Gukeng (Yunlin)

	Gukeng ; 古坑鄉
	; Location Gukengs in Yunlin County
State :	Republic of China (Taiwan)
County :	Yunlin
Coordinates :	23 ° 39 ′ N , 120 ° 34 ′ E Coordinates: 23 ° 39 ′ 0 ″ N , 120 ° 34 ′ 0 ″ E
Height :	60 - 1750 m
Area :	166.6059 km²
Residents :	31,285 (July 2019)
Population density :	188 inhabitants per km²
Time zone :	UTC + 8 (Chungyuan time)
Telephone code :	(+886) (0) 5
Postal code :	648
ISO 3166-2 :	TW-YUN
Community type :	Rural community (鄉, Xiāng)
Structure :	20 villages (村, Cūn )
Website :	www.gukeng.gov.tw
	Gukeng
	Gukeng

Gukeng ( Chinese 古坑鄉 , Pinyin Gǔkēng Xiāng , W.-G. Ku ^L3 -k'eng ¹ Hsiang ¹ ) is a rural community in Yunlin County in the Republic of China, Taiwan .

Location and description

Gukeng is located in the very east of the Yunlin district and, with an area of almost 167 km², is the largest municipality in the district. The neighboring parishes are Douliu (seat of the county government) in the north, Dounan in the west, Dalin and Meishan in the southwest and south, Alishan in the east and Zhushan in the northeast. The topography is characterized by large differences in height. The height above sea level varies between 60 and 1750 meters and generally increases from west to east. About 100 km² are covered by forest areas and about 50 km² are used for agriculture.

history

After the Chinese Empire of the Qing Dynasty took possession of the island of Taiwan in the 1680s, the area of Gukeng was formally administratively assigned to the Zhuluo ( 諸羅縣 ) district. Over the centuries that followed, Han Chinese settlers gradually migrated, displacing or assimilating the local indigenous population . After the war of 1894/95 , Taiwan came under Japanese rule . In 1945 the island was taken over by the Republic of China and Gukeng became a rural community, initially (1946-1950) in Tainan County and from 1950 in the newly formed Yunlin County.

population

In July 2019, 88 members of indigenous peoples lived in Gukeng, corresponding to a population share of 0.3%. In 1969, the population of Gukeng reached a historic high of 42,469 people and has since declined almost continuously.

Outline of Gukeng

administration

Gukeng is divided into 20 villages ( 村 , Cūn ):

1 Caoling ( 草嶺村 )
2 Zhanghu ( 樟湖村 )
3 Guilin ( 桂林村 )
4 Huashan ( 華山村 )
5 Huanan ( 華南村 )
6 Kanjiao ( 崁腳村 )
7 Mayuan ( 麻園村 )
8 Yongchang ( 永昌村 )
9 Yongguang ( 永光村 )
10 Gukeng ( 古坑村 )
11 Nanzai ( 湳仔村 )
12 Xiping ( 西平村 )
13 Zhaoyang ( 朝陽村 )
14 Tianxin ( 田心村 )
15 Shuidui ( 水碓村 )
16 Gaolin ( 高林村 )
17 Hebao ( 荷苞村 )
18 Donghe ( 東和村 )
19 Xinzhuang ( 新庄村 )
20 Qipan ( 棋盤村 )

Agriculture and Forestry

Gukeng is strongly characterized by agriculture. Different types of pineapple (on around 350 hectares), oranges of the Liuding variety (harvest in November / December), guavas , tea and Java apples (harvest in February, June and November) are grown as special products . In addition, ochids are farmed. One of Gukeng's specialties is coffee growing , which has gained international recognition. The forest areas are used for forestry.

traffic

The main traffic artery is the Autobahn 3 ( National Road 3 ), which runs in the western section of Gukeng in a north-south direction. There are also several county roads - 149, 149A (149 甲), 149B (149 乙), 158A (158 甲) and 158B (158 乙).

Special features, worth seeing

The village of Caoling ( 草嶺 , Cǎolǐng , ) has become a tourist destination due to its charming landscape (forests, waterfalls, rock formations, etc.). Near the small lake Jianhu ( 劍湖 - "the Sword" ) is the Jianhushan World ( 劍湖山世界 , Jiàn Hushan Shijie , Eng. , Janfusun Fancyworld ' , ), an amusement park. The park has more than 2 million visitors annually. 23.584777777778 120.6938611111123.612741666667 120.5748805555623.620083333333 120.57789444444

Caoling village

Shimankeng River ( ) in Wannian Canyon ( 萬年峽谷 ) 23.601338888889 120.66703888889

Penglai waterfall ( ) 23.598194444444 120.70811111111

View from Gukeng (in the background the ferris wheel of Jianhushan World )

Web links

Commons : Gukeng - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c 自然資源 ("Natural Resources"). Gukeng website, August 16, 2019, accessed August 17, 2019 (Chinese (traditional)).
↑ 古坑歷史 (History of Gukeng). Gukeng website, August 16, 2019, accessed August 17, 2019 (Chinese (traditional)).
↑ 原住民人口數 ("Members of indigenous peoples"). Dounan Registration Office (dounan.household.yunlin.gov.tw), accessed on August 17, 2019 (Chinese (traditional)).
↑ 歷年人口數 (“Population by year”). Dounan Registration Office (dounan.household.yunlin.gov.tw), accessed on August 17, 2019 (Chinese (traditional)).
↑ 農業特產 ("Agricultural specialties"). Gukeng website, August 16, 2019, accessed August 17, 2019 (Chinese (traditional)).
↑ Huang Tzu-ti: Taiwan's 'Geisha Coffee' from Gukeng earns world recognition. Taiwan News, May 23, 2018, accessed August 17, 2019 .
↑ Caoling. Republic of China Tourism Authority (eng.taiwan.net.tw), 2016, accessed August 17, 2019 .
↑ David Spencer: Taiwan's Top 10 Theme Parks. Taiwan News, July 8, 2018, accessed August 17, 2019 .

[ressource-1] 自然資源 ("Natural Resources"). Gukeng website, August 16, 2019, accessed August 17, 2019 (Chinese (traditional)).

[2] 古坑歷史 (History of Gukeng). Gukeng website, August 16, 2019, accessed August 17, 2019 (Chinese (traditional)).

[3] 原住民人口數 ("Members of indigenous peoples"). Dounan Registration Office (dounan.household.yunlin.gov.tw), accessed on August 17, 2019 (Chinese (traditional)).

[4] 歷年人口數 (“Population by year”). Dounan Registration Office (dounan.household.yunlin.gov.tw), accessed on August 17, 2019 (Chinese (traditional)).

[5] 農業特產 ("Agricultural specialties"). Gukeng website, August 16, 2019, accessed August 17, 2019 (Chinese (traditional)).

[6] Huang Tzu-ti: Taiwan's 'Geisha Coffee' from Gukeng earns world recognition. Taiwan News, May 23, 2018, accessed August 17, 2019 .

[7] Caoling. Republic of China Tourism Authority (eng.taiwan.net.tw), 2016, accessed August 17, 2019 .

[8] David Spencer: Taiwan's Top 10 Theme Parks. Taiwan News, July 8, 2018, accessed August 17, 2019 .