Chia-i

Chia-i, county (hsien, or xian), west-central Taiwan. Chia-i city, in the eastern part of the county, is the administrative seat.

The county is bounded by Yün-lin (Yunlin) and Nan-t’ou (Nantou) counties to the north, by Kao-hsiung (Gaoxiong) and T’ai-nan (Tainan) special municipalities to the east and south, respectively, and by the Taiwan Strait to the west. The A-li (Ali) Mountains dominate the eastern region, and there are coastal plains in the west. Paddy rice, sugarcane, peanuts (groundnuts), corn (maize), jute, bananas, pineapples, and citrus fruits are grown. Chia-i is Taiwan’s leading woodworking region, producing railroad ties and thin wood sheets for packing. Machinery, food canning, sugar and rice milling, and petroleum industries are also important.

In the mid-17th century the region came under Chinese (Ming) control during the rule of Zheng Chenggong (Cheng Ch’eng-kung, or Koxinga) in Taiwan. The county has many places of interest, including the A-li Mountains (a forested vacation area), the Tropic of Cancer Monument, Wu-feng (Wufeng) Temple, and Mei-shan (Meishan) Park. Each leap year, a festival “temple meeting” is held at Chia-i city, which is connected by air to Taipei special municipality in the north and the P’eng-hu (Penghu) Islands in the west. Pu-tai (Budai) and Tung-shih (Dongshi) are the county’s two main ports. Area 734 square miles (1,902 square km). Pop. (2015 est.) 519,839.