Taitung County
Taitung County (Chinese: 台東縣 or 臺東縣; pinyin: Táidōng Xiàn) is the third largest county in Taiwan, located in the eastern coast.
Name
While its name means "Eastern Taiwan", it is also known as "Houshan" (Chinese: 後山; pinyin: hòushān; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: āu-soaⁿ) by many of the locals, meaning behind the mountains or the back mountains.
History
Qing Dynasty
In 1887, the new Taiwan Province included Taitung Prefecture as one of four prefectures.
Empire of Japan
During the Japanese rule of Taiwan, Taitung County was administered as Taitō Prefecture.
Republic of China
After the handover of Taiwan from Japan to the Republic of China on 25 October 1945, Taitung was established as a county of Taiwan Province on 25 December the same year.
Geography
Taitung runs along the south east coast of Taiwan. Taitung county, possessing 3,515 km2 is the 3rd largest county in Taiwan after Hualien County and Nantou County. Taitung County's coastline is 231 km long. Taitung currently has a population of 231,863.
Due in part to its remote location and isolation by mountains from Taiwan's main population centers, Taitung was the last part of the island to be colonized by Han Chinese immigrants (late 19th century). Throughout the 20th century Taitung remained an economic backwater. Sparsely populated even today, this isolation may have been a blessing in disguise, as Taitung mostly escaped the urbanization and pollution that have come to plague much of the island's lowland areas.
