Ciaotou District is a rural district in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan.

History

Empire of Japan

During the Japanese era, modern-day Gangshan District and Ciaotou were administered under Okayama Town (岡山街), Okayama District, Takao Prefecture. Ciaotou was the location of the first modern sugar refinery in Taiwan, and the Ciaotou station was built in 1901 to aid the refinery's transportation needs between Kaohsiung and Tainan. After the refinery closed in 1999, the location became Kaohsiung's Taiwan Sugar Museum.

Republic of China

After the handover of Taiwan from Japan to the Republic of China in 1945, Ciaotou was organized as a rural township of Kaohsiung County. On 25 December 2010, Kaohsiung County was merged with Kaohsiung City and Ciaotou was upgraded to a district of the city.

Geography

Ciaotou has a land area of 25.9379 square kilometers, or 10.0147 square miles. It has 41,605 inhabitants as of October 2023, and belongs to the Kaohsiung metropolitan area. It is the 18th most populated district in Kaohsiung.

Administrative divisions

The district consists of Qiaotou, Qiaonan, Shilong, Shifeng, Yuliao, Tunglin, Xilin, Baishu, Bixiu, Xinzhuang, Jiabei, Jianan, Dingyan, Zhongqi, Shihe, Desong and Sande Village.

Politics

The district is part of Kaohsiung City Constituency II electoral district for Legislative Yuan.

Tourist attractions

Transportation

Ciaotou is served by the Ciaotou, Ciaotou Sugar Refinery, and Cingpu stations of the Kaohsiung Metro. The Ciaotou metro station can also connect to the Western Trunk line of the Taiwan Railways Administration. Ciaotou is also served by Provincial Highways 1 and 17.

Notable natives