Yunlin is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

in western Taiwan. Yunlin County borders the

Taiwan Strait The Taiwan Strait is a strait separating the island of Taiwan and the Asian continent. The strait is part of the South China Sea and connects to the East China Sea to the north. The narrowest part is wide. Names Former names of the Tai ...

to the west,

Nantou County Nantou is the second largest County (Taiwan), county of Taiwan by area, located in the central part of the country. It is also the only non-coastal county in Taiwan. Its name derives from the Hoanya people, Hoanya Taiwanese aborigines, Taiwanese ...

to the east,

Changhua County Changhua (Wade-Giles: ''Chang¹-hua⁴'') is a Taiwanese County (Taiwan), county that is the smallest on the Geography of Taiwan, main island of Taiwan by area, and the fourth smallest in the country. With a total population of 1.24 million, Chan ...

to the north at the Zhuoshui River, and

Chiayi County Chiayi is a County (Taiwan), county in Taiwan. Located in Regions of Taiwan, southwestern Taiwan surrounding but not including Chiayi City, it is the sixth largest county in the island of Taiwan. Its major tourist destination is Alishan Natio ...

to the south at the

Beigang River The Beigang River, formerly known as the Pakan from its Hokkien language, Hokkien pronunciation, is a river in Taiwan named for Beigang, Yunlin, Beigang, a port 20 kilometres from its mouth. It flows through Yunlin County, Yunlin and Chiayi Count ...

. It has a population of 664,963 as of 2022. Yunlin is part of 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 ...

, a flat land known for its agriculture. Agricultural products of Yunlin County include

pomelo The pomelo ( ; or pummelo, ''Citrus maxima''), also known as a shaddock, is the largest citrus fruit. It is an ancestor of several cultivated citrus species, including the bitter orange and the grapefruit. It is a natural, non-hybrid citrus fr ...

tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of south-western China and nor ...

leaves, suan cai,

papaya The papaya (, ), papaw, () or pawpaw () is the plant species ''Carica papaya'', one of the 21 accepted species in the genus '' Carica'' of the family Caricaceae, and also the name of its fruit. It was first domesticated in Mesoamerica, within ...

and

melon A melon is any of various plants of the family Cucurbitaceae with sweet, edible, and fleshy fruit. It can also specifically refer to ''Cucumis melo'', commonly known as the "true melon" or simply "melon". The term "melon" can apply to both the p ...

. Yunlin's rivers give it potential for

hydroelectricity Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

. Douliu is the largest and capital city of Yunlin. It is the only county on the main island of Taiwan where no city with the same name exists. Yunlin is one of the least developed counties on the West coast, and suffers from

emigration Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...

History

Dutch Formosa

During the

Dutch Formosa The island of Taiwan, also commonly known as ''Formosa'', was partly under colonial rule by the Dutch Republic from 1624 to 1662 and from 1664 to 1668. In the context of the Age of Discovery, the Dutch East India Company established its presence ...

era, ''Ponkan'' (modern-day Beigang) was an important coastal castle.

Qing Dynasty

Yunlin County was established during the

Qing Dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

Liu Mingchuan Liu Mingchuan () (1836–1896), courtesy name Xingsan, was a Chinese military general and politician during the late Qing dynasty. He was born in Hefei, Anhui. Liu became involved in the suppression of the Taiping Rebellion at an early age, a ...

was in charge of Taiwan, which had been divided into three counties since 1683, Yunlin being part of Zhuluo County. Mountains made transportation and communication between bordering counties (

Changhua Changhua (Hokkien Pe̍h-ōe-jī, POJ: ''Chiong-hòa'' or ''Chiang-hòa''), officially known as Changhua City, is a county-administered city and the county seat of Changhua County in Taiwan. For many centuries the site was home to a settlement of ...

and

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 ...

) difficult, so Liu suggested a new county, called Yunlin, for easier management. In 1887, Yunlin became one of the four counties of the new Taiwan Prefecture.

Empire of Japan

During Japanese rule, Yunlin (as ''Unrin'') County was again abolished due to the resistance from the local people and combined with

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 ...

. However, continued to be an important city of central Taiwan.

Republic of China

The Yunlin area remained under

Tainan County Tainan County was a County (Taiwan), county in southern Taiwan between 1945 and 2010. The county seat was in Xinying District, Sinying City. History Tainan County was established on 7 January 1946 on the territory of Tainan Prefecture () sh ...

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. 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 ...

on 25 October 1945. On 16 August 1950, Yunlin County was separated from Tainan County, with Douliu

Township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

as the county seat. On 25 December 1981, Douliu Township was upgraded to a

county-administered city A county-administered city is a third-level administrative divisions of Taiwan, administrative division in the Taiwan, Republic of China (Taiwan) below a Counties of Taiwan, county, which in turn is below of a Provinces of China, province. Under t ...

. Yunlin is the only county on Taiwan island without a city of the same name. Like the rest of Taiwan, Yunlin is nominally a part of

Taiwan Province Taiwan Province ( zh, t=臺灣省 , p=Táiwān Shěng , poj=Tâi-oân-séng; PFS: ''Thòi-vàn-sén'' or ''Thòi-vân-sén'') is a ''de jure'' administrative division of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Provinces remain a titular division as ...

, Republic of China, although the provincial level of government is functionally obsolete.

Geography

Yunlin County is located in the central-south portion of western

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 is at the northern tip of the

. The county is bordered by

to the east, the

to the west,

to the south separated by the

, and

to the north separated by the Zhuoshui River. Its widest distance from east to west is and from north to south is , with a total area of .

Geology

Around 80% of Yunlin County are plains and the other 10% are hills. Generally the county is covered with high green space. In 2015, the county experienced 75% of Taiwan's total land subsidence, over an area of due to its

groundwater Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and Pore space in soil, soil pore spaces and in the fractures of stratum, rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available fresh water in the world is groundwater. A unit ...

overuse.

Climate

The weather in the county is tropical, with an annual average temperature of 22.6 °C and an average annual rainfall of 1,028.9 mm.

Administration

Yunlin County is divided into 1

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

, 5 urban townships and 14 rural townships.

Douliu City Douliu (Hokkien Pe̍h-ōe-jī, POJ: ''Táu-la̍k'') is a county-administered city and the county seat of Yunlin County, Taiwan. It is also the political and economic center of the county. Douliu City is served by National Highway No. 3 (Taiwan), ...

is the county seat and home to the Yunlin County Government and the Yunlin County Council. Chang Li-shan of 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 ...

is the incumbent

Magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judi ...

of Yunlin County. Color indicates the statutory language status of

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 ...

in the respective subdivisions.

Politics

Yunlin County elected two

Democratic Progressive Party The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a centre to centre-left Taiwanese nationalist political party in Taiwan. As the dominant party in the Pan-Green Coalition, one of the two main political camps in Taiwan, the DPP is currently the ...

legislators to the

Legislative Yuan The Legislative Yuan () is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of China (Taiwan) located in Taipei. The Legislative Yuan is composed of 113 members, who are directly elected for four-year terms by people of the Taiwan Area through a ...

during the 2020 legislative election, represented by Liu Chien-kuo and Su Chih-fen. The majority seats of Yunlin County Council is independent but headed by speaker Shen Tsung-lung ( zh, t=沈宗隆, p=Shěn Zōnglóng) of the

Demographics and Culture

Cultural activities in the county is regulated by the Bureau of Cultural Affairs of the Yunlin County Government, which holds exhibitions, speeches, performances and studies to promote the arts and related activities.

Sports

The county government promotes many sports. The Douliu Baseball Stadium and Yunlin County Stadium are two of the international-level sports facilities in the county. The first for-all-people games were held in Yunlin County in 2000. The county also hosted the 2005 National Games. In the 2011 National Games at Changhua, Yunlin ranked 11th out of the 22 counties and cities of Taiwan, with 10 gold, 8 silver and 8 bronze medals. Recent major sporting events held by Yunlin include: * 2007 Baseball World Cup (co-hosted with

Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

New Taipei New Taipei City is a Special municipality (Taiwan), special municipality located in regions of Taiwan, northern Taiwan. The city is home to an estimated population of 4,004,367 as of January 2023, making it the most populous city in Taiwan, a ...

, and

Taichung Taichung (, Wade–Giles: '), officially Taichung City, is a special municipality (Taiwan), special municipality in central Taiwan. Taichung is Taiwan's second-largest city, with more than 2.85 million residents, making it the largest city in Ce ...

) * 2010 Intercontinental Cup (co-hosted with Taichung) * 2013 18U Baseball World Cup (co-hosted with Taichung) * 2015 WBSC Premier12 (co-hosted with Taipei, Taoyuan, and Taichung) * 2019 Asian Baseball Championship (co-hosted with Taichung) * 2022 U-23 Baseball World Cup (co-hosted with Taipei and Taichung)

Economy

Yunlin County's economy relies mainly on agricultural production, including fresh-water fisheries, although there are also industrial parks. As of 2006, the land use for agriculture, forestry and fishery production accounts about 66.45% of its area. As of July 2015, the county had a total debt of NT$64.8 billion. Monthly, the county government spend NT$600 million for staffs salary and another NT$600 million for retirement funds.

Agriculture

Farmlands accounts for around 68% of Yunlin County's area. Good weather and fertile lands allows various seasonal crops. Among the agricultural products are coffee, hard clams, horseshoe calms, Taiwan tilapia, shaddock, soy sauce, pickled cabbage, peanuts and sesame oil.

Fishery

Yunlin County boasts excellent fishing grounds along its coastline. There are several leading fishing ports, at Boziliao, Santiaolun, Taixi, Taizicun, and Jinhu. Several institutions were established in the county to help the development of the county's fishing industries: the Taixi Experimental Fishing Grounds, the Seawater Fish Farming Research Center, the Aquaculture Experimental Station, and the Agriculture Council.

Livestock

Livestock farming includes pigs, cows, chickens, geese and ducks. The county government has been aggressively helping the dairy farmers to upgrade their feeding techniques, and also set up modern meat-packing facilities.

Tourism

The county government plans to develop the tourism and recreational industries within the county, such as by establishing a holiday fish market at the Boziliao Fishing Port in the hopes of attracting more visitors.

Food

Beigang: Duck meat soup is the most famous breakfast in Begiang. Gukeng: Bucket Chicken Kouhu: Mullet roe, eel Lunbei: Meatballs Shuilin: Sweet potatoes Sihu: Eel Noodles The eel fried noodles have about 10 slices of eel. The noodles are soft but strong. Tounan: Fried buns Tuku: Angelica Duck Noodles, a traditional tonic snack. The red noodles are more fragrant the more you chew. Xiluo: Carrot cake The filling of the cake is unlike ordinary cakes. The taste is dense and has pieces and the aroma of carrots. It is a common place for gatherings.

Education

The county is home to four universities: the China Medical University Beigang Campus, the National Formosa University and National Yunlin University of Science and Technology. There are 8 public senior high schools, 9 private high schools, 32 junior high schools and 156 elementary schools, as well as the National Yunlin Special Education School. To promote lifelong learning, the Yunlin County Government established a community university in 2001 with 6 learning centers to offer county residents more opportunities. Senior High Schools Public Schools National Beigang Agricultural & Industrial Vocational Senior High School National Beigang Senior High School National Huwei Agricultural & Industrial Vocational Senior High School National Huwei Senior High School National Tou-liu School Of Home Economic & Commerce National Tou-liu Senior High School National Tuku School Of Home Economic & Commerce Yunlin County Mailiao High School Yunlin County Tounan Senior High School Private Schools Bliss And Wisdom Senior High School Da-cheng Vocational High School Dader Industrial And Commercial Vocational High School Perpetual Help High School Ren High School Sacred Hearts High School St.Vincent High School Victoria Academy Yang-tze High School Yi-feng Senior High School

Energy

Power generations

Yunlin County houses one power plant, the

Mailiao Power Plant The Mailiao Power Plant () is a coal-fired power plant in Formosa Mai-Liao Industrial Park, Mailiao Township, Yunlin County, Taiwan. With a total installed capacity of 4,200 MW, the plant is Taiwan's third largest coal-fired power plant after ...

, in Mailiao Township. Commissioned in July 1999, it has a capacity of 4,200 MW and is the third largest coal-fired power plant in Taiwan.

Water supply

Currently, most of the county residence use

as their water supply. However, in 2016 the Hushan Dam was opened in

in which its reservoir will soon supply the water needs for the county residence.

Tourist attractions

Historical buildings

Historical buildings in the county include the House of Citizen-Memorial Hall of Attendance, Jhen Wen Academy, Erlun Story House and Xiluo Theater. Ma Min Shan Park Labyrinth The first and largest temple theme park in Taiwan, the park is full of unique mountains and rocks. It features a large courtyard landscape of high mountain and stone forests, matched with scenic surroundings. There are a total of 73 characteristic landscapes in the area. The park includes the steep and eye-catching Rainbow Bridge. Tourists can climb up to a panoramic view of the park. Xiluo Bridge Xiluo Bridge is a highway bridge in Taiwan. During the Japanese Occupation, it was called Zhuoshuixi Bridge. It connects Yunlin County and Changhua County, and straddles the lower reaches of Zhuoshui River. It is designed with a Warren-style truss bridge. When it was completed in 1952, the Xiluo Bridge was the second longest bridge in the world after the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco in the United States. At that time, it was known as the "Far East First Bridge."

Scenic spot

* Caoling is a popular mountain scenic spot in Yunlin County. *Yunling Hill is located at the intersection of three counties: Yunlin,

, and

. It is a new mountain scenic spot, with an altitude of about 1,650 meters, offering a great view of sunrise, sunset and the sea of clouds. * Green Tunnel Park is a long and narrow roadside park with a brick walking/biking path lined with mango trees. Next to the tunnel are tracks of a small sugar plantation railway. Its tracks, stations, and carriages were quite unique. The Gukeng Township Government has plans to restore the space as a cultural landscape park.

Temples

Prominent Temples in the county include; * Beigang

Chaotian Temple The Chaotian or Chaotien Temple, officially the Chao-Tian Temple,. & is a temple to the goddess Mazu in Beigang Township, Yunlin County, Taiwan. Constructed in 1700, it became one of the most important Mazu temples in Taiwan and is known for ...

: one of the most important

Mazu Mazu or Matsu is a sea goddess in Chinese folk religion, Chinese Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism. She is also known by several other names and titles. Mazu is the deified form of Lin Moniang (), a shamaness from Fujian who is said to ...

temples in Taiwan and known for its magnificent temple architecture, visited by more than a million pilgrims every year * Beigang Wude Temple (北港武德宮): one of the largest temple dedicated to Xuan Tan Zhen Jun (玄壇真君), Martial God of Wealth * Xiluo Guangfu Temple: prominent

temple in Xiluo township * Xiluo Fuxing Temple (西螺福興宮)： prominent

temple in Xiluo township, have an annual procession during Mazu's Birthday * Yong'an Temple: a popular temple dedicated to the Deity known as Kai Zhang Sheng Wang (開漳聖王)

Museums and cultural centers

Yunlin County is home to several museums and cultural centers, such as the Beigang Cultural Center, Farming and Irrigation Artifacts Museum, Honey Museum, Museum of Beigang Story, Soy Sauce Brewing Museum, Yunlin Hand Puppet Museum, Yunlin Story House and Zhaoan Hakka Cultural Hall. Cheng Lin Agarwood Forest Museum Chenglin Agarwood Forest Museum is located in Huwei Town, covering an area of about 5.8 hectares. It was the first largest agarwood forest park in the county. It has a Japanese Zen-style like Kenroku Garden and a simple style of ecological landscape pond. The garden is covered with more than 80 species of trees for viewing. The venue has a professional guided introduction and many thousand-year-old cypress artworks, as well as Chenglin's exclusive collection of the world's largest 3,000-year-old sacred wood. Honey Museum The Honey Museum (Bee Story House) is located beside Gukeng's Green Tunnel Park. The museum has exhibits on honey, bees, and honey tasting.

Festivals

Festivals, such as the Beigang International Music Festival, are regularly held in the county.

Theme parks

The Janfusun Fancyworld is a theme park in the county. Chan Chau Ku is a dairy farm. Although there were quite a few dairy farmers in the area, there was no way for tourists to visit the parks. So the founder decided to build a leisure farm and open the park for free to encourage everyone to get close to nature.

Nature

Yunlin County houses the Chenglong Wetlands, Erlun Sports Park, Penglai Waterfall and Ten Thousand Year Gorge. Hushan Reservoir Hushan Reservoir is located in Douliu City and Gukeng Township, 10 kilometers southeast of Douliu City. Due to the small catchment area, the Tongtou River Barrage was built in Qingshui Creek. Water was diverted to supplement the water source. Penglai Waterfall Penglai Waterfall is located in Penny's Water Creek Valley on the east side of the Caoling settlement in Gukeng Township. It belongs to the Zhuoshui River Basin. The altitude of the waterfall is about 920 meters, and the drop is about 70 meters. It is listed as one of the ten scenic spots in Caoling.

Transportation

Rail

Taiwan High Speed Rail Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR) is a high-speed railway network in Taiwan, which consists of a single line that runs approximately along the western coast of the island, from the capital Taipei in the north to the southern city of Kaohsiung. Its c ...

Yunlin Station is located at Huwei Township.

Taiwan Railways 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 Rail transport, railway services on of track. Pa ...

has stations at Linnei, Shiliu, Douliu, Dounan and Shigui.

Roads

National Highway No. 1 and No. 3 pass through Yunlin County. Famous bridges in the county are the Xiluo Bridge, connecting the county to the neighboring

, and the Beigang Tourist Bridge, connecting the county to the neighboring

Air

Yunlin County does not have any airport. The nearest airport is the

Chiayi Airport Chiayi Airport () , commonly known as Shueishang Airport (), is an airport in Shuishang Township, Chiayi County, Taiwan. The airport has one runway, and it is used as a civilian airport and is co-located next to Chiayi Air Base. Chiayi Airport ...

located in neighboring

Relative location

Notable people

Teresa Teng Teng Li-Chun ( zh, t=鄧麗君, s=, p=Dèng Lìjūn; 29 January 1953 – 8 May 1995), commonly known as Teresa Teng, was a Taiwanese singer, television personality, musician, and philanthropist. Referred to by some as the "Honorific nicknames i ...

(1953-1995), famous singer (born in Baozhong, Yunlin) * Jason Wu, fashion designer.

Notes

References

External links

Yunlin County Government Website
{{Authority control Yunlin County,

History

Dutch Formosa

Qing Dynasty

Empire of Japan

Republic of China

Geography

Geology

Climate

Administration

Politics

Demographics and Culture

Sports

Economy

Agriculture

Fishery

Livestock

Tourism

Food

Education

Energy

Power generations

Water supply

Tourist attractions

Historical buildings

Scenic spot

Temples

Museums and cultural centers

Festivals

Theme parks

Nature

Transportation

Rail

Roads

Air

Relative location

Notable people

See also

Notes

References

External links