Hsinchu City, or Chuchien of the old days, used to be the
settlement area of the Doukas tribes of the Pingpu
People. In the 30th year of Ching Dynasty Emperor
Kanghsi's reign (1691 AD), Shih-chieh Wang of
Chuanchou, Fuchien and around 180 members of his
clan arrived and settled in Chuchien. They were the
first group of migrants from the Mainland to develop
Hsinchu, the first wave of Han immigrants that spark
the migration rush from the mainland. The second
migration rush occurred during the 3rd year of Ching
Dynasty Emperor Yungcheng's reign (1725 AD). Li-peng
Hsu of Lufeng, Kuangtung led the waves of migration
when he landed in the shores of Hungmao Harbor,
Hsinchuangtsai northwest of Chuchien. He started the
migration wave of Hakka immigrants that came and
developed the territories of Hsinchu, Chupei,
Hsinfeng, and Hsiangshan, as we know them today. In
1949, when the Kuomintang Government moved to
Taiwan, it also brought with it its entire military
and their families. This opened a new waved of
immigration from the Mainland. Hsinchu, at the time,
became the home of the air force base and facility.
Air force officers and their families were first
relocated into the residences and schools vacated by
the Japanese Government withdrawal; later, the
government constructed military villages to
accommodate its military personnel and their
families.
The period from 1956 to 1958 saw the establishment of the
National Tsinghua University and the National Chiao
Tung University in Hsinchu. Later, the International
Industrial Technology Research Institute Inc.
promoted the creation of the Hsinchu Science-based
Industrial Park (HSIP) in 1980. This development
turned Hsinchu into the cradle of an international
technology industry. The establishment and
development of the Hsinchu Science-based Industrial
Park also created an excellent employment
environment and opened new employment opportunities.
It enticed the movement of technologists to the
Hsinchu area. This economic development started the
fourth migration wave to Hsinchu.
Immigrants from different walks of live led to the birth of a
diversified immigrant culture in Hsinchu City.
Changes of the passing years created a new cultural
blend that has become the hallmark of the
present-day Chuchien atmosphere.
The Tamshui Hall was established in the 1st year of Ching Dynasty
Emperor Yungcheng's reign. In the 6th year of
Ching Dynasty Emperor Kuanghsu's reign, the
district of Tamshui and Hsinchu was divided,
thus giving way to the creation of the Hsinchu
County. In 1920, the Japanese established the
Hsinchu shire and the public office for its
administration. The shire was upgraded to a city
in 1927 and administration was placed under the
city administration office. In 1941, Hsiangshan
village and a portion of the six villages of
Chiukang were merged to expand jurisdictional
area. After the recovery of Taiwan in 1945, the
Japanese relinquished its administration of the
Hsinchu state to the ROC Government, which until
October 1946, the Taiwan Provincial Government
rezoned the jurisdictional areas in line with
the implementation of its local autonomous
policy. Hsinchu officially became a
county-governed city and its former state
capitol became an administration hall; it had
jurisdiction over seven district administration
halls. In 1950, the provincial jurisdictional
area was rezoned. The new alignment placed
twenty-one county-governed counties and cities
under the provincial jurisdictional zone.
Hsinchu city and the present-day Hsinchu County
were merged together to form the Hsinchu County;
center of administration was located in Hsinchu
City. Later, industrial and commercial
development, as well as the establishment of
university and college campuses and research
facilities and the establishment of the HSIP led
to the prosperity of Hsinchu City. In view of
the multifaceted coordination and untiring
efforts, Hsinchu was placed under the
jurisdiction of the Provincial Government by
presidential decree on July 1st, 1982. The
township of Hsiangshan was formerly under the
jurisdiction of Hsinchu County and placed its
jurisdiction under Hsinchu City.
Hsinchu City is located
in the northwest of Hsinchu at the center of the
Hsinchu plains. It is flanked by hills on its east,
south and north; however its western side runs to
the coast. Its southwest ends run into Chunan,
Miaoli County. Hills lay adjacent to Paoshan
Township on its south. Its eastern end is links up
to Chutung, and its northeast end looks towards
Touchien Creek and Chupei City. The Taiwan Strait
lies on the west of Hsinchu. Total land area
amounted to around 104.1 square kilometers. It sits
between two metropolitan cities. It is 78 kilometers
away from Taipei City and around 91 kilometers from
Taichung City. Total population as of the 2009
statistics is 409,365, or 1.77% of the total
national population of 23,119,772; hence as of
yearend 2009, the population density is 3932.42
persons per square kilometer.
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