Taicheng

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Monument to Chin Gee Hee

Pedestrian Mall

Taicheng Township (台城镇) is the capital of Taishan City, which lies on the right bank of the Pearl River Delta in Guangdong Province, China.

[edit] Geography

The township covers 142.4km² with 18km² in the town itself which has a population of 93153. There are 27000mu under cultivation and 10 neighbourhood and 27 village committees.

Some of these villages are surrounded by high-rise urban development, while others lie in the rural outskirts of the township, including the village of Bei Hou (庇厚).

[edit] History

In 1891, the Presbyterian Church of America constructed a chapel on the main thoroughfare of Tai Xi Road, which was reconstructed in elegant red-brick in 1922 with a capacity of 300.

In 1906 Chen Yixi began building a railway which eventually linked Taicheng with Jiangmen through the Sun Ning Railway Company.

In 1907, the Tan Clan Middle School was founded east of the town, but is now surrounded by urban development. A new residential school is being constructed outside of the town to replace what is now a dilapidated and crowded structure.

In 1938 the railway was destroyed in advance of invading Japanese troops.

On March 3, 1941, Japanese troops from Doushan marched into Taicheng lead by a Chinese traitor, and took the town in three hours. 282 people were killed, 534 stores and houses were burnt, and goods estimated at 3.6 million yuan were plundered. A week later the Nationalist Chinese Army retook the town, but were again forced out on September 20, 1941. Japanese troops remained in occupation until their unconditional surrender at the end of the war on August 15, 1945.