Zuoying District

Coordinates: 22°40′56″N 120°17′38″E / 22.68222°N 120.29389°E / 22.68222; 120.29389

Zuoying District (Chinese: 左營區; pinyin: Zuǒyíng Qū; Wade–Giles: Tso³-ying² Ch'ü¹; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Chó-iâⁿ-khu) is a district of Kaohsiung City in southern Taiwan. Zuoying District has the most populous village in Taiwan: Fushan Village.

History

Zuoying was established in the mid-seventeenth century as a military fortress, known as Old Fengshan (鳳山, also Old Fongshan). It is now the site of Tsoying Harbour, known formerly as Port Saei (左營港). 'Sa-ei' is the Japanese On'yomi (Chinese reading) of the city's name in Chinese characters, but was romanized as 'Tsoying' after World War II by American Naval Consultants.

Naval

Zuoying hosts the Zuoying Naval Airfield (22°42′16″N, 120°16′48″E) and the Republic of China Navy's Zuoying Naval Yard, Taiwan's largest naval base. Villages near the naval base are composed of single-story houses, uncommon in most Taiwanese cities. The villages were first populated by soldiers of the Kuomintang who came from different provinces of mainland China and gathered here after losing the Chinese Civil War in 1949. The ROC National Government provided these veteran serviceman with these single-story houses. These residential areas belonged to the navy and were under military control at that time. Therefore, people outside could not enter villages without martial permission. Without interference from outside, the culture of villages embodies that of different provinces of mainland China.