Yunlin County

Yunlin County 雲林縣 Abbreviation(s): Yunlin (雲林)
County
Flag Coat of arms
Coordinates: 23°42′18″N 120°28′34″E / 23.70489°N 120.47607°E / 23.70489; 120.47607Coordinates: 23°42′18″N 120°28′34″E / 23.70489°N 120.47607°E / 23.70489; 120.47607
Country	Taiwan
Region	Western Taiwan
Seat	Douliu City
Largest city	Douliu City
Boroughs	1 cities, 19 (5 urban, 14 rural) townships
Government
• County Magistrate	Su Chih-fen
Area
• Total	1,290.84 km2 (498.40 sq mi)
Area rank	13 of 22
Population (Jan. 2009)
• Total	723,700
• Rank	12 of 22
• Density	560/km2 (1,500/sq mi)
Website	www.yunlin.gov.tw (English)
Symbols
Bird	Formosan Blue Magpie (Urocissa caerulea)
Flower	Moth orchid (Phalaenopsis)
Tree	Camphor tree (Cinnamomum camphora)

Yunlin County (Chinese: 雲林縣; pinyin: Yúnlín Xiàn) is a county in the western part of Taiwan. It is located to the right of the Taiwan Strait, east of Nantou County and shares a border with Changhua County divided by the Zhuoshui River. Yunlin is one of the counties of Taiwan that is part of the Chianan Plain, a flat land rich for agriculture with abundant waters. Agricultural products of Yunlin county include pomelo, tea leaves, suan cai, papaya and muskmelon. Due to Yunlin's abundant waters, it has potential for hydroelectricity. Douliu is the largest, and capital city of Yunlin. Yunlin is one of the least developed counties on the West coast, thus emigration is a major problem.

History

Yunlin county's establishment can be dated back to the Qing Dynasty. Liu Mingchuan was in charge of Taiwan at the time, when Taiwan was only divided into only a few counties. Due to the abundance of mountains, transportation and communication between bordering counties such as Changhua County and Chiayi County was difficult, so Liu suggested a new county called Yunlin for easier management.

In 1887, Yunlin became one of the four counties of Taiwan.

During the Japanese colonial times, Yunlin was again abolished and combined into today's Tainan City. However Douliu continues to be an important city of Central Taiwan.

In 1981, Douliu satisfied the Taiwanese Local Constitution and became the County-controlled city of Yunlin county.

Geography

Yunlin county is the only county that is not contiguous to a special municipality on the Taiwan main island.

Economics

Yunlin is still currently based on agricultural production, major jobs being fisheries (fresh water), although there are also industrial parks located in Yunlin as well.

Higher education

• National Yunlin University of Science and Technology
• National Formosa University
• TransWorld University

Transportation

Taiwan Railway Administration passes through Yunlin with stations:

• Linnei Station
• Shiliu Station
• Douliu Station
• Dounan Station
• Shigui Station

Taiwan High Speed Rail is building a station in Yunlin to be completed at 2015.

Highways include:

• National Highway No. 1 (Taiwan)
• National Highway No. 3 (Taiwan)

Administration

Su Chih-fen, Magistrate of Yunlin County

Yunlin County is divided into 1 city, 5 urban townships and 14 rural townships.

Cultural Activities

• Beigang International Music Festival

Sports

In the National Games at Changhua 2011, Yunlin ranked 11 out of the 22 Counties and Cities of Taiwan. 10 Gold, 8 Silver and 8 Bronze.

Tourist attractions

• Honey Museum
• Yunlin Hand Puppet Museum
• Yunlin Story House

See also

• County (Taiwan)

External links

• Yunlin County Government Website (Chinese) (English)

v t e Administrative divisions of Taiwan Special municipalities (5) Kaohsiung New Taipei Taichung Tainan Taipei Provincial cities (3) Chiayi Hsinchu Keelung Counties (14) Changhua Chiayi Hsinchu Hualien Kinmen Lienchiang Miaoli Nantou Penghu Pingtung Taitung Taoyuan Yilan Yunlin Note The provinces (Taiwan and Fujian) are streamlined. See also Free area of the Republic of China, List of administrative divisions of Taiwan

v t e Cities and townships of Yunlin County County seat: Douliu Cities Douliu Urban townships Beigang Dounan Huwei Tuku Xiluo Rural townships Baozhong Citong Dapi Dongshi Erlun Gukeng Kouhu Linnei Lunbei Mailiao Shuilin Sihu Taixi Yuanchang