Yunlin is a county in western Taiwan. Yunlin County borders the Taiwan Strait to the west, Nantou County to the east, Changhua County to the north at the Zhuoshui River, and Chiayi County to the south at the Beigang River. It has a population of 664,963 as of 2022.
Yunlin is part of the Chianan Plain, a flat land known for its agriculture. Agricultural products of Yunlin County include pomelo, tea leaves, suan cai, papaya and melon. Yunlin's rivers give it potential for hydroelectricity. Douliu is the largest and capital city of Yunlin. It is the only county on the main island of Taiwan where no city with the same name exists. Yunlin is one of the least developed counties on the West coast, and suffers from emigration.
History
Dutch Formosa During the Dutch Formosa era, Ponkan (modern-day Beigang) was an important coastal castle.
Qing Dynasty Yunlin County was established during the Qing Dynasty. Liu Mingchuan was in charge of Taiwan, which had been divided into three counties since 1683, Yunlin being part of Zhuluo County. Mountains made transportation and communication between bordering counties (Changhua and Chiayi) difficult, so Liu suggested a new county, called Yunlin, for easier management. In 1887, Yunlin became one of the four counties of the new Taiwan Prefecture.
Empire of Japan During Japanese rule, Yunlin (as Unrin) County was again abolished due to the resistance from the local people and combined with Tainan Prefecture. However, continued to be an important city of central Taiwan.
Republic of China The Yunlin area remained under Tainan County after the handover of Taiwan from Japan to the Republic of China on 25 October 1945. On 16 August 1950, Yunlin County was separated from Tainan County, with Douliu Township as the county seat. On 25 December 1981, Douliu Township was upgraded to a county-administered city. Yunlin is the only county on Taiwan island without a city of the same name. Like the rest of Taiwan, Yunlin is nominally a part of Taiwan Province, Republic of China, although the provincial level of government is functionally obsolete.
Geography Yunlin County is located in the central-south portion of western Taiwan and is at the northern tip of the Chianan Plain. The county is bordered by Nantou County to the east, the Taiwan Strait to the west, Chiayi County to the south separated by the Beigang River, and Changhua County to the north separated by the Zhuoshui River. Its widest distance from east to west is and from north to south is , with a total area of .
Geology Around 80% of Yunlin County are plains and the other 10% are hills. Generally the county is covered with high green space. In 2015, the county experienced 75% of Taiwan's total land subsidence, over an area of due to its groundwater overuse.
Climate The weather in the county is tropical, with an annual average temperature of 22.6 °C and an average annual rainfall of 1,028.9 mm.
Administration
Yunlin County is divided into 1 city, 5 urban townships and 14 rural townships. Douliu City is the county seat and home to the Yunlin County Government and the Yunlin County Council. Chang Li-shan of the Kuomintang is the incumbent Magistrate of Yunlin County.
TypeNameChineseTaiwaneseHakkaCityDouliu City (Douliou) Táu-la̍k Téu-liukUrbantownshipsBeigang Pak-káng Pet-kóngDounan Táu-lâm Téu-nàmHuwei Hó͘-bóe Fú-mîTuku Thô͘-khò͘ Thú-khùXiluo (Siluo) Sai-lê Sî-lôRuraltownshipsBaozhong (Baojhong) Po-tiong Pô-chûngCihtong (Citong) Chhì-tông Tshṳ̀-thùngDapi Tōa-pi Thai-phîDongshi (Dongshih) Tang-sì Tûng-sṳErlun Jī-lūn Ngi-lûnGukeng Kó͘-kheⁿ Kú-hângKouhu Kháu-ô͘ Khiéu-fùLinnei Nâ-lāi Lìm-nuiLunbei Lūn-pòe Lûn-poiMailiao Be̍h-liâu Ma̍k-liàuShuilin Chúi-nâ Súi-lìmSihu Sì-ô͘ Si-fùTaixi (Taixi) Tâi-se Thòi-sîYuanzhang Goân-chiáng Ngièn-tshòng Color indicates the statutory language status of Hakka in the respective subdivisions.
Politics Yunlin County elected two Democratic Progressive Party legislators to the Legislative Yuan during the 2020 legislative election, represented by Liu Chien-kuo and Su Chih-fen. The majority seats of Yunlin County Council is independent but headed by speaker Shen Tsung-lung () of the Kuomintang.
Demographics and Culture
Cultural activities in the county is regulated by the Bureau of Cultural Affairs of the Yunlin County Government, which holds exhibitions, speeches, performances and studies to promote the arts and related activities.
Sports
The county government promotes many sports. The Douliu Baseball Stadium and Yunlin County Stadium are two of the international-level sports facilities in the county.
The first for-all-people games were held in Yunlin County in 2000. The county also hosted the 2005 National Games. In the 2011 National Games at Changhua, Yunlin ranked 11th out of the 22 counties and cities of Taiwan, with 10 gold, 8 silver and 8 bronze medals.
Recent major sporting events held by Yunlin include: 2007 Baseball World Cup (co-hosted with Taipei, New Taipei, and Taichung) 2010 Intercontinental Cup (co-hosted with Taichung) 2013 18U Baseball World Cup (co-hosted with Taichung) 2015 WBSC Premier12 (co-hosted with Taipei, Taoyuan, and Taichung) 2019 Asian Baseball Championship (co-hosted with Taichung) 2022 U-23 Baseball World Cup (co-hosted with Taipei and Taichung)
Economy
Yunlin County's economy relies mainly on agricultural production, including fresh-water fisheries, although there are also industrial parks. As of 2006, the land use for agriculture, forestry and fishery production accounts about 66.45% of its area. As of July 2015, the county had a total debt of NT$64.8 billion. Monthly, the county government spend NT$600 million for staffs salary and another NT$600 million for retirement funds.
Agriculture Farmlands accounts for around 68% of Yunlin County's area. Good weather and fertile lands allows various seasonal crops. Among the agricultural products are coffee, hard clams, horseshoe calms, Taiwan tilapia, shaddock, soy sauce, pickled cabbage, peanuts and sesame oil.
Fishery Yunlin County boasts excellent fishing grounds along its coastline. There are several leading fishing ports, at Boziliao, Santiaolun, Taixi, Taizicun, and Jinhu. Several institutions were established in the county to help the development of the county's fishing industries: the Taixi Experimental Fishing Grounds, the Seawater Fish Farming Research Center, the Aquaculture Experimental Station, and the Agriculture Council.
Livestock Livestock farming includes pigs, cows, chickens, geese and ducks. The county government has been aggressively helping the dairy farmers to upgrade their feeding techniques, and also set up modern meat-packing facilities.
Tourism The county government plans to develop the tourism and recreational industries within the county, such as by establishing a holiday fish market at the Boziliao Fishing Port in the hopes of attracting more visitors.
Education
The county is home to four universities: the China Medical University Beigang Campus, the National Formosa University and National Yunlin University of Science and Technology. There are 8 public senior high schools, 9 private high schools, 32 junior high schools and 156 elementary schools, as well as the National Yunlin Special Education School.
To promote lifelong learning, the Yunlin County Government established a community university in 2001 with 6 learning centers to offer county residents more opportunities.
Senior High Schools
Public Schools
National Beigang Agricultural & Industrial Vocational Senior High School
National Beigang Senior High School
National Huwei Agricultural & Industrial Vocational Senior High School
National Huwei Senior High School
National Tou-liu School Of Home Economic & Commerce
National Tou-liu Senior High School
National Tuku School Of Home Economic & Commerce
Yunlin County Mailiao High School
Yunlin County Tounan Senior High School
Private Schools
Bliss And Wisdom Senior High School
Da-cheng Vocational High School
Dader Industrial And Commercial Vocational High School
Perpetual Help High School
Ren High School
Sacred Hearts High School
St.Vincent High School
Victoria Academy
Yang-tze High School
Yi-feng Senior High School
Energy
Power generations Yunlin County houses one power plant, the Mailiao Power Plant, in Mailiao Township. Commissioned in July 1999, it has a capacity of 4,200 MW and is the third largest coal-fired power plant in Taiwan.
Water supply Currently, most of the county residence use groundwater as their water supply. However, in 2016 the Hushan Dam was opened in Douliu City in which its reservoir will soon supply the water needs for the county residence.
Tourist attractions
Historical buildings Historical buildings in the county include the House of Citizen-Memorial Hall of Attendance, Jhen Wen Academy, Erlun Story House and Xiluo Theater.
Ma Min Shan Park Labyrinth
The first and largest temple theme park in Taiwan, the park is full of unique mountains and rocks. It features a large courtyard landscape of high mountain and stone forests, matched with scenic surroundings. There are a total of 73 characteristic landscapes in the area. The park includes the steep and eye-catching Rainbow Bridge. Tourists can climb up to a panoramic view of the park.
Xiluo Bridge
Xiluo Bridge is a highway bridge in Taiwan. During the Japanese Occupation, it was called Zhuoshuixi Bridge. It connects Yunlin County and Changhua County, and straddles the lower reaches of Zhuoshui River. It is designed with a Warren-style truss bridge. When it was completed in 1952, the Xiluo Bridge was the second longest bridge in the world after the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco in the United States. At that time, it was known as the "Far East First Bridge."
Scenic spot Caoling is a popular mountain scenic spot in Yunlin County. Yunling Hill is located at the intersection of three counties: Yunlin, Chiayi County, and Nantou County. It is a new mountain scenic spot, with an altitude of about 1,650 meters, offering a great view of sunrise, sunset and the sea of clouds. Green Tunnel Park is a long and narrow roadside park with a brick walking/biking path lined with mango trees. Next to the tunnel are tracks of a small sugar plantation railway. Its tracks, stations, and carriages were quite unique. The Gukeng Township Government has plans to restore the space as a cultural landscape park.
Temples Prominent Temples in the county include; Beigang Chaotian Temple: one of the most important Mazu temples in Taiwan and known for its magnificent temple architecture, visited by more than a million pilgrims every year Beigang Wude Temple (北港武德宮): one of the largest temple dedicated to Xuan Tan Zhen Jun (玄壇真君), Martial God of Wealth Xiluo Guangfu Temple: prominent Mazu temple in Xiluo township Xiluo Fuxing Temple (西螺福興宮)： prominent Mazu temple in Xiluo township, have an annual procession during Mazu's Birthday Yong'an Temple: a popular temple dedicated to the Deity known as Kai Zhang Sheng Wang (開漳聖王)
Museums and cultural centers Yunlin County is home to several museums and cultural centers, such as the Beigang Cultural Center, Farming and Irrigation Artifacts Museum, Honey Museum, Museum of Beigang Story, Soy Sauce Brewing Museum, Yunlin Hand Puppet Museum, Yunlin Story House and Zhaoan Hakka Cultural Hall.
Cheng Lin Agarwood Forest Museum
Chenglin Agarwood Forest Museum is located in Huwei Town, covering an area of about 5.8 hectares. It was the first largest agarwood forest park in the county. It has a Japanese Zen-style like Kenroku Garden and a simple style of ecological landscape pond. The garden is covered with more than 80 species of trees for viewing. The venue has a professional guided introduction and many thousand-year-old cypress artworks, as well as Chenglin's exclusive collection of the world's largest 3,000-year-old sacred wood.
Honey Museum