Taichung (, Wade–Giles: , Pinyin Táizhōng), officially Taichung City, is a special municipality in central Taiwan. Taichung is Taiwan's second-largest city, with more than 2.86 million residents, making it the largest city in Central Taiwan. It serves as the core of the Taichung–Changhua metropolitan area, Taiwan's second-largest metropolitan area.
Located in the Taichung Basin, the city was initially developed from several scattered hamlets helmed by the Taiwanese indigenous peoples. It was constructed to be the new capital of Taiwan Province and renamed "Taiwan-fu" in the late Qing dynastic era between 1887 and 1894. During the Japanese era from 1895, the urban planning of present-day Taichung was performed and developed by the Japanese.Taichung History Map Walk, publish by Center for Digital Cultures，Academia Sinica，2017，p.23. The urban area of Taichung was organized as a provincial city from the start of ROC rule in 1945 until 25 December 2010, when the original provincial city and Taichung County were merged into a new special municipality.Unknown
The city is home to the National Museum of Natural Science, the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, the National Taichung Theater, the National Library of Public Information, National Taiwan Museum of Comics, National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra, as well as many cultural sites, including the historic Taichung Park, the Lin Family Gardens, and many temples.
History Early history The Atayal aborigines as well as several Taiwanese Plains Aboriginal tribes (including the Taokas, Papora, Pazeh, Hoanya and Babuzas) populated the plains that make up modern Taichung. They were originally hunter gatherers who later lived by cultivating millet and taro. In the 17th century, the Papora, Babuza, Pazeh, and Hoanya established the Kingdom of Middag, occupying the western part of present-day Taichung.
Qing dynasty In 1684, Zhuluo County was established, encompassing the underdeveloped northern two-thirds of Taiwan. Modern-day Taichung traces its beginnings to a settlement named Toatun () in 1705. To strengthen Qing control, a garrison was established in 1721 near the site of present-day Taichung Park by Lan Ting-chen.
North of the city, on the Dajia River, an aboriginal revolt broke out in 1731 after Chinese officials moved in and compelled them to provide labor. The revolt spread through the city as far south as Changhua County in May 1732 before the rebels were chased into the mountains by Qing forces. In 1786, another rebellion against the Qing, known as the Lin Shuangwen rebellion, began as an attempt to overthrow the government and restore the Ming dynasty. Unfortunately, as the rebels moved northward, they turned to slaughter and looting. They were eventually defeated by a coalition of Qing forces, Hakka, Quanzhou Fujianese descendants, and aboriginal volunteers.
When Taiwan Province was declared an independent province in 1887, the government intended to construct its capital city at the centrally located Toatun, which was also designated as the seat of Taiwan Prefecture. Thus the city took the title of "Taiwan-fu", meaning "capital city of Taiwan", from modern-day Tainan, which had held the title for more than 200 years. Qing official Liu Ming-chuan received permission to oversee development of the area, which included constructing a railway through the city. However, the provincial capital was ultimately moved to Taipei.
Empire of Japan After the Qing dynasty lost the Sino-Japanese War in 1895, Taiwan was ceded to Japan by the Treaty of Shimonoseki, and the name of the city was changed to . The Japanese sought to develop the city to make it the first "modern" area of Taiwan and invested in roads, dams, and levees. In 1901, was established as one of 20 local administrative districts on the island. In 1904, the town of Taichū had a population of 6,423, and Taichū District had more than 207,000.
Taichū Park was completed in 1903. A tower marking the old north gate was moved to the new park where it stands today. The first market in Taichū was built in 1908, along Jiguang Road between the Zhongzheng and Chenggong Roads and it is still in use today. The Japanese undertook a north–south island railway project. Taichū Railway Station was completed and began operation in 1917, and still operates today. Taichū City was officially declared by Japanese authorities in 1920, and Taichū City Hall was completed in 1924 after 11 years of construction. , now known as Taichung Airport, was constructed during Japanese rule.
Taichū Middle School (now known as Taichung First Senior High School) was founded in 1915 by elite members of local gentry, including Lin Hsien-tang and his brother , two wealthy Taiwanese intellectuals of the era. This was in an effort to teach children the culture of Taiwan and to foster the spirit of the Taiwanese localization movement. The Taiwanese Cultural Association, founded in 1921 in Taipei by Lin Hsien-tang, was moved to Taichū in 1927. Most of the members of this association were from Taichū and the surrounding area. The city became a center of Taiwanese culture and nationalism.
From 1926 to 1945, Taichū Prefecture covered modern-day Taichung as well as Changhua County and Nantou County.
Republic of China After the handover of Taiwan from Japan to the Republic of China in October 1945, Taichung County was established, which consists of present-day area of Taichung City, Miaoli County and Taoyuan City. In 1947 the first mayor of Taichung County (which included Taichung City) was Lai Tien Shen. The position was appointed by the government to rule during the interim period. Taichung also served as the temporary capital of the exiled Jiangxi (Kiangsi) provincial government in 1949 after the Chinese Communist Party took control of the province. In 1950, Miaoli and Taoyuan were taken out from Taichung County area to form Miaoli County and Taoyuan County respectively. In June 2009, the Executive Yuan approved the plan to merge Taichung City and Taichung County to form a larger Taichung City. On 25 December 2010, the city was merged with the surrounding Taichung County to create a special municipality of 2.65 million people spread across .
In 2020, Taichung was classified as a "Gamma" level global city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network.
Geography Taichung City is in the Taichung Basin along the main western coastal plain that stretches along the west coast from northern Taiwan almost to the southern tip. The city borders Changhua County, Nantou County, Hualien County, Yilan County, Hsinchu County and Miaoli County.
The Central Mountain Range lies just east of the city. Rolling hills run to the north leading to Miaoli County, while flat coastal plains dominate the landscape to the south leading to Changhua County and the Taiwan Strait to the west. The Dadu Plateau lies to the northwest.
Climate Taichung has a warm humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cwa) bordering on both a tropical monsoon climate and a tropical savanna climate, with an average annual temperature of . The highest temperature of the year occurs in July and August, while the lowest temperature occurs in January and February. Daytime temperatures remain warm to hot year-round, though night time temperatures during the winter months are significantly cooler than those during the summer and the warm daytime temperature. Its average annual rainfall is just above , relatively low compared to other major cities of Taiwan. The average humidity is 80%.
Due to the protection provided by the Central Mountain Range to the east and the Miaoli hills to the north, Taichung is rarely severely affected by typhoons, but typhoons emerging from the South China Sea occasionally pose a threat to the city, as evidenced by Typhoon Wayne in 1986, which struck Taiwan's west coast near Taichung.
Demographics
Taichung's population was estimated to be 2,867,848 in August 2025. There are slightly more females in the city (50.97%) than males. 24.32% of residents are children, while 16.63% are young people, 52.68% are middle-age, and 6.73% are elderly. According to Ministry of Interior statistics, the fertility rate in Taichung City in 2007 was 1.165 for each woman.
The city surpassed Kaohsiung to become the second largest city in Taiwan in July 2017, growing at the 2nd fastest rate in Taiwan from 2012 to 2017. Recent population increases have been attributed to natural population growth, more people moving to the city, and subsidized housing.
Politics
Local politics Unlike Taipei in the north, which is solidly in the Pan-Blue political camp, and the southern cities of Kaohsiung and Tainan that are solidly Pan-Green, Taichung is more balanced, with the urban city center area leaning Blue and the suburban and rural areas leaning Green. In fact, both major political parties have won a mayoral election among the last four with at least 49 percent of the vote (Democratic Progressive Party in 1997 and 2014 and the Kuomintang in 2001 and 2005). Similarly, the Kuomintang majority in the city council is not as large as it is in other cities, and is only negligible when one excludes Beitun District, which is solidly pro-Kuomintang. The incumbent Mayor of Taichung is Lu Shiow-yen of the Kuomintang.
Government
Taichung City's executive branch is headed by mayor Lu Shiow-yen of the Kuomintang. Taichung's legislative branch is a unicameral 46-member City Council. Each member is elected from one of six member districts where each voter has only one vote.
Administrative divisions Taichung consists of 29 districts, 28 districts and 1 mountain indigenous district. +Labeled map of TaichungNameChineseTaiwaneseHakkaPopulation (January 2023)Area (km2) Central TiongChûng 17,654 0.8803 East TangTûng 75,724 9.2855 South LâmNàm 125,695 6.8101 West SeSî 112,651 5.7042 North PakPet 143,018 6.9376 Beitun (Beituen) Pak-tūnPet-tun 296,757 62.7034 Xitun (Shituen) Se-tūnSî-tun 232,406 39.8467 Nantun (Nantuen) Lâm-tūnNàm-tun 178,446 31.2578 Taiping Thài-pêngThai-phìn 196,327 120.7473 Dali Tāi-líThai-lî 211,768 28.8758 Wufeng (Wufong) Bū-hongVú-fûng 64,093 98.0779 Wuri (Wurih) O·-ji̍tVû-ngit 78,343 43.4032 Fengyuan (Fongyuan) Hong-goânFûng-ngièn 163,699 41.1845 Houli Aū-líHeu-lî 53,716 58.9439 Shigang (Shihgang) Chio̍h-kngSa̍k-kóng 14,166 18.2105 Dongshi (Dongshih) Tang-sìTûng-sṳ 47,789 117.4065 Xinshe (Sinshe) Sin-siāSîn-sa 23,266 68.8874 Tanzi (Tanzih) Thâm-chúThâm-tsṳ́ 108,790 25.8497 Daya Tāi-ngéThai-ngâ 95,419 32.4109 Shengang Sin-kóngSṳ̀n-kông 64,374 35.0445 Dajia Tāi-kahThai-kap 74,866 58.5192 Qingshui (Cingshuei) Chheng-chúiTshîn-súi 89,145 64.1709 Shalu Soa-la̍kSâ-lu̍k 97,201 40.4604 Wuqi (Wuci) Gō·-chheǸg-tshi 59,933 18.4063 Daan (Da'an) Tāi-anThai-ôn 18,208 27.4045 Dadu Tōa-tō͘Thai-tú 56,155 37.0024 Longjing Liông-chéⁿLiùng-tsiáng 78,012 38.0377 Waipu Goā-po͘Ngoi-phû 31,256 42.4099 Heping Hô-pêngFò-phìn 10,921 1037.8192 Inner Taichung refers to the eight former districts of Taichung City before the merger with Taichung County on December 25, 2010. Colors indicate statutory language status of Hakka language in the respective subdivisions. Note that Heping District is also an indigenous area of the Atayal people.
Economy Taichung is the center and the largest city in Central Taiwan. Its main industries are machinery and retail services.: 按從業員工人數觀察，臺中市為中部地區最大都會區及民生消費中心，以批發業及零售業為就業市場主力，從業員工合計達 27.4 萬人或占 23.0%臺中市工商發展投資策進會 (2024): "臺中地區為國內機械業之重要生產基地"
Taichung is home to many industries. It has six main manufacturing industries: tool machines, mechanical components, photoelectric panels, bicycles, woodworking machinery, and aerospace manufacturing.臺中市工商發展投資策進會 (2024): 臺中市六大產業包括工具機暨機械零組件、光電面板產業、自行車及零組件、木工機械、手工具、航太產業。