Luodong
Luodong Township
La đông trấn Ratō, Lotung | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Luodong Township in Yilan County | |
| Location | Yilan County,Taiwan |
| Area | |
| • Total | 11 km2(4 sq mi) |
| Population (September 2023) | |
| • Total | 70,002 |
| • Density | 6,400/km2(16,000/sq mi) |
| Website | www |
Luodong Township(Chinese:La đông trấn;pinyin:Luódōng Zhèn;Wade–Giles:Lo2-tung1Chen4;Pe̍h-ōe-jī:Lô-tong), sometimes spelledLotungorLotong,is anurban townshipin the central part ofYilan County,Taiwan.Luodong is the smallest township in the county by area.
Toponym[edit]
Its name and former name (Chinese:Lão hiểu;Pe̍h-ōe-jī:Lō͘-tóng)[1]derive from theKavalanwordrutung,meaning "monkey",referring to a large population of monkeys there half century ago.
History[edit]
Qing dynasty[edit]
In 1804,Pingpu tribechiefs Pan Xian Wen and Maoge fromChanghualed a group of people to settle in the Luodong area, where they established Alishih and Ashushih communities and developed agriculture on a large scale. In 1812,Qing dynastyofficer Fan Bang Gan was assigned to Luodong. Two years later, Han settlers entered the region to begin clearing and developing the area. The Pingpu tribe and Han settlers fought over land ownership but eventually they ended up working together to develop Luodong. Years later, Luodong became a developed region with a combination of aboriginal and Han cultures.
Japanese Empire[edit]
UnderJapanese rule,Luodong was developed into the base for industries established by theTaiping Mountainlogging business. In 1916, the Japanese government established the Giran Branch Office of the Forest Administration Bureau in charge of logging, transportation and storage of Taiping Mountain area timber with a log pond set up in today'sYuanshan Township.The branch office was then later on moved to Luodong due to the change in the lumber transportation from waterway to railway. Finally in 1924, upon the completion of railway connecting Luodong andTuchang( thổ tràng inDatong), the branch office was officially moved toChikurin(Rừng trúc).From that moment onward, Luodong became a commercial center.[2]From 1920 to 1945, Lutung was administrated as Ratō Town(La phố đông)ofTaihoku Prefecture.
Geography[edit]
Luodong is located onLanyang Plain.It covers an area of 11.34 square kilometres (4.38 sq mi) and as of September 2023 had a population of 70,002 people. It has a large, landscaped sports park.
Administrative divisions[edit]
Luodong Township consists of 25 villages and 524 neighborhoods.[2]Villages in the township are Kaiming, Daxin, Tungan, Xinqun, Luozhuang, Nanchang, Nanhao, Chenggong, Rende, Renhe, Zhongshan, Hanmin, Weiyang, Xian, Beicheng, Guohua, Xianwen, Gongzheng, Jixiang, Xinyi, Shulin, Zhulin and Renai Village.
Tourist attractions[edit]
Luodong has a large night market -Luodong Night Market- containing many varieties oflocal food,such as scallion pancakes. Luodong has a large community which organizes dance clubs and recitals for the elderly. It is also the home of the locally famous Meihua Lake.
Luodong has an excellent natural environment, and is close to both urban Yilan and Su'ao township, popular for its cold and hot springs. It is popular as a destination in the summer for its proximity to the Yilan Children's Festival as well as the farms of San xing township. People visit Luodong year-round to enjoy its charming bed and breakfasts.
Luodong Forestry Culture Parkis a former timber processing plant that was equipped with sawmills, lumber yards, an agency office, and workers' dormitories. The park still has a complete set of old industry facilities, early village buildings, storage units, and transport machinery.[3]
Another park in the township isLuodong Sports Park.
Festivals in the township include the Luodong Arts Festival Fringe.[4]
Transportation[edit]
Rail[edit]
Luodong is served by theYilan LineofTaiwan RailwaysatLuodong Station.
Road[edit]
The main bus station in the township is Luodong Transfer Station. There are two interchanges in Luodong township alongNational Highway 5.
Notable natives[edit]
- Chen Chin-te,acting Magistrate ofYilan County(2017–2018)
- Huang Chun-ming,novelist and writer
- Lin Mei-hsiu,actress and television host
- Lin Tsung-hsien,Minister ofCouncil of Agriculture(2017–2018)
- Lin Zi-miao,Magistrate of Yilan County
- Ran In-ting,watercolor artist
- Jimmy Liao,illustrator
- Doris Yeh,bassist ofChthonic
- Janez Janež,medical doctorandsurgeon[5]
Sister cities[edit]
Saito, Miyazaki,Japan
References[edit]
- ^"Entry #40086".Đài Loan Mân Nam ngữ thường dùng từ từ điển[Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwan Minnan]. (in Chinese and Hokkien).Ministry of Education, R.O.C.2011.
- ^ab"[ Information For Foreigners In Yilan ]".Foreigner.e-land.gov.tw. 2008-08-07. Archived fromthe originalon 2014-05-25.Retrieved2014-05-25.
- ^"Luodong Forestry Culture Park".2016.Retrieved26 June2021.
- ^Shen, Worthy; Yen, William (4 August 2017)."Luodong Arts Festival parade rescheduled to Aug. 5 after storm".Focus Taiwan.Retrieved7 August2017.
- ^InChineseis doctor Janez Janež known asFan Fenglong(simplified Chinese:Phạm phượng long;traditional Chinese:Phạm phượng long) or simplyDoctor Fan(simplified Chinese:Phạm bác sĩ;traditional Chinese:Phạm bác sĩ;pinyin:Fan yisheng)
External links[edit]
- Official website
(in Chinese)
Cities and townships ofYilan County | ||
|---|---|---|
| Cities |  | |
| Urban townships | ||
| Rural townships | ||
| Mountain indigenous townships | ||