T'ai-tung

▪ Taiwan

formerly  P'i-nan,  

      coastal shih (municipality) and seat, T'ai-tung hsien (county), southeastern Taiwan, on the southern bank of the Pei-nan River, 58 miles (94 km) northeast of Kao-hsiung.

      The city was founded and developed during the reigns of Chia-ch'ing (1796–1820) and Hsien-feng (1851–61), both emperors of the Ch'ing dynasty. Situated on an alluvial plain, it is an important agricultural marketing centre; rice, sugarcane, and peanuts (groundnuts) are grown nearby. Sugar milling, cotton ginning, and timber and jute processing are the major industries. T'ai-tung city also has an experimental station for tropical agriculture. It is the southern terminus of the East Line railway from Hua-lien in the north and is connected by air to Taipei city, Kao-hsiung city, and Lan Island. Lack of a good harbour has retarded industrial development in T'ai-tung. Pop. (1990 est.) 108,127.

▪ county, Taiwan

      hsien (county), southeastern Taiwan. It is bordered by the hsiens of Hua-lien (north) and Kao-hsiung and P'ing-tung (southwest) and by the Philippine Sea (east). Thickly forested southeastern slopes of the Chung-yang Range extend over most of the area; Kuan Mountain, rising to 12,028 feet (3,666 m), is the highest peak on the northwestern border of the hsien. A hydroelectric plant, located 3 miles (5 km) northwest of T'ai-tung city on the Pei-nan River, provides electric power and irrigation facilities for the surrounding region. Agriculture is confined mostly to the narrow coastal plains; paddy rice, sweet potatoes, wheat, sugarcane, corn (maize), peanuts (groundnuts), bananas, and pineapples are grown. Cattle, pigs, and poultry are raised. Sugar milling, cotton ginning, and wood processing are the major industries. Gold, silver, copper, gypsum, nickel, and iron ore are mined. T'ai-tung, the administrative seat, has a teacher-training college. Area 1,357 square miles (3,515 square km). Pop. (1991 est.) 256,405.

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