| Yuanlin 員林鎮 |
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| — Urban township — | |||
| Temple in Yuanlin park | |||
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| Yuanlin within Changhua County | |||
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Yuanlin
員林鎮 |
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| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | Republic of China | ||
| Province | Taiwan | ||
| County | Changhua | ||
| Villages (里) |
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| Government | |||
| • Acting Mayor | Zhang Jinkun (張錦昆) (Kuomintang) | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 40.04 km2 (15.5 sq mi) | ||
| Highest elevation | 410 m (1,345 ft) | ||
| Lowest elevation | 20 m (66 ft) | ||
| Population (December 2010[1]) | |||
| • Total | 125,476 | ||
| • Density | 3,133.8/km2 (8,116.4/sq mi) | ||
| • Households | 36,041 | ||
| Time zone | CST (UTC+8) | ||
| Postal code | 510 | ||
| Area code(s) | 04 | ||
| Website | http://www.yuanlin.gov.tw/ | ||
Yuanlin (Chinese: 員林鎮; pinyin: Yuánlín zhèn; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Oân-lîm tìn) is an urban township in eastern Changhua County, Taiwan. The most populous township in Taiwan, Yuanlin is also the second largest settlement in Changhua County, after the county seat of Changhua City.
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The land around Yuanlin was cleared of trees and bushes, and fitted for cultivation since the time of Yongzheng of the Qing Dynasty (1723–1735). It was well developed about the 16th year of Qian-Long. At first, people cut down the surrounding forests to build their houses. Gradually, only the round woodland was left, and the town was named 圓林 (Yuanlin), meaning "the round woodland." Later the characters were changed to 員林 (Yuanlin). Yuanlin produces different kinds of fruits, and succade (fruit cooked in sugar syrup and encrusted with a sugar crystals) is one of its specialties.
Yuanlin is located on the eastern border of Changhua County, in central Taiwan. The township is bordered to the north by Dacun, to the east by Fenyuan and Nantou City (the only neighboring settlement outside Changhua County), to the south by Shetou, and to the west by Yongjing and Puxin.
With a population of 125,476 as of December 2010,[1] Yuanlin is the most populous township in Taiwan, and has a higher population than 10 of the 17 County-controlled cities.[2] The division between male and female residents is almost equal, with 63,043 male and 62,433 female registered inhabitants in 36,722 households.[1] At the beginning of the Republic of China era on Taiwan, the first census in December 1946 showed a population of 37,999,[3] with steady annual increases from then on. The number of inhabitants passed the 50,000 mark in 1953,[4] and first exceeded 100,000 in 1979.[5] Since 1995 the population has fluctuated only slightly, and remained between 125,000 and 128,000.[6]
Yuanlin has a station on the Taiwan Railway Administration's Western Line. A project is underway to redevelop the station in combination with converting the current at-grade line to an elevated line through the township, a plan designed to improve road traffic flow and promote investment. The elevation of the track will eliminate three level crossings and five underpasses, and the area currently comprising the station will be converted into a mixed-use development with commercial space, parking and green space. This redevelopment is scheduled to be completed in 2013 and has a budget of NT$4 billion.[7]
To travel outside Yuanlin by road, the Provincial Highway 76, an east-west elevated route, runs through the township and is the most efficient way to reach either of Taiwan's major north-south freeways, the National 1 and the National 3.[8]
In the early 2010s two mayors of the town were convicted in separate corruption cases. July 2010 saw former mayor Tu Quanchong sentenced to 16 years in prison for soliciting NT$3.5 million in kickbacks from a major construction project dating back to his time in office.[9] In April 2011 the then serving mayor, Wu Zongxian, was impeached on corruption charges similarly related to kickbacks from construction projects. Wu was subsequently sentenced to 14 years in prison, having been found guilty of exacting bribes in excess of NT$16 million from 81 different projects since 2005. Officials from the Control Yuan said the scope of Wu's activities was "unprecedented" and that "virtually no construction projects in the town were untainted by corruption".[10]
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