Hsinchu

The area around Hsinchu City was inhabited by the Taokas aboriginies[13] when the Spanish occupied northern Taiwan in the 17th century. Catholic missionaries reached the settlement of Tek-kham in 1626. The Spanish were expelled by the Dutch a few decades later.

Under the Qing, a Chinese town was established at Tek-kham by Wang Shih-chieh and other Han settlers in 1711.[8] Wang and his party of over 180 people were natives of Kinmen who first camped alongside what is now Dongqian Street in East District, Hsinchu.[14]

As part of the reorganization of Taiwan by Shen Baozhen, the viceroy of Liangjiang, Zhuqian Subprefecture (i.e., Tek-kham) was raised to the level of a county and renamed Xinzhu (i.e., Sin-tek or Hsinchu) in 1878.[15] When Taiwan was made a province in 1887, Hsinchu was made a part of Taipeh Prefecture.

Map of Hsinchu (labeled as SHINCHIKU) and surrounding area (1944)

During the Japanese occupation following the First Sino-Japanese War, the city—known at the time as Shinchiku—was among the province's most populous. In 1904, its 16,371 residents ranked it in 7th place, behind Keelung and ahead of Changhua ("Shoka"). Shinchiku was raised to town status in 1920 and city status in 1930. At the same time, it became the seat of Shinchiku Prefecture. In 1941, its prefecture was expanded, annexing Xiangshan ("Kōzan"). Jiugang ("Kyūminato") and Liujia ("Rokka") merged to become Zhubei ("Chikuhoku").

The Nationalist government of the Republic of China established the Hsinchu City Government in 1945 to oversee all of what had been Shinchiku Prefecture under the Japanese.

In 1946, the Take-Over Committee dissolved and replaced by the Hsinchu County Government, located in Taoyuan. As the administrative districts were readjusted, Hsinchu was granted provincial city status. It used the old prefecture office as its city hall at 120 Chung Cheng Road. In February 1946, representative congresses were formed for seven district offices. On 15 April, the city congress was formed. Provincial representatives were elected from among the city legislators.

On 16 August 1950, the administrative districts on Taiwan were re-adjusted once more, demarcating 16 counties and 5 provincial cities.

In June 1982, under presidential order, the Xiangshan Township of Hsinchu County merged into Hsinchu City. A new municipal government was formally established on 1 July 1982, comprising 103 villages and 1,635 neighborhoods. These were organized into the East, North, and Xiangshan districts by 1 November.[16] By June 1983, the new government consisted of three bureaus (Civil Service, Public Works, and Education), four departments (Finance, Social Welfare, Compulsory Military Service, and Land Affairs), four offices (Secretary, Planning, Personnel, and Auditing), and 49 various sections. The Police Department, Tax Department, and Medicine and Hygiene Department were considered affiliate institutions.

From 1994 to 1999, as Taiwan made its transition from authoritarian rule to a representative democracy and the mostly pro forma provincial level of government began to be dissolved, regulations were established for the self-government of Hsinchu. A deputy mayor, consumer officer, and three consultants were added to the city government. In 2002, the city added a Bureau of Labor and transferred Compulsory Military Service to the Department of Civil Service.

A movement is underway from 2021 to have Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County to be upgraded to the nation's seventh special municipality.[17]

Hsinchu's climate is humid subtropical (Koppen: Cfa). The city is located in a part of the island that has a rainy season that lasts from February to September, with the heaviest time coming late April through August during the southwest monsoon, and also experiences heavy "plum rains" in May and early June.[18] The city succumbs to hot humid weather from June until September, while October to December are arguably the most pleasant times of year. Hsinchu is affected by easterly winds off of the East China Sea. Natural hazards such as typhoons and earthquakes are common in the region.[19][20][21]

Hsinchu has 3 districts (區):[27][28]

Map	Name		Chinese	Hokkien	Hakka	Population (March 2023)	Area (km²)
		East	東區	Tang	Tûng	222,223	33.5768
		North	北區	Pak	Pet	152,504	15.7267
		Xiangshan	香山區	Hiong-san	Hiông-sân	78,809	54.8491

Colors indicate the common language status of Hakka within each division.

Hsinchu City voted one Kuomintang legislator to be in the Legislative Yuan during the 2020 Taiwan general election.

The city was historically pan-Blue, but in recent years the pan-Green coalition has started to rise in popularity. In addition, the economic development and urbanization in the city has caused an influx of a highly-educated population. As a result, local factions have decreased in power, and political parties have a greater importance in local elections.[29]

Hsinchu City is mainly served by Hsinchu railway station along with five other minor TRA stations on both Western Trunk line and Neiwan line. There is also an HSR station in nearby Zhubei, Hsinchu County on Taiwan High Speed Rail.

Hsinchu City has recently created a series of cycling routes to help cyclists navigate the city more easily. Hsinchu is home to many cycling clubs.

Pleasure and fishing ports are located at Nanliao Street, North District and in Haishan, Xiangshan district.

Hsinchu Airport is located in North District mainly used as a military airbase. The nearest international airport is Taoyuan International Airport which is located 58 km away from the city.

Hsinchu is twinned with:[39]

City	Region	Country	Since
Beaverton	Oregon	United States	1988
Cary	North Carolina	United States	1993
Cupertino	California	United States	1998
Richland	Washington	United States	1988
Plano	Texas	United States	2003
Okayama	Okayama Prefecture	Japan	2003
Puerto Princesa	Palawan	Philippines	2006
Fairfield	New South Wales	Australia	1994
Chiayi City	Taiwan	Republic of China (Taiwan)	2002
Airai	Airai	Palau	2011