History of Hsinchu

Hsinchu (Chinese: 新竹; Hanyu Pinyin: Xīnzhú; Tongyong Pinyin: Sinjhú; Wade–Giles: Hsin¹-chu²; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Sin-tek) is one of the oldest cities in northern Taiwan, with more than 400 years of history. Hsinchu is popularly nicknamed "The Windy City" (Chinese: 風城; Hanyu Pinyin: Fēngchéng; Tongyong Pinyin: Fongchéng; Wade–Giles: Feng¹-ch'eng²) due to its breezy climate and it is famous for being the City of Technology of Taiwan.

Early History

The first settlers in the city of Hsinchu were the aboriginal tribe known as Taokas. Before Han Chinese people migrated to Hsinchu, the area was the homeland of the Taokas plains aborigines, Saisiyat, and Atayal tribes. Originally, they settled by the coast of Siangshan Wetlands and then gradually expanded northeast and cultivated the area.

In 1626, after the colony of Spanish Formosa was established in the north of Taiwan, Spanish missionaries arrived at Teckcham/Tek-cham (Chinese: 竹塹; pinyin: Zhúqiàn; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Tek-khàm), which comes from a Formosan language term meaning "seashore". In 1642, the Dutch drove out the Spanish from Taiwan. Dutch Formosa ended with the Siege of Fort Zeelandia in 1662. The Kingdom of Tungning then ruled part of southwestern Taiwan until 1683.

Qing Dynasty

In 1684, Zhuluo County was established during Qing Dynasty rule, initially encompassing the underdeveloped northern two-thirds of Taiwan. Han people again cultivated the Teckcham area.

The city was first settled by Han Chinese in 1711.^[1] Wang Shijie was the first Chinese settler from southern Fujian to reside in Teckcham and began to cultivate farmland. By 1723, the Qing Dynasty split Zhuluo into three sections; one of them was Tamsui Subprefecture (ting), corresponding to modern-day Taipei, New Taipei, Keelung, Taoyuan City, Hsinchu City, Hsinchu County, and Miaoli County.

Teckcham had been surrounded by bamboo groves used as defense walls and gates. In 1825, the bamboo walls and city gates surrounding Tamsui were changed into brick and stone walls (except the East gate). In 1877, Tamsui Ting was abolished. In 1878, Teckcham Subprefecture was converted into a district (hsien) and renamed Hsinchu,^[2] also seen as Sin-tek. By 1887, Taipeh Prefecture consisted of the districts of Tamsui, Gilan and Hsinchu.

In the late 19th century, Hoklo people dominated the coastal plain area, forcing the Saisiyat and Atayal tribes to move to Jianshi and Wufeng area, while the Hakka people and Taokas plains tribes settled together in the river valleys and hills area.

By the end of 1893, the railway from Keelung crossing the Taipei Bridge was completed and regular service was opened over the entire 60 miles (97 km) line.^[3]

Japanese Rule

In the years immediately after Taiwan was ceded to the Japanese after the First Sino-Japanese War in 1895, the political divisions of the island were changed frequently. In 1901, Shinchiku Chō (新竹廳) was one of twenty local administrative offices established around the island,^[4] and became the main administrative center between Taihoku (Taipei) and Taichū (modern-day Taichung). The population of the city in 1904 was 16,371, ranked 7th, behind Keelung and followed by Shoka.^[5]

Under Japanese rule, the city had undergone a major facelift. Roads and railways were built and many traditional buildings, even the city wall surrounding the former Tamsui Subprefecture (淡水廳), were demolished. During this time, Shinchiku was introduced to the glass making industry the city became famous for in the later years. It made the city the center of excellence for decorative glass manufacturing.

In 1920, under Japanese rule, Shinchiku Town (新竹街) was established, with the founding of a Town District Office, under Shinchiku District of Shinchiku Prefecture. In 1930, as the city system was applied, Shinchiku Town was upgraded to Shinchiku City with the establishment of Shinchiku City Office. In 1941, its administration district was expanded, annexing Kōzan Village (Xiangshan), whereas Kyūminato Village (舊港庄) and Rokka Village (六家庄) became Chikuhoku village (竹北庄, modern-day Zhubei City) under the same district. Shinchiku Prefecture encompassed modern-day Hsinchu City, Hsinchu County, Taoyuan City, and Miaoli County.

Modern History

After the handover of Taiwan from Japan to the Kuomintang-led Republic of China after World War II, they established the Hsinchu City Government and focused on the industrial development of the area. Hsinchu County was established to be part of Taiwan Province on 25 December 1945.

In 1980, the government established “The Science Park”, which significantly improved the area's economy. Later on, Hsinchu was known as a place of science and technology. Under the President’s order in 1982, Hsinchu City merged with the township of Xiangshan and became a provincially governed city of Hsinchu.

By the end of 1982, the city was classified into East, North and Xiangshan districts. The East, North and Xiangshan district administration offices were posted on October 1 and then they were formally established on November 1 in the same year.

From 1994 to 1999, as Taiwan made its transition from authoritarian rule to modern democracy and the mostly pro forma provincial level of government began to be dissolved, regulations were established for formal Hsinchu City self-government. A deputy mayor, consumer officer, and three consultants were added to the city government. In 2002 the city added a Bureau of Labor and transferred Compulsory Military Service to the Department of Civil Service.

Hsinchu is located in a favourable spot: the drive to Taipei is around 1 hour, and to Taoyuan International Airport is a 40-minute drive. And to the south, the city of Taichung is only 60 minutes away. The most popular Hsinchu Science and Industrial Park develops high-tech research and products, specialising in areas of semiconductors, computers, information technology and optical engineering. Despite the honourable title of “City of Technology”, it has also created numerous job opportunities.

References

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