center of Taiwan. The Chenghuang Temple of Hsinchu, built during the Kingdom of Tungning, is a common prayer destination. The research institutions of National Chiao Tung University and National Tsing Hua University are both located near the science park.

Etymology

Hsin-chu is the Wade-Giles romanization of the Mandarin pronunciation of the Chinese name. The same name is rendered Xīnzhú in Hanyu Pinyin and Sinjhú in Tongyong Pinyin.
This name refers to the settlement's original Hokkien name Tek-khàm, meaning "Bamboo Barrier". The name may transcribe an aboriginal name meaning "Seashore". The same name is variously recorded as Teukcham, Teuxham, and Teckcham; its Mandarin pronunciation appears as Chuchien.
Hsinchu is popularly nicknamed "The Windy City" for its windy climate and "The Garden City of Culture and Technology" by its tourism department.

History

Ming Dynasty

The area around Hsinchu was inhabited by the Taokas, Saisiyat, and Atayal aborigines when the Spanish occupied northern Taiwan in the 17th century. Catholic missionaries reached the settlement of Tek-kham in 1626. The Spanish were expelled by the Dutch a few decades later.

Qing Dynasty

, a Chinese town was established at Tek-kham by Wang Shijie and other Han settlers in 1711.
As part of the reorganization of Taiwan by Shen Baozhen, the viceroy of Liangjiang, Zhuqian Subprefecture was raised to the level of a county and renamed Xinzhu in 1878. When Taiwan was made a province in 1887, Hsinchu was made a part of Taipeh Prefecture.

Japanese Rule

During the Japanese occupation following the First Sino-Japanese War, the cityknown at the time as Shinchikuwas among the province's most populous. In 1904, its 16,371 residents ranked it in 7th place, behind Keelung and ahead of Changhua. Shinchiku was raised to town status in 1920 and city status in 1930. At the same time, it became the seat of Shinchiku Prefecture. In 1941, its prefecture was expanded, annexing Xiangshan. Jiugang and Liujia merged to become Zhubei.

Republic of China

The Nationalist government of the Republic of China established the Hsinchu City Government in 1945 to oversee all of what had been Shinchiku Prefecture under the Japanese.
In 1946, the Take-Over Committee dissolved and replaced by the Hsinchu County Government, located in Taoyuan. As the administrative districts were readjusted, Hsinchu was granted city status. It used the old prefecture office as its city hall at 120 Road. In February 1946, representative congresses were formed for seven district offices. On April 15, the city congress was formed. Provincial representatives were elected from among the city legislators.
On 16 August 1950, the administrative districts on Taiwan were re-adjusted once more, demarcating 16 counties and 5 provincially-governed cities.
In June 1982, under presidential order, the Xiangshan Township of Hsinchu County merged into Hsinchu City. A new municipal government was formally established on 1 July 1982, comprising 103 villages and 1,635 neighborhoods. These were organized into the East, North, and Xiangshan districts by 1November. By June 1983, the new government consisted of three bureaus, four departments, four offices, and 49 various sections. The Police Department, Tax Department, and Medicine and Hygiene Department were considered affiliate institutions.
From 1994 to 1999, as Taiwan made its transition from authoritarian rule to a representative democracy and the mostly pro forma provincial level of government began to be dissolved, regulations were established for the self-government of Hsinchu. A deputy mayor, consumer officer, and three consultants were added to the city government. In 2002, the city added a Bureau of Labor and transferred Compulsory Military Service to the Department of Civil Service.

Geography

The city is bordered by Hsinchu County to the north and east, Miaoli County to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the west.

Climate

Hsinchu's climate is humid subtropical. The city is located in a part of the island that has a rainy season that lasts from February to September, with the heaviest time coming late April through August during the southwest monsoon, and also experiences meiyu in May and early June. The city succumbs to hot humid weather from June until September, while October to December are arguably the most pleasant times of year. Hsinchu is affected by easterly winds off of the East China Sea. Natural hazards such as typhoons and earthquakes are common in the region.

Government

Hsinchu City is administered as a city. North District is the seat of Hsinchu City which houses the Hsinchu City Government and Hsinchu City Council. The incumbent Mayor of Hsinchu City is Lin Chih-chien of the Democratic Progressive Party.

Administrative divisions

Hsinchu has 3 districts :
Colors indicate the common language status of Hakka within each division.

Politics

Hsinchu City voted one Democratic Progressive Party legislator to be in the Legislative Yuan during the 2016 Taiwan general election.

Economy

The Hsinchu Science Park is home to 360 high tech companies including Acer Inc, TSMC, Philips, Logitech, United Microelectronics Corporation, Holtek, AU Optronics and Epistar. As a result, the city has the highest income level in Taiwan.
The purpose of the park is to attract high tech investment to Taiwan and to make the area the economic center for the information industry. The park is designed to cater for high quality R&D, production, work, life and also recreation. From its establishment in 1978, the government has invested over NT$30 billion on software and hardware ventures. In 2001, it developed of land in the park and in southern Hsinchu, attracting 312 high-tech companies' investments. Viewing the performance of Hsinchu Science Park in the past 21 years, it can be said that it holds a decisive position in the economic development in Taiwan, with international acclaim.
Although the semiconductor and related electronic businesses have been doing well, they face fierce competition from South Korea and the United States. This has resulted in lower profits and over-supply of some electronic products such as memory and semiconductors. Therefore, manufacturers, government, academia, and the R&D sectors all recognize the challenges faced by Taiwan's high-tech development. The government has endeavored to upgrade Hsinchu Science Park into a global manufacturing and R&D center of high-end products. They also plan to intensify the cooperation among the manufacturing, academic, and research sectors by introducing incubation centers, in order to elevate the technological standard in the park. Further, through the development of the northern, central, and southern industrial park and its satellite sites, it hopes to sow the seeds of high tech business in all of Taiwan, leading to a vigorous era of high tech development.

Education

Hsinchu City is one of the most focused educational centers in northern Taiwan. It has six universities in this concentrated area and among these universities, National Chiao Tung University and National Tsing Hua University are highly focused by government in Taiwan on its academic development. Other public and private educational institutions in the city included 33 elementary schools, 19 middle schools, 12 high school and complete secondary school, National Hsinchu Senior High School, National Hsinchu Girls' Senior High School and National Experimental High School are prestigious.
International schools
High Schools
Universities
NameFeatureLocation
Chenghuang Temple Night MarketMost of the old stands in Cheng-huang Temple are of 50-year-old history, the famous snacks here are Hsin-chu meat balls, pork balls, spring rolls, braised pork rice, cuttlefish thick soup, rice noodles, and cow tongue shaped cakes Cheng-huang Temple and fa-lian shrine square
Neiwan Old StreetTraditional Hakka restaurants and shops serve ginger lily-flavored glutinous rice dumplings, Hakka tea, and Hakka rice cakes.Hengshan Town

Transportation

Rail

Hsinchu City is accessible from Hsinchu TRA station and North Hsinchu railway station.

Cycling

Hsinchu City has recently created a series of cycling routes to help cyclists navigate the city more easily. Hsinchu is home to many cycling clubs

Notable natives

Twin towns — sister cities

Hsinchu is twinned with:
CityRegionCountrySince
BeavertonOregonUnited States1988
CaryNorth CarolinaUnited States1993
CupertinoCaliforniaUnited States1998
RichlandWashingtonUnited States1988
PlanoTexasUnited States2003
OkayamaOkayama PrefectureJapan2003
Puerto PrincesaPalawanPhilippines2006
FairfieldNew South WalesAustralia1994
Chiayi CityTaiwan Province2002
AiraiAirai2011

Words in native languages