Pingtung County
Pingtung County
屏東縣 Pîn-tong County | |
|---|---|
 Left:Sunset view of Erluanbi Light House in Kenting National Park, Baisha Port in Lamay Island, Wanchin Immaculate Conception Church, Jialeshui Beach, Right:Donggang Donglong Temple, Jinde Bridge in Donggang River, Hengchun Ancient City Wall (all item from above to bottom) | |
 Flag  Logo | |
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 Pingtung County in Taiwan | |
| Coordinates: 22°40′31.78″N 120°29′29.09″E / 22.6754944°N 120.4914139°E | |
| Country |  Republic of China (Taiwan) |
| Province |  Taiwana |
| Region | Southern Taiwan |
| Seat | Pingtung City |
| Largest city | Pingtung City |
| Boroughs | 1 cities, 32 (3 urban, 29 rural) townships |
| Government | |
| • Body | |
| • County Magistrate | Chou Chun-mi (DPP) |
| Area | |
• Total | 2,775.6003 km2 (1,071.6653 sq mi) |
| • Rank | 5 of 22 |
| Population (February 2024)[1] | |
• Total | 793,959 |
| • Rank | 10 of 22 |
| • Density | 286.049/km2 (740.865/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+8 (National Standard Time) |
| ISO 3166 code | TW-PIF |
| Website | www.pthg.gov.tw |
| Symbols | |
| Flower | Hairy Bougainvillea (Bougainvillea brasiliensis) |
| Tree | Coconut tree |
| a In Taiwan, provinces remain a nominal division according to the Taiwanese constitution, but are no longer considered to have any administrative function practically. | |
| Pingtung County | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 屏東縣 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 屏东县 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Pingtung[I] (Wade–Giles: Pʻing²-tung¹) is a county located in southern Taiwan. It has a warm tropical monsoon climate and is known for its agriculture and tourism. Kenting National Park, Taiwan's oldest national park, is located in the county. The county seat is Pingtung City.
Name
[edit source]The name Pingtung means "east of Banping mountain",[2] referring to a nearby mountain known as Banping mountain (Chinese: 半屏山; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Pòaⁿ-pêng-soaⁿ).
History
[edit source]Early history
[edit source]Aboriginal inhabitants of Liuqiu Island (13 km [8.1 mi] southwest of Taiwan, and now part of Pingtung County) killed Dutch sailors on two occasions. In response, in the spring of 1636, Dutch sailors carried out a punitive campaign that became known as the Lamey Island Massacre.
Modern-day Pingtung County and Kaohsiung City were part of Banlian-chiu (萬年州; Bān-liân-chiu) during the Kingdom of Tungning (1661–1683) and Fongshan Prefecture (鳳山縣; Hōng-soaⁿ-koān) during Qing dynasty rule (1683–1895).
Until the seventeenth century, this area of Taiwan was a place of exile for Chinese criminals and the occasional landing point for international mariners. Only the settlements near present-day Checheng Township existed. In 1664, the Hakka settlers arrived from mainland China and farmed under a homesteading system introduced by Zheng Jing.
Pingtung City, the biggest city in Pingtung County, also known as "A-Kau" (阿猴; A-kâu, English: the forest), was the home of Taiwanese Plains Aborigines.
In 1684, settlers from China's southern Fujian region created the first Han Chinese villages near Pingtung. By 1734, most of the Pingtung Plain was cultivated, and Pingtung was expanded in 1764. In 1836, the government and locals worked together to build the city's four walls (the North Gate, the East Gate, the West Gate, and the South gate), and the roads were completed.
In March 1867, 14 American sailors were killed near Kenting by local aborigines in the Rover incident, which lead to the failed American Formosa Expedition three months later. In 1871, local aborigines killed 54 sailors from Ryukyu in the Mudan Incident. The Japanese carried out a punitive campaign against the local aborigines in the 1874 Japanese invasion of Taiwan.
Empire of Japan
[edit source]Under Japanese rule (1895–1945), Hōzan Subprefecture (Japanese: 鳳山支廳); Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Hōng-soaⁿ Chi-thiaⁿ was initially under Tainan Ken (臺南縣); Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Tâi-lâm-koān, but political divisions frequently changed between 1895 and 1901. In 1901, Akō Chō (阿猴廳); Pe̍h-ōe-jī: A-kâu-thiaⁿ was established. In 1909, the name changed to Akō Chō (阿緱廳); Pe̍h-ōe-jī: A-kâu-thiaⁿ. In 1920, the name was changed to Heitō City (屏東市); Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Pîn-tong-chhī and was under Takao Prefecture administration, which consisted of modern-day Pingtung County and Kaohsiung.
Republic of China
[edit source]Following the handover of Taiwan from Japan to the Republic of China on 25 October 1945, the area of present-day Pingtung County was incorporated into Kaohsiung County on 25 December 1945. On 16 August 1950, Pingtung County was established after being separated from Kaohsiung County.[3] On 1 December 1951, Pingtung City was downgraded from provincial city to county-administered city and made the county seat of Pingtung County.
Pingtung was the site of a 7.1 magnitude earthquake on 26 December 2006. In 2009, due to Typhoon Morakot, Pingtung received over 2,500 millimetres (98 in) of rainfall, breaking records for any place in Taiwan struck by a single typhoon.
Geography
[edit source]With a land area of over 2,775 km2 (1,071 sq mi), Pingtung is the fifth-largest county in Taiwan, and the second-largest of Southern Taiwan after Kaohsiung City. Geographically, it borders Kaohsiung City to the north, Taitung County to the east, the Taiwan Strait to the west and the Bashi Channel to the south. Islands administered by the county include Hsiao Liuchiu (Lamay Islet; 琉球嶼) and Qixingyan (Seven Star Reefs; 七星岩).
Climate
[edit source]Located in the southernmost part of Taiwan, Pingtung County is known for one of the warmest climates within the country. It has a tropical monsoon climate bordering on a tropical wet and dry climate (Köppen climate classifications: Am bordering on Aw). The climate differs across the large county due to its varying geography.
Northern Pingtung, where Pingtung City is located, is characterized by high daytime temperatures year-round with average daytime highs of 30–40 °C (86–104 °F) from April to November, and 25–28 °C (77–82 °F) from December to March. The lowest nighttime temperatures are around 16 °C (61 °F), due to distance from the sea.
Central Pingtung, such as the coastal Fangliao Township, has a lower daytime temperatures and warmer nights due to the regulating effect of the ocean, which is especially noticeable during winter.
The mildest climate of Pingtung is at its southern tip, the Hengchun Peninsula, which is nearly surrounded by the Pacific Ocean. Daily highs reach 29–32 °C (84–90 °F) during summer and 23–26 °C (73–79 °F) during winter. Nighttime temperatures remain warm throughout the year with lows of around 25 °C (77 °F) during summer and 19 °C (66 °F) during the winter.
| Climate data for Pingtung County (Hengchun Township) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 32.2 (90.0) |
32.4 (90.3) |
34.2 (93.6) |
35.8 (96.4) |
37.1 (98.8) |
36.4 (97.5) |
35.6 (96.1) |
35.3 (95.5) |
36.0 (96.8) |
34.1 (93.4) |
33.8 (92.8) |
32.5 (90.5) |
37.1 (98.8) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 25.1 (77.2) |
26.6 (79.9) |
28.3 (82.9) |
29.6 (85.3) |
31.0 (87.8) |
31.5 (88.7) |
32.0 (89.6) |
31.7 (89.1) |
31.2 (88.2) |
29.8 (85.6) |
27.7 (81.9) |
26.2 (79.2) |
29.2 (84.6) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 21.2 (70.2) |
21.7 (71.1) |
23.3 (73.9) |
25.4 (77.7) |
27.1 (80.8) |
28.1 (82.6) |
28.5 (83.3) |
28.2 (82.8) |
27.6 (81.7) |
26.4 (79.5) |
24.5 (76.1) |
22.0 (71.6) |
25.3 (77.6) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 18.3 (64.9) |
19.0 (66.2) |
20.3 (68.5) |
22.5 (72.5) |
24.2 (75.6) |
25.5 (77.9) |
25.7 (78.3) |
25.4 (77.7) |
24.9 (76.8) |
24.0 (75.2) |
22.2 (72.0) |
19.6 (67.3) |
22.6 (72.7) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 8.4 (47.1) |
9.8 (49.6) |
10.4 (50.7) |
14.7 (58.5) |
17.1 (62.8) |
18.6 (65.5) |
19.4 (66.9) |
19.5 (67.1) |
18.7 (65.7) |
16.0 (60.8) |
12.7 (54.9) |
9.5 (49.1) |
8.4 (47.1) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 25.7 (1.01) |
27.7 (1.09) |
19.9 (0.78) |
43.5 (1.71) |
163.9 (6.45) |
371.3 (14.62) |
396.3 (15.60) |
475.2 (18.71) |
288.3 (11.35) |
141.8 (5.58) |
43.2 (1.70) |
20.6 (0.81) |
2,017.4 (79.43) |
| Average rainy days (≥ 0.1 mm) | 8.0 | 6.8 | 4.8 | 6.3 | 11.1 | 16.9 | 16.4 | 18.9 | 15.9 | 10.8 | 7.1 | 6.1 | 129.1 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 72.6 | 73.7 | 74.4 | 75.4 | 78.5 | 83.6 | 83.3 | 84.0 | 79.7 | 74.0 | 73.1 | 72.4 | 76.7 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 168.0 | 165.1 | 199.7 | 192.6 | 193.9 | 183.6 | 221.0 | 195.5 | 177.2 | 198.1 | 177.7 | 161.4 | 2,233.8 |
| Source: Central Weather Bureau (normals 1994–2013) (extremes 1897–present)[4][5] | |||||||||||||
Government
[edit source]Administrative divisions
[edit source]| Pingtung County Administrative Divisions |
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Pingtung County is divided into 1 city, 3 urban townships, 21 rural townships, and 8 indigenous mountain townships. Pingtung County has the largest number of rural townships and mountain indigenous townships among the counties of Taiwan.[6]
| Type | Name | Chinese | Taiwanese | Hakka | Formosan |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| City | Pingtung City | 屏東市 | Pîn-tong | Phìn-tûng | |
| Urban townships |
Chaozhou (Chaojhou) | 潮州鎮 | Tiô-chiu | Tshèu-chû | |
| Donggang | 東港鎮 | Tang-káng | Tûng-kóng | ||
| Hengchun | 恆春鎮 | Hêng-chhun | Hèn-tshûn | ||
| Rural townships |
Changzhi (Changjhih) | 長治鄉 | Tióng-tī | Tshòng-tshṳ | |
| Checheng | 車城鄉 | Chhia-siâⁿ | Tshâ-sàng | ||
| Fangliao | 枋寮鄉 | Pang-liâu | Piông-liàu | ||
| Fangshan | 枋山鄉 | Pang-soaⁿ | Piông-sân | ||
| Gaoshu | 高樹鄉 | Ko-chhiū | Kô-su | ||
| Jiadong | 佳冬鄉 | Ka-tang | Kâ-tûng | ||
| Jiuru | 九如鄉 | Kíu-jû | Kiú-yì | ||
| Kanding | 崁頂鄉 | Khàm-téng | Kham-táng | ||
| Ligang | 里港鄉 | Lí-káng | Lî-kóng | ||
| Linbian | 林邊鄉 | Nâ-piⁿ | Lìm-piên | ||
| Linluo | 麟洛鄉 | Lîn-lo̍k | Lìm-lo̍k | ||
| Liuqiu (Liouciou) | 琉球鄉 | Liû-khiû | Liù-khiù | Lamay Island | |
| Manzhou (Manjhou) | 滿州鄉 | Bóan-chiu | Mân-chû | ManutsuruPaiwan | |
| Nanzhou (Nanjhou) | 南州鄉 | Lâm-chiu | Nàm-chû | ||
| Neipu | 內埔鄉 | Lāi-po͘ | Lui-phû | ||
| Wandan | 萬丹鄉 | Bān-tan | Van-tân | ||
| Wanluan | 萬巒鄉 | Bān-loân | Van-lòng | ||
| Xinpi | 新埤鄉 | Sin-pi | Sîn-phî | ||
| Xinyuan (Sinyuan) | 新園鄉 | Sin-hn̂g | Sîn-yèn | ||
| Yanpu | 鹽埔鄉 | Iâm-po͘ | Yâm-phû | ||
| Zhutian (Jhutian) | 竹田鄉 | Tek-chhân | Tsuk-thièn | ||
| Mountain indigenous townships |
Chunri (Chunrih) | 春日鄉 | Chhun-ji̍t | Tshûn-ngit | KasugaguPaiwan |
| Laiyi | 來義 |