Hsinchu County (

Wade–Giles Wade–Giles () is a romanization system for Mandarin Chinese. It developed from a system produced by Thomas Francis Wade, during the mid-19th century, and was given completed form with Herbert A. Giles's '' Chinese–English Dictionary'' o ...

: ''Hsin¹-chu²'') is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

in north-western

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...

. The population of the county is mainly

Hakka The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka Han, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas are a Han Chinese subgroup whose ancestral homes are chiefly in the Hakka-speaking provincial areas of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan, Zhej ...

; with a Taiwanese aboriginal minority in the southeastern part of the county. Zhubei is the county capital, where the government office and county office is located. A portion of the

Hsinchu Science Park The Hsinchu Science Park (HSP; ) is an industrial park established by the government of Taiwan on 15 December 1980. It straddles Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County in Taiwan. History The idea of the establishment of the Hsinchu Science Park was f ...

is located in Hsinchu County.

History

Early history

Before the arrival of the

Han Chinese The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctive v ...

, the Hsinchu area was home to the indigenous Taokas, Saisiyat, and Atayal. After the Spanish occupied northern Taiwan, Catholic missionaries arrived at Tek-kham in 1626. Minnanese (

Hoklo The Hoklo people or Hokkien people () are a Han Chinese (also Han Taiwanese) subgroup who speak Hokkien, a Southern Min language, or trace their ancestry to Southeastern Fujian, China and known by various endonyms or other related terms such a ...

) and

came and began to cultivate the land from the plains near the sea towards the river valleys and hills.

Qing dynasty

In 1684, Zhuluo County was established during Qing dynasty rule and more Han settled near Tek-kham. A Chinese city was established there in 1711 and renamed Hsinchu in 1875. It became part of Taipeh Prefecture. In the late 19th century, Hoklo people dominated the coastal plains, forcing the Saisiyat and Atayal tribes to move to areas around Jianshi and Wufeng, while the Hakka and Taokas settled together in the river valleys and hills.

Japanese rule

Japanese occupation of Taiwan began after the

First Sino-Japanese War The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 1894 – 17 April 1895) was a conflict between China and Japan primarily over influence in Korea. After more than six months of unbroken successes by Japanese land and naval forces and the loss of the p ...

in 1895. Hsinchu became known as ''Shinchiku'' and, by 1920, its prefecture covered the areas of modern-day Hsinchu County and

City A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

, Miaoli, and Taoyuan.

Republic of China

After the handover of Taiwan from Japan to the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeas ...

in 1945, Hsinchu County was established on 25 December 1945. In August 1950, Miaoli and Taoyuan were taken out from the county area to form

Miaoli County Miaoli County ( Mandarin Pinyin: ''miáo lì xiàn''; Hakka PFS: ''Mèu-li̍t-yen''; Hokkien POJ: ''Biâu-le̍k-koān'' or ''Miâu-le̍k-koān'') is a county in western Taiwan. Miaoli is adjacent with Hsinchu County and Hsinchu City to the n ...

and Taoyuan County respectively. On 16 August 1950, Hsinchu City was incorporated to the county as county-administered city. However, the city was then upgraded again to become a provincial city on 1 July 1982 and was taken out from Hsinchu County area. The county's Xiangshan Township was incorporated into Hsinchu City on 1 July 1982. In 2021, plans are underway to have both Hsinchu county and city merged into the nation's seventh special municipality.

Geography

Hsinchu County is located at the northwest part of Taiwan Island. The county borders

Taoyuan City Taoyuan () is a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan) located in northwestern Taiwan, neighboring New Taipei City to the north-east, Yilan County to the south-east, and Hsinchu County to the south-west. Taoyuan Distr ...

to the north,

to the south, the

Taiwan Strait The Taiwan Strait is a -wide strait separating the island of Taiwan and continental Asia. The strait is part of the South China Sea and connects to the East China Sea to the north. The narrowest part is wide. The Taiwan Strait is itself a ...

to the west, and the Xueshan & Dabajian mountains to the east. With an area spanning up to , Hsinchu County is composed mainly of uplands, tablelands, mountains, the alluvial plains of the

Fengshan River The Fengshan River () is a river in northern Taiwan. It flows through Hsinchu County Hsinchu County (Wade–Giles: ''Hsin¹-chu²'') is a county in north-western Taiwan. The population of the county is mainly Hakka; with a Taiwanese aborigi ...

and

Touqian River The Touqian River () is a river in northern Taiwan. It flows through Hsinchu County Hsinchu County (Wade–Giles: ''Hsin¹-chu²'') is a county in north-western Taiwan. The population of the county is mainly Hakka; with a Taiwanese aboriginal ...

mouth area, and some ancient river land.

Climate

The average climate in Hsinchu County is mild.

Administration

Hsinchu County controls 1

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

, 3 urban townships, 6 rural townships and 2 mountain indigenous townships. Zhubei City is the seat of Hsinchu County which houses the Hsinchu County Government and Hsinchu County Council. The incumbent Magistrate of Hsinchu County is Yang Wen-ke of the

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Ta ...

. The administrative division of the county are: Colors indicate the common language status of

and Formosan languages within each division.

Demographics

The population of the county consists of

, aborigines and new immigrants. The Hakka people constituted around 84% of the total population in 2014, while the aborigines consisted mainly of Atayal and Saisiyat people. As of January 2017, the total population was 547,794, with 267,599 females and 280,195 males in 187,644 households.

Economy

High tech industry

After the founding of

in 1980, a high number of high-tech industries began to grow and expand outside the park, attracting workers coming to work and settle in the county.

Education

Education in Hsinchu County is administered by the Education Department of Hsinchu County Government. The county is home to the

Minghsin University of Science and Technology Minghsin University of Science and Technology (MUST; ) is a private university in Xinfeng Township, Hsinchu County, Taiwan. History I. Industrial Junior College Period MUST was founded in 1966 that was known as Ming Hsin Engineering College (ME ...

and Ta Hwa University of Science and Technology.

Energy

Power generations

Hsinchu County is home to the gas-fired

Hsintao Power Plant The Hsintao Power Plant () is a gas-fired power plant in Guangxi Township, Hsinchu County, Taiwan. History The development of the power plant started after the second Independent power producer bidding held by Taiwan Power Company in 1995. The ...

with a capacity of 600 MW located in Guanxi Township.

Water supply

Hsinchu County houses the Baoshan Dam and Baoshan Second Dam.

Tourist attractions

* Beipu Citian Temple * Mount Dabajian * Former Residence of Zhang Xueliang *

Green World Ecological Farm Green World Ecological Farm () is a theme park in Beipu, Beipu Township, Hsinchu County, Taiwan that focuses on ecological education. Covering , the park includes an educational farm, a house, a zoo, and a botanical garden that occupies about a ...

Leofoo Village Theme Park The Leofoo Village Theme Park () is a theme park and a safari located in Guanxi Township, Hsinchu County, Taiwan. It features three roller coasters, including an inverted shuttle coaster, Screaming Condor, an Intamin twist-and-turn coaster dubb ...

Little Ding-Dong Science Theme Park The Little Ding-Dong Science Theme Park () is a theme park in Xinfeng Township, Hsinchu County, Taiwan. It is the only outdoor natural science park in Taiwan aimed to promote scientific knowledge and creative thoughts in children. History The t ...

* Rueylong Museum * Shei-Pa National Park * Tapung Old Fort * Zhudong Animation and Comic Creative Park * Zhudong Timber Industry Exhibition Hall * Beipu Old Street * Neiwan Old Street * Emei Huge Buddha Statue

Transportation

Rail

The Hsinchu Station of the Taiwan High Speed Rail is located in the county at Zhubei City. Hsinchu County is crossed by three

Taiwan Railways Administration Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) is a railway operator in Taiwan. It is an agency of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, responsible for managing, maintaining, and running conventional passenger and freight railway services ...

lines, which are the

Liujia Line The Liujia Line () is a branch line of the Taiwan Railway Administration (TRA) Western Line. It is located in Hsinchu County, Taiwan. It was built to link the Western Line to the THSR's Hsinchu Station, speeding up transit times between the two ...

Neiwan Line The Neiwan line () is a railway branch line in Taiwan operated by the Taiwan Railways Administration. It is located in Hsinchu County. History The Neiwan line was completed on 11 September 1951. It became a popular tourist site in the early ...

and Western Line.

Notable people

* Chen Ying-git, singer *

Cyndi Wang Cyndi Wang Hsin-ling (; born 5 September 1982) is a Taiwanese singer and actress. Wang debuted her musical career as she released her debut album, ''Begin...'' (2003). Besides her musical career, Wang has starred in many TV dramas, including ' ...

, singer-actress * Hebe Tien, singer-actress and a member of girl group

S.H.E S.H.E is a Taiwanese girl group whose members are Selina Jen, Hebe Tien, and Ella Chen. They formed in 2001 and are managed by HIM International Music but decided not to renew their contract in 2019 due to having their own management company. Si ...

Joanne Tseng Joanne Tseng Chih-chiao (; born 17 November 1988) is a Taiwanese actress, singer and television host. Early life Tseng was born on 17 November 1988 in Jianshi, Hsinchu, Taiwan. She has an older sister, Chih-ying (曾之萦). Both of her pa ...

, actress * Joe Chen, actress *

Landy Wen Landy Wen (; Atayal: ''Yungai Hayung'') is a Taiwanese singer. In 2010, she was cast in a TV drama based on the Bret Easton Ellis Bret Easton Ellis (born March 7, 1964) is an American author, screenwriter, short-story writer, and director. ...

, singer *

Miu Chu Miu Chu (; 16 December 1981 – 3 July 2022) was a Taiwanese singer. She was the winner of the third season of the Taiwanese reality television show '' Super Idol''. Chu performed at the Kaohsiung lantern festival in a concert on 12 February 2 ...

, singer

International relations

Sister cities

Miyazaki Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Miyazaki Prefecture has a population of 1,073,054 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 7,735 km2 (2,986 sq mi). Miyazaki Prefecture borders Ōita Prefecture to the north, Ku ...

, Japan * Santa Clara,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, United States * Westmont,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...

, United States *

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...