Chianan Irrigation (), also known as the Kanan Irrigation System, was built to support agricultural production in the

Chianan Plain Chianan, Chia-nan, or Jianan may refer to: * Chiayi–Tainan Plain, also known as the Chianan or Jianan Plain (, ''Jiānán Píngyuán''), a large plain on Taiwan Island * Chianan Irrigation (, ''Jianán Dàzùn''), also known as the Kanan Irrigat ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

. The name "chia-nan" was derived from two

place name Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage, and types. ''Toponym'' is the general term for a proper nam ...

s among its surrounding area called

Chiayi Chiayi (,), officially known as Chiayi City, is a Provincial city (Taiwan), city located in Chianan Plain in Regions of Taiwan, southwestern Taiwan, surrounded by Chiayi County with a population of 263,188 inhabitants as of January 2023. The H ...

and

Tainan Tainan (), officially Tainan City, is a Special municipality (Taiwan), special municipality in southern Taiwan, facing the Taiwan Strait on its western coast. Tainan is the oldest city on the island and commonly called the "Taiwan Prefecture, ...

. Although it includes some other facilities, such as the

Wusanto Reservoir Wushantou Reservoir (), sometimes spelled Wushanto or Wusanto, is a reservoir and scenic area located in Lioujia District and Guantian District of Tainan, Taiwan. It is also referred to as Coral Lake () due to its zigzagging shoreline. The reserv ...

, the term "Chianan Canal", in a narrow sense, would only mean the

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface ...

s of this system. The main designer of the Chianan Canal is

Yoichi Hatta was a Japanese engineer, known for his contributions in hydraulic engineering in the Taiwan under Japanese rule, Japanese-ruled Taiwan. Hatta was born in Kanazawa, Ishikawa. After graduating from Tokyo Imperial University in 1910, he joined th ...

, a civil engineer of the Japanese government. Its main streams pass through today's Tainan, Chiayi and

Yunlin Yunlin is a county in western Taiwan. Yunlin County borders the Taiwan Strait to the west, Nantou County to the east, Changhua County to the north at the Zhuoshui River, and Chiayi County to the south at the Beigang River. It has a population ...

, formerly parts of

Tainan Prefecture was one of the administrative divisions of Taiwan during the Japanese rule. The prefecture consisted of modern-day Tainan City, Chiayi City, Chiayi County, and Yunlin County. Population Administrative divisions Cities and districts In ...

. The architectural work of canal was launched in 1920 and completed in 1930, during Japanese rule. The canal improved the plantable area for

rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

from 5000 to 150,000

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), that is, square metres (), and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. ...

s, and made the rice crops in its irrigated area able to be harvested three times annually. In 2009 it was listed as a potential World Heritage Site.https://twh.boch.gov.tw/taiwan/index.aspx?lang=en_ushttps://www.moc.gov.tw/en/News_Content2.aspx?n=398&s=14057

References

Geography of Taiwan Economic history of Taiwan Agriculture in Taiwan Hydraulic engineering Tainan Chiayi County Yunlin County Canals opened in 1930 1930 establishments in Taiwan Potential World Heritage Sites in Taiwan {{agri-stub

See also

References