Nantou County (Hokkien POJ: Lâm-tâu-koān; Hakka PFS: Nàm-thèu-yen) is the second largest county of Taiwan by area, located in the central part of the country. It is also the only non-coastal county in Taiwan. Its name derives from the Hoanya Taiwanese aboriginal word Ramtau. Its mountainous area makes it a tourist destination. The largest natural lake in Taiwan, Sun Moon Lake, is located in this county. Other well-known tourist sites of the county including Aowanda, Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village, Hehuanshan, Paper Dome, Qingjing Farm, Shanlinxi, Shuiyuan Suspension Bridge and Xitou. Notable cities in Nantou are Nantou City and Puli Town. The official butterfly of Nantou County is the broad-tailed swallowtail butterfly (Agehana maraho). Nantou's tung-ting tea is one of the most famous and high-quality oolong teas grown in Taiwan.

History

Early history

Before the arrival of Han Chinese to Nantou, the Atayal, Bunun and Tsou tribes were distributed throughout the northern and central Nantou. These groups pioneered the early development of mountain regions in Nantou.

Kingdom of Tungning

In 1677, Lin Yi, a general under the command of Koxinga, led soldiers to establish residence in (modern-day Zhushan). The Han Chinese began to enter Nantou via two main routes, the Zhuoshui River and Maoluo River.

Japanese rule

In 1901, during Japanese rule, Nanto Chō (南投廳) was one of twenty local administrative offices established. In 1909, part of was merged into Nanto Cho. A major reorganization occurred in 1920, in which the area was administered under Taichū Prefecture together with modern-day Changhua County and Taichung City.

Republic of China

After the handover of Taiwan from Japan to the Republic of China on 25 October 1945, the present day area of Nantou County was administered under Taichung County of Taiwan Province. On 16 August 1950, Nantou County was established by its separation from Taichung County, and Nantou Township was designed as the county seat. On 1 July 1957, the Zhongxing New Village in Nantou Township was designed to be the capital of Taiwan Province from the former Taipei City. In 1981, the county seat was upgraded from Nantou Township to Nantou City. The Chi-Chi earthquake occurred in 1999.

Geography

Nantou County has an area of 4106.436 km2 with a width of 72 km and length of 95 km. It is the second largest county in Taiwan after Hualien County. There are 41 mountains with peaks over 3,000 meters high, with Mount Yu in Xinyi Township is the highest peak in Nantou County and in Taiwan with a height of 3,952 meters. Around 83% of Nantou County area is covered by hills and mountains. Rain that falls into the mountains area converge into the Dadu River and Zhuoshui River. There are inland ponds and lakes throughout the mountains in the county, such as the Sun Moon Lake, Bi Pond, Liyu Pond and Cilin Pond.

Climate

The annual average temperature in Nantou County is 23 °C on level ground and 20 °C on mountains. The annual average rainfall is less than 1,750. mm on level ground and 2,800. mm on mountains. The rainy season lasts from April to September and the dry season lasts from October to March.

Government

Nantou County consists of 1 city, 4 urban townships, 6 rural townships, 2 mountain indigenous townships, 128 villages and 133 neighborhoods. Nantou City is the seat of the county which houses the Nantou County Government and Nantou County Council. The incumbent Magistrate of Nantou County is Lin Ming-chen of the Kuomintang.

Administrative divisions

Colors indicate statutory language status of Hakka and Formosan languages in the respective subdivisions.

Politics

南投縣 Nantou County voted two Kuomintang legislators out of two seats to be in the Legislative Yuan during the 2016 Republic of China legislative election.

Demographics and culture

Population

Nantou County has a population of 479,666 people as of January 2023.

Language

The official language of the county is Mandarin. Taiwanese Hokkien, Hakka, English and aboriginal languages are also spoken.

Economy

Due to its landlocked nature, the county's economy depends mainly on agriculture. Other important industries in the county include forestry, fishery, and animal husbandry. Tourism and manufacturing are also important. As of 2016, there are 28,000 registered businesses and 5,205 registered companies in the county with a total capital of NT$5,609 million and NT$80,024 million respectively. There are 938 factories operating in the county as of 2015.

Education

There are 2 colleges, 13 senior high and vocational schools, 30 junior high schools, 149 elementary schools, 106 kindergartens and 84 day care centers in the county. Notable universities in the county are National Chi Nan University, National Chung Hsing University and Nan Kai University of Technology.

Energy

Nantou County houses Taiwan's first pumped-storage hydroelectric power plant, the Takuan Pumped Storage Hydro Power Plant commissioned in 1985 with an installed capacity of 1,008 MW. It also houses Taiwan's largest pumped-storage hydroelectric power plant, the Mingtan Pumped Storage Hydro Power Plant with an installed capacity of 1,602 MW. Both power plants are located in Shuili Township along the Shuili River.

Sports

Notable sporting events held by Nantou County include:

Tourist attractions

Transportation

Rail

Taiwan Railways Administration

Nantou County is served by the Jiji Line of Taiwan Railways which consists of Zhuoshui, Longquan, Jiji, Shuili and Checheng railway stations.

Taiwan High Speed Rail

Although Nantou County does not have a high speed rail station, high speed rail can be accessed by bus to Taichung HSR station.