Lugang, Changhua
Encyclopedia
Township (Taiwan)
The townships are the administrative subdivisions of Republic of China counties, along with County-controlled city. Most of the present townships originates from Towns and Villages in the Japanese era. After the World War II, the ROC government reformed them as urban townships and rural townships...
in northwestern 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...
, 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...
(latitude 24°03'N, longitude 120°26'E). The township is on the west coast of Taiwan, facing the Taiwan Strait
Taiwan Strait
The Taiwan Strait or Formosa Strait, formerly known as the Black Ditch, is a 180-km-wide strait separating Mainland China and Taiwan. The strait is part of the South China Sea and connects to East China Sea to the northeast...
. The township's name came from the port's trade of deerskins during the Dutch colonial period. Its old Taiwanese name was Lo̍k-á-káng. Lukang was an important sea port in the 18th century and 19th century. It was the most populous city in central 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...
until the early 20th century. In 2011, the Ministry of Interior decided to keep the historical Wade-Giles
Wade-Giles
Wade–Giles , sometimes abbreviated Wade, is a romanization system for the Mandarin Chinese language. It developed from a system produced by Thomas Wade during the mid-19th century , and was given completed form with Herbert Giles' Chinese–English dictionary of 1892.Wade–Giles was the most...
spelling (Lukang), and abandon the change to the Pinyin
Pinyin
Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...
spelling (Lugang) that had been gradually taking place since Taiwan switched to Pinyin in 2009 .
History
During the Qing DynastyQing 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 depth of Lukang's harbour and its proximity to Fujian province on mainland China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
made Lukang an important trading port. During Lukang's heyday from 1785 to 1845, Lukang's population reached 200,000. Lukang was Taiwan's second largest city after current Tainan and was larger than Bangka
Bangka
Bangka can refer to:* Bangka Island, an island of Indonesia* Bangka Regency, Indonesia* Bangka Strait, a strait of Indonesia* Bangka language, spoken in Indonesia* Tagalog: bangka, an outrigger canoe* Wanhua District, Taipei City...
(now a district of Taipei), then the island's third-largest city.
The subsequent silting of the harbour and the city's refusal to allow railroads
Rail transport in Taiwan
Taiwan has an extensive network of railways . Though no longer as dominant as it once was, Taiwan's high population density continues to make rail transport an extremely important form of transportation, especially along the densely populated western corridor...
to pass through the city led to losses in trade in commerce, which, in turn led to Lukang's decline. This same decline, however, averted the modernization processes that demolished historical buildings in Tainan and Taipei, leaving Lukang preserved as it was in its heyday.
Overview
There are still many old temples in Lukang, such as Longshan Temple and Matzu Temple. The city boasts over 200 temples dedicated to a wide variety of folk deities. The town is also the origin of the terms e-káng and teng-káng used respectively to referto southern Taiwan and northern Taiwan; the literal meanings of the terms are below the harbor
and above the harbor.
The Yuzhenzhai (玉珍齋) cakes are famous local specialties, as well as Lukang's Ox Tongue Cakes (牛舌餅) and oyster pancakes. It will host the 2012 Taiwan Lantern Festival, beating out six other contenders.
- 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...
: 39.46 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...
: 85,254 people (Sep. 2007)