Ershuei, Changhua
Encyclopedia
Changhua County
Changhua County is the smallest county in Taiwan located on the westside of Taiwan. It is officially governed as a county of the Republic of China .-Urban townships:# Beidou Township # Erlin Township...
, Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
. It is bordered on the north by Tianzhong Township , to the east by Mingjian Township in Nantou County
Nantou County
Nantou County is the second largest county of Taiwan. It is also the only landlocked county in Taiwan. Its name derives from the Hoanya Taiwanese aboriginal word Ramtau. Nantou County is officially administered as a county of Taiwan....
, and to the west by Xizhou Township. Its name means, literally, "Two Waters", which is a reference to the two irrigation canals constructed in the township, Babao canal 1 and 2, linking the waters from the nearby Zhuoshui River to the fertile Changhua Plain
Changhua Plain
Changhua Plain , also known as the Alluvial Plain of Choshui River or Choshuihsi Plain , is a plain in central Taiwan. It occupied most of the area of Changhua County, and lies to the southwest of Pakua Plateau and northwest of Alishan Mountains. The plain is a part of the Chianan Plain in a broad...
. Ershui is known for its picturesque scenery and the nearby Bagua Mountain Range, and offers many biking and hiking trails. The bulk of Ershui's population lives near its central plaza in front of the Ershui railway station, on the Western Line on the TRA
TRA
TRA is a three-letter abbreviation that can refer to:* Taiwan Railway Administration , the government agency responsible for managing passenger and freight service on conventional rail in Taiwan....
's railway network.
- AreaAreaArea is a quantity that expresses the extent of a two-dimensional surface or shape in the plane. Area can be understood as the amount of material with a given thickness that would be necessary to fashion a model of the shape, or the amount of paint necessary to cover the surface with a single coat...
: 29.4449 km² - PopulationPopulationA population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...
: 17,203 people (2007)
History
The name Ershui (二水) was derived from its original name, Erbashui (二八水), which means, when translated literally, "Two 'Ba' Waters". This refers to Babao canal 1 and 2, which intake the water from the Choshui River and irrigates the farmlands of Changhua. The Babao canals are known as the "Mother Rivers of Changhua", spreading out in a fan-shaped distribution throughout Changhua county and creating a fertile plain for agriculture. After the Japanese takeover of TaiwanTaiwan under Japanese rule
Between 1895 and 1945, Taiwan was a dependency of the Empire of Japan. The expansion into Taiwan was a part of Imperial Japan's general policy of southward expansion during the late 19th century....
, Erbashui was renamed Ershuizhuang (二水庄), meaning "Ershui Village", and it was renamed to Ershui township after its designation as township after the arrival of the Republic of China
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
Kuomintang
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
in 1945 .
Records of habitation at Ershui has been documented all the way back to 1621, in the Ming Dynasty
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
. The first inhabitants of Ershuei first came from the Minnan region of mainland China
Mainland China
Mainland China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China . According to the Taipei-based Mainland Affairs Council, the term excludes the PRC Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and...
to Lugang township in Changhua County
Changhua County
Changhua County is the smallest county in Taiwan located on the westside of Taiwan. It is officially governed as a county of the Republic of China .-Urban townships:# Beidou Township # Erlin Township...
, and then to the foothills of Bagua mountain range. The settlers co-existed with the native indigenous people, and began farming, irrigated by spring water from the mountains. The population at that time was roughly around 300 settlers.
After the construction of Babao canal 1 during the Qing Dynasty
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
, the population spread outwards from the foothills of Bagua mountains towards the canal itself. Farms emerged on both sides of the canal, and this farming boom increased the population to 1700 people, or around 300 households. With the construction of the Erbazi passenger and freight station, local businesses emerged on 1 km of the stationfront street, which was accelerated by the formal construction of the TRA
TRA
TRA is a three-letter abbreviation that can refer to:* Taiwan Railway Administration , the government agency responsible for managing passenger and freight service on conventional rail in Taiwan....
Ershui station in 1918. Finally, the construction of a pineapple canning plant in 1932 began an economic boom for Ershui, making it the most prosperous town in the Choshui River region at the time.
Transportation
TRA
TRA is a three-letter abbreviation that can refer to:* Taiwan Railway Administration , the government agency responsible for managing passenger and freight service on conventional rail in Taiwan....
Western Line, and it is the transfer station for the TRA
TRA
TRA is a three-letter abbreviation that can refer to:* Taiwan Railway Administration , the government agency responsible for managing passenger and freight service on conventional rail in Taiwan....
Branch Jiji Line
Jiji Line
The Jiji Line is a branch line of the Taiwan Railway Administration, located in Changhua and Nantou Counties in Taiwan. The length of the line is 29.7 km.-History:...
railroad operated by the TRA
TRA
TRA is a three-letter abbreviation that can refer to:* Taiwan Railway Administration , the government agency responsible for managing passenger and freight service on conventional rail in Taiwan....
. It is designated as a second-tier train station in the TRA system.
Tourist attractions
A popular spot for tourists and locals alike is the nearby Songboling Recreational Area. The recreational area consists of hiking trails in the Bagua Mountain range, and stretches from Ershuei township into Tianzhong township to the north of it, as well as Mingjian township in Nantou.