Taoyuan () is a special municipality 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 District is the seat of the municipal government and which, along with Zhongli District, forms a large metropolitan area. Taoyuan developed from a satellite city of Taipei metropolitan area to become the fourth-largest metropolitan area, and fifth-largest populated city in Taiwan. "Taoyuan" literally means "peach garden" in Chinese, since the area used to have many peach trees. Formerly a county, Taoyuan became the latest new founding special municipality in 2014.
Taoyuan City is home to many industrial parks and tech company headquarters. Due to the city's proximity to Taipei, and the lower cost of living, Taoyuan has had the fastest population growth of any city in Taiwan in recent decades. The city is also home to 116,000 foreign workers, with many coming from Southeast Asia and working in factories or as household caregivers. Taoyuan International Airport, which serves the capital, Taipei and the rest of northern Taiwan, is located in this city.
History
Early history
In ancient times, the Taoyuan plateau was the home of the Taiwanese plains aborigines. In prehistory, the Ketagalan people settled in Nankan. In the early years of Dutch colonization, Spanish colonization, and Zheng He of the Ming Dynasty, there were no large-scale cultivation or industrial activities. During the Qing era, a number of people from Fujian Province and Guangdong province began to immigrate into present-day Taoyuan to develop and farm the land. They planted peach trees, which, when fully bloomed in spring, were so beautiful that the people named the land Toahong (Chinese: 桃仔園; pinyin: Táozǐyuán; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Thô-á-hn̂g; lit. 'peach orchard').
Empire of Japan
In November 1901, during Japanese era, a local administrative office, Toshien Chō (Japanese: 桃仔園廳), was established in the area, and renamed Tōen Chō (桃園廳) in 1905. In 1920, the Tōen area was incorporated into Shinchiku Prefecture.
During the Japanese era, the staged migration policy caused Taoyuan to develop into a city with a variety of cultures. For example, temples and worship paths (currently the Taoyuan Martyrs Shrine) symbolized cultural systems. Butokuden (武德殿) were used to represent military systems, and the old Taoyuan City Office signified political systems.
Republic of China
After the transfer from Japan to the Republic of China, the present day-area of Taoyuan City was incorporated under Hsinchu County. In 1950, Taoyuan County was established by separating it from Hsinchu County. On 21 April 1971, Taoyuan City was made the county seat of Taoyuan County. It had 6 cities, 1 urban township and 6 rural townships.
In June 2009, the Executive Yuan approved the plan to upgrade Taoyuan from a county to a special municipality. On 25 December 2014, Taoyuan County was upgraded into a special municipality of Taoyuan City (桃園市).
Geography
Taoyuan is located approximately 40 km (25 mi) southwest of Taipei, in northern Taiwan, and occupies 1,220 km2 (470 sq mi). It is made up of low-lying plains, interconnected mountains and plateaus. Its shape has a long and narrow southeast-to-northwest trend, with the southeast in the Xueshan Range and the far end on the shores of the Taiwan Strait.
There are many irrigation ponds at Taoyuan Plateau, which caused Taoyuan to earn the nickname "Thousand-pond Township" (千塘之鄉).
Climate
Taoyuan has a humid subtropical climate, with mild to warm winters and hot summers, typical of northern Taiwan.
Ethnic composition
Han Chinese
Hoklo
As of most of the cities and urban towns of Taiwan, Minnan people (Hoklos) are one of the largest ethnic groups of Taoyuan, most of whom live in northern Taoyuan (北桃園) which comprises the northern districts of Taoyuan, including Taoyuan city centre, Bade, Daxi, Dayuan, Guishan and Luzhu, and the city seat of government, Taoyuan District citycentre.
Hakka
The Hakka are the second-largest ethnic group in the city after the Minnan ethnicity (Hoklo) who won against the Hakkas in clan wars moved to the poor mountainous regions in southern Taoyuan, most of the Hakka people live in the rural peasant village areas of southern Taoyuan (南桃園), which includes Zhongli, Pingzhen, Yangmei, Longtan, Guanyin and Xinwu districts. With more than 785,000 Hakka people, Taoyuan hosts the largest Hakka population among all of Taiwan's administrative divisions.
Waishengren
After the Chinese Civil War, many people from mainland China (unaffectionately referred to as "Waishengren") settled in the then-Taoyuan County after the retreat of the nationalist government in 1949. Most of them live in military dependents' villages in Zhongli, Pingzhen and Guishan. Longgang is well known for its immigrants from Yunnan, featuring many Yunnan-style restaurants.
Indigenous peoples
Most Taiwanese indigenous peoples in the city live in Fuxing District, with most of them belonging to the Atayal people. Outside of the Fuxing District, Taoyuan is the one Special Municipality of Taiwan that has no Aboriginal populations, appearing on related maps as empty.
Economy
Taoyuan is one of Taiwan's top industrial and technological cities. High-tech companies including Quanta, MiTAC, Inotera, Nanya Technology, HTC, CPT and AU Optronics have all opted to build or expand their factories in Taoyuan. Taoyuan has now become a bastion of electronics and semiconductor manufacturing. Over 200 of Taiwan's top 500 manufacturing companies have factories in Taoyuan. Taoyuan has also led Taiwan in terms of industrial output for nine straight years.
There are now 29 registered industrial areas with 3,696 ha (9,130 acres) of non-urban industrial land and 3,131 ha (7,740 acres) of urban industrial land. There are over 6,827 ha (16,870 acres) of land available for factories and industrial use in the city, representing the fact that Taoyuan's development bureau is based on industry and commerce. There are also 9 sites (57 ha; 140 acres) for mixed industrial-commercial use, the most of any county and city in Taiwan.
On 26 March 2010, China Airlines (Taiwan's government-owned airline) moved into its new headquarters on the grounds of Taipei Taoyuan International Airport and in Dayuan Township in Taoyuan County (now Dayuan District, Taoyuan). EVA Air maintains its headquarters in Luzhu District. Evergreen Airlines Services Corporation, Evergreen Aviation Technologies Corp., and Evergreen Air Cargo Services Corporation, subsidiaries of Evergreen Group, are headquartered in Dayuan.
On 25 December 2016, The Asia Silicon Valley Development Agency (ASVDA) was inaugurated in northern Taoyuan City, in a governmental effort to foster innovation, promote the Internet of Things (IoT) sector and attract top-class technology talent. The Asia Silicon Valley Development Plan aimed to transform Taiwan into an R&D hub for the IoT sector as well as a global center of entrepreneurship.
Industry and environment
A former RCA facility is located in the city. The RCA facility is the source of significant trichloroethylene contamination.
Tourism
Historical sites
Daxi Old Street
Daxi Old Street is one of the more famous Taiwanese old streets. It used to be a bustling hub for camphor and the tea trade, filled with diverse stores with façades designed in a Baroque style. The street also has the Daxi Wood Art Ecomuseum, which includes buildings such as Daxi Butokuden and Lee Teng-fan's Ancient Residence.
Furen Temple
Furen Temple was established in 1813, dedicated to Kai Zhang Sheng Wang and the temple is located along Daxi Old Street in Daxi District.
Tianhou Temple
Tianhou Temple was established in 1826, and is located in Xinwu District. The temple built a magnificent bronze statue of Goddess Mazu in 2002, which is the 2nd-tallest statue of Mazu in Taiwan and the 3rd-tallest in the world.
Taoyuan Martyrs' Shrine
Taoyuan Martyrs' Shrine is one of the best-kept Shinto shrines outside Japan.
Nature attractions
Shimen Reservoir
Shihmen Reservoir is one of Taiwan's major reservoirs. Once the largest water conservancy project in Southeast Asia, visitors may find many restaurants open near the reservoir serving fresh reservoir fish delicacies. There is also a three-kilometre-long (1.9 mi) bikeway surrounding the back pond. Shimen Reservoir provides almost all of the water in Taoyuan, as well as to New Taipei City's Xinzhuang, Banqiao, and Linkou districts.
Lala Mountain
Lala Mountain is one of Taiwan's "natural protection zones," including 500- to 2,800-year-old divine trees and the "No. 5 Divine Tree," which predates Confucius.
Museums and art centers
Taoyuan Arts Center
Taoyuan Arts Center is the main performance center in Taoyuan, located in Taoyuan Zhongzheng Arts and Cultural Business District.
Hengshan Calligraphy Art Center
Hengshan Calligraphy Art Center is the first official art museum in Taiwan with the theme of calligraphy.
Others
Cihu Mausoleum
Cihu Mausoleum is the final resting place of the former president of the Republic of China, Chiang Kai-shek.
Window on China Theme Park
The Window on China Theme Park is one of Taiwan's earliest theme parks, established in 1984. The park consists of three areas: Mini World, Water Park, and Amusement Park. The park features numerous small-scale replicas of many famous world landmarks.
Longgang Mosque
The Longgang Mosque in Zhongli District is Taiwan's fifth mosque. It was originally built in 1967 to serve an area with many Taiwanese Muslims.