Nature and History Taichung
Taichung (/ˌtaɪˈtʃʌŋ/, Wade–Giles: Tʻai²-chung¹), officially Taichung City,[I] is a special municipality located in central Taiwan. Taichung has a population of approximately 2.82 million people and is Taiwan’s second most populous city, overtaking Kaohsiung in July 2017.[8][9] It serves as the core of the Taichung–Changhua metropolitan area, which is the second largest metropolitan area in Taiwan. The current city was formed when Taichung County merged with the original provincial Taichung City to form the special municipality on 25 December 2010.[10]
Located in the Taichung Basin, the city was named under Japanese rule, and became a major economic and cultural hub. Originally composed of several scattered hamlets, the city of Taichung was planned and developed by the Japanese.[11] It was called “the Kyoto of Formosa” in the Japanese era because of its calm and beauty.[12] The city is home to the National Museum of Natural Science, the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, the National Taichung Theater, the National Library of Public Information, and the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra, as well as many cultural sites, including the historic Taichung Park, the Lin Family Gardens, and many temples.
Taichung has a warm humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cwa) bordering on a tropical monsoon climate, with an average annual temperature of 23.3 °C (73.9 °F). The highest temperature of the year occurs in July and August, while the lowest temperature occurs in January and February.[23] Daytime temperatures remain warm to hot year-round, though night time temperatures during the winter months are significantly cooler than those during the summer and the warm daytime temperature. The average annual rainfall is just above 1,700 millimetres (67 in), relatively low compared to other major cities of Taiwan.[24] The average humidity is 80%.
Due to the protection provided by the Central Mountain Range to the east and the Miaoli hills to the north, Taichung is rarely severely affected by typhoons. However, occasional typhoons emerging from the South China Sea can pose a threat to the city as evidenced by Typhoon Wayne in 1986, which struck the west coast of Taiwan near Taichung.[25]
Due to Taichung plain’s strong radiative cooling effect[citation needed], Taichung City is one of the few cities of Taiwan where the year round average daily low temperature falls below 20 degrees Celsius, with even most cities of northern Taiwan, such as Taipei and Keelung having an average low of over 20.5 degrees C.
Museums and cultural centers
National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts
The National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts houses the world’s largest collection of Taiwanese art.
National Museum of Natural Science together with National Palace Museum in Taipei and the National Science and Technology Museum in Kaohsiung are called “the Museums of Taiwan”. Across 22 acres (89,000 m2), the Museum is a six-venue complex housing the Space IMAX Theater, Science Center, Life Science Hall, Chinese Science Hall, Global Environment Hall and the Botanical Garden, excluding the Earthquake Museum in Wufong, which is dedicated to public education on seismology, located just 10 kilometers east of the main complex of NMNS. Over 30 permanent exhibit areas cover subjects on astronomy, space science, paleontology, ecology, gems and minerals, Taiwanese Aborigines, and tropical plants. Rotating special exhibits are a constant occurrence.
Taichung Municipal Cultural Center: The Municipal Cultural Center is located on Yingcai Road on property adjacent to the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts.
Taichung Folklore Park: This park is dedicated to presenting a more traditional Taiwanese way of life. It includes a combination of authentic and recreated buildings and streets in an attempt to recreate a more rustic Taiwan.
921 Earthquake Museum of Taiwan: This museum is located in Wufeng District. With the rebuilding of Kwangfu Junior High on its present site, the Earthquake Memorial Museum was renamed the 921 Earthquake Museum of Taiwan on February 13, 2001. The new plan retains the original sites as a record of the damage wrought by the earthquake, and it also adds technological and educational facilities designed to inform the public and school children about earthquakes and disaster readiness.
Asia University Museum of Modern Art (亞洲大學現代美術館): This museum is located at Asia University in Wufeng District. On May 4, 2007, Dr. Tsai presented the project plan and officially invited Mr. Tadao Ando to design an art museum for Asia University. Therefore, the main purpose of inviting Tadao Ando to design the museum was to educate students and create the opportunity for them to have contact with art works from masters of international status. This museum provides various and amazing exhibitions which are related to Asian art and modern art.
Temples
Main article: Temples of Taichung
Temples can be found all over the city of Taichung. While many of them are of recent construction, others are considered historic and are indicative of the changing currents through Taichung’s history.
Dajia Jenn Lann Temple
Confucius Temple
Martyr’s Shrine
ChengHuang Temple
WanChun Temple
Li Ancestral Shrine:
Wenchang Temple
LeCheng Temple
WanHe Temple
Nantian Temple
