Top:Shuili Water Creek in Shuili Township, 2nd left:Mount Yu, 2nd right:Nantou County Museum of History in Nantou City, 3rd left:View of Sun Moon Lake, from Xuanzang Temple in Yuchi Township, 3rd right:Evergreen Glassland in Renci Township, Bottom left:Tou George Pond in Taiwan Educational University of Nature, Bottom right:Mount Hehuan
Nantou County (Chinese: 南投縣; pinyin: Nántóu Xiàn; HokkienPOJ: Lâm-tâu-koān; HakkaPFS: Nàm-thèu-yen) is the second largest county of Taiwan by area, located in the central part of the country.[1] It is also the only non-coastal county in Taiwan. Its name derives from the HoanyaTaiwanese aboriginal word Ramtau.[2]
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.[4]
In 1901, during Japanese rule, Nanto Chō (Japanese: 南投廳) was one of twenty local administrative offices established. In 1909, part of Toroku Chō (斗六廳) 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.
Nantou County Administrative DivisionsHehuanshan is one of the higher mountains in Nantou County.
Nantou County has an area of 4,106.436 km2 (1,585.504 sq mi) with a width of 72 km (45 mi) and length of 95 km (59 mi). It is the second largest county in Taiwan after Hualien County.[6]
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 (73 °F) on level ground and 20 °C (68 °F) on mountains. The annual average rainfall is less than 1,750 mm (68.9 in) on level ground and 2,800 mm (110.2 in) on mountains. The rainy season lasts from April to September and the dry season lasts from October to March.[6]
The population growth and decline is calculated by subtracting the population of the previous month from the current month's population. Negative values are represented by red letters, positive values are represented by blue letters, and no growth is represented by green letters.
The population density of each district is calculated by rounding 4 to 5 to 1 decimal place
Due to its landlock nature, the county's economy depends mainly on agriculture.[12][13] Other important industries in the county are forestry, fishery and animal husbandry. It also includes tourism and manufacturing industries. 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. As of 2015, there were 938 factories operating in the county.[14]
^1.7-鄉鎮市區戶口數 [Population for Township and District]. Ministry of the Interior (in Chinese (Taiwan) and English). August 2020. Retrieved 21 September 2020. 南投縣 Nantou County南投市 Nantou City埔里鎮 Puli Township草屯鎮 Caotun Township竹山鎮 Jhushan Township集集鎮 Jiji Township名間鄉 Mingjian Township鹿谷鄉 Lugu Township中寮鄉 Jhongliao Township魚池鄉 Yuchih Township國姓鄉 Guosing Township水里鄉 Shueili Township信義鄉 Sinyi Township仁愛鄉 Renai Township
^"Profile of Nantou County". Nantou County Government. 7 January 2015. Archived from the original on 19 November 2017. Retrieved 25 May 2019. Language: Mandarin is the official language; Taiwanese, Hakka, English and dialects of aborigines are also spoken.
^"History". Taiwan Nantou District Prosecutors Office. 12 August 2019. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
1 The provinces are merely retained as nominal entities within the constitutional structure, as they have no governing power following the formal dissolution of the provincial administrative organs in 2018. Cities and counties are de facto regarded as the principal constituent divisions of the ROC.
Sarah Shair-Rosenfield (November 2020). "Taiwan Combined"(PDF). The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 29 May 2021.