Ruisui Township is a rural township located in southern

Hualien County Hualien () is a County (Taiwan), county on the east coast of Taiwan. It is Taiwan's largest county by area, yet due to its mountainous terrain, has one of the lowest populations in the country. The county seat and largest city is Hualien City. Hu ...

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 ...

, and has a population of 10,944 inhabitants in 11 villages. The population is composed of Hoklo,

Hakka The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka-speaking Chinese, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas, are a southern Han Chinese subgroup whose principal settlements and ancestral homes are dispersed widely across the provinces of southern China ...

, and

Taiwanese aborigines Taiwanese may refer to: * of or related to Taiwan **Culture of Taiwan **Geography of Taiwan ** Taiwanese cuisine *Languages of Taiwan ** Formosan languages ** Taiwanese Hokkien, also known as the Taiwanese language * Taiwanese people, residents of ...

, most of whom are Amis. Agriculture and tourism are major industries.

History

During Qing rule, the headquarters of Taitung Prefecture was located in modern-day Ruisui, known then as ''Tsui-be'', or ''Tsui-boe'' (). Those

Chinese characters Chinese characters are logographs used Written Chinese, to write the Chinese languages and others from regions historically influenced by Chinese culture. Of the four independently invented writing systems accepted by scholars, they represe ...

() were rendered ''Mizuo'' in Japanese during Japanese rule of Taiwan, but were later changed to , ''Mizuho'' in 1917. This written form was retained after the

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...

takeover of Taiwan in 1945; the characters are pronounced ''Sūi-sūi'' and ''Ruìsuì'' in Taiwanese and

Mandarin Chinese Mandarin ( ; zh, s=, t=, p=Guānhuà, l=Mandarin (bureaucrat), officials' speech) is the largest branch of the Sinitic languages. Mandarin varieties are spoken by 70 percent of all Chinese speakers over a large geographical area that stretch ...

, respectively.

Geography

The township lies in an alluvial plain which located midway up the Huadong Valley between the Central Mountain Range, Coastal Mountain Range and Wuhe Terrace. Rafting activity on the Xiuguluan River often starts from the Ruisui Bridge. The climate is between tropical and subtropical monsoon with a humid climate. The

Tropic of Cancer The Tropic of Cancer, also known as the Northern Tropic, is the Earth's northernmost circle of latitude where the Sun can be seen directly overhead. This occurs on the June solstice, when the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward the Sun ...

passes through the township.

Administrative divisions

The township comprises 11 villages: Fumin, Fuxing, Fuyuan, Hegang, Jimei, Ruibei, Ruiliang, Ruimei, Ruisui, Ruixiang and Wuhe.

Tourist attractions

Wuhe Plateau in the middle of the valley

* Fuyuan National Forest Recreation Area * Rareseed Ranch * Ruisui Tropic of Cancer Marker * Saoba Stone Pillars *Ruisui Hotspring *Honyeh Hotspring (Red Leaf Hotspring) *Wuhe Terrace Tea Plantations *Ruisui Rafting Tourist Center ( Xiuguluan River Rafting) *Ruisui Range * Fuyuan Bao'an Temple * Fuyuan Butterfly Village * Maliyun Tribal Village * Ruisui Qinglian Temple

Transportation

Taiwan Railway Administration Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) was a governmental agency in Taiwan which operated Taiwan Railway from 1948 to 2023. It managed, maintained, and operated conventional passenger and freight railway services on of track. Passenger traffic ...

stations on the Hualien–Taitung Line in Ruisui include: * Fuyuan Station * Ruisui Station

Highways A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It includes not just major roads, but also other public roads and rights of way. In the United States, it is also used as an equivalent term to controlled-access highway, or ...

in Ruisui include: * Provincial Highway 9, a north–south route through the Huadong Valley *, a parallel route crisscrossing the Xiugulan River

Sister cities

* Misato, Akita,

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

(friendship city)

Notable natives

* T.H. Tung, businessperson

References

Bibliography

External links

Office of Ruisui Township
{{Taiwanese aboriginal areas Townships in Hualien County