Hsinchu was originally inhabited by the Taokas Taiwanese Aborigines and they named the place Tek-khàm after the numerous bamboos that covered the terrain. It was not until after the arrival of the last Qing dynasty emperor that established a city in Taipei did they change the name to Hsinchu or New Bamboo aka New Tek-khàm. He named it Hsinchu because he hoped everyday there would be new changes and new innovation brought to the city.
Hsinchu, being just above the Tropic of Cancer, is considered subtropical and thus is very humid with the average above 75% all year round. It is generally very windy, which is why it is often nicknamed “the Windy City”. Like the majority of Taiwan, it is rainy nearly all year round but mostly from February to September and, within that timeframe, from late-April to late-August. Hsinchu, unlike the East side of Taiwan, does not experience as serious troubles from typhoons. The majority of the epicenters of earthquakes are also not near Hsinchu, either in Hua-lien or Nantou. For the most part, Hsinchu has been transformed into urban areas, largely dedicated to the Science Park, the industrial region of Hsinchu. Sadly, Hsinchu is not a place that attracts many tourists or visitors. In relations to other nearby regions, Taipei is one node to the north where most people in Hsinchu go to, and Taichung to the south, a second major node in Taiwan. Going even further south is Kaohsiung which is another node and is home to a large port of Taiwan.
PAS is located within the formal region of Hsinchu. Hsinchu itself is separated into various distinctive areas: Hsinchu County and Hsinchu City. PAS is located in Hsinchu City on Guangfu Road. Finally, Hsinchu, as described above, is of subtropical Taiwan or the part of Taiwan that is north of the tropic of cancer. That means that so is PAS. Those are the three formal regions PAS is located in. As for three functional regions within Hsinchu there is first, the science park. The Science Park is home to hundreds of innovative electronic technological companies. They include TSMC, D-Link, Realtek, etc. The Science Park makes Hsinchu the highest income level in Taiwan. Big City is a second nodal region in Hsinchu itself. Hsinchu is the biggest mall in South Eastern Taiwan and attracts people all over Hsinchu and countries around it. It is home to an I-Max theatre and hundreds of different shops. The food court itself varies in the variety of food and is relatively cheap. Thus, Big City is a huge nodal region that attracts hundreds to thousands of people every day. The final functional region in Hsinchu is Downtown Hsinchu. Downtown Hsinchu is where the Sogo is and people who live there often go to Sogo instead of taking a bus all the way to Big City, unless it’s for watching movies. Vernacular regions in Hsinchu are hard to find. Perhaps arguably the only good one is that Hsinchu, the region itself, is supportive of the KMT political party. The reason why so many of the people in Hsinchu support KMT is because after their retreat from China, many former soldiers and their families lived in northern Taiwan which is why they support the KMT. Second, the people in Hsinchu consider themselves high earners meaning they earn a lot of money for Hsinchu. That is on the large part true as it has the highest income level in Taiwan. Ironically, Hsinchu receives little of the funds from Taipei and the environment stays relatively poor. Finally, people in Hsinchu also consider themselves highly educated as they have some of the best universities in Taiwan, including NTHU and NCTU.
Hsinchu is a relatively populated place with a population density of around 4000 people per square kilometer. However, in Jhu-bei there aren’t as many people as in the downtown area of Hsinchu City. The majority of the people are concentrated in the downtown area where the Cheng Huang Temple in Hsinchu is. Jhu-bei on the other hand, is much less concentrated; however, its buildings are much more modern, clean, and the living standards are much higher, thus, it is a growing region in Hsinchu as a whole. PAS, along with other international schools around Hsinchu, is a sign of globalization because it shows that the people in Hsinchu are starting to want to connect with the outside world by going to international schools. Long before PAS was established, there were already signs of globalization or westernization. McDonalds, for example, has been in Taiwan since 1982 and it spread rapidly throughout the country. Traditional food in Hsinchu has already started to be taken over by Japanese, Italian, or even Vietnamese food. Right downstairs from PAS there’s a northern European restaurant and a Japanese restaurant, and just across the street there are more Japanese restaurants and a Vietnamese place. Right next to where I live there are two Italian restaurants because of the popularity of foreign food in Hsinchu.
Essential Question:
1) Hsinchu is unique in the way that it has a very diverse culture. Because of the Science Park, it attracts international people to live in Hsinchu. The food itself shows the diversity as it covers Asian food, local Taiwanese food, Italian Food, Scandinavian Food, etc. Hsinchu also has a port in Nanliao, but unlike other port cities, Hsinchu makes by far, most of its money from the Science Park.
2) Hsinchu is similar to other cities in that it has largely been westernized. McDonalds is absolutely widespread here and so is KFC. The majority of the people in Hsinchu also speak Chinese and not local Taiwanese. As the majority of Asia speaks Chinese or a dialect of Chinese, Hsinchu is not special in that sense.
Hsinchu, being just above the Tropic of Cancer, is considered subtropical and thus is very humid with the average above 75% all year round. It is generally very windy, which is why it is often nicknamed “the Windy City”. Like the majority of Taiwan, it is rainy nearly all year round but mostly from February to September and, within that timeframe, from late-April to late-August. Hsinchu, unlike the East side of Taiwan, does not experience as serious troubles from typhoons. The majority of the epicenters of earthquakes are also not near Hsinchu, either in Hua-lien or Nantou. For the most part, Hsinchu has been transformed into urban areas, largely dedicated to the Science Park, the industrial region of Hsinchu. Sadly, Hsinchu is not a place that attracts many tourists or visitors. In relations to other nearby regions, Taipei is one node to the north where most people in Hsinchu go to, and Taichung to the south, a second major node in Taiwan. Going even further south is Kaohsiung which is another node and is home to a large port of Taiwan.
PAS is located within the formal region of Hsinchu. Hsinchu itself is separated into various distinctive areas: Hsinchu County and Hsinchu City. PAS is located in Hsinchu City on Guangfu Road. Finally, Hsinchu, as described above, is of subtropical Taiwan or the part of Taiwan that is north of the tropic of cancer. That means that so is PAS. Those are the three formal regions PAS is located in. As for three functional regions within Hsinchu there is first, the science park. The Science Park is home to hundreds of innovative electronic technological companies. They include TSMC, D-Link, Realtek, etc. The Science Park makes Hsinchu the highest income level in Taiwan. Big City is a second nodal region in Hsinchu itself. Hsinchu is the biggest mall in South Eastern Taiwan and attracts people all over Hsinchu and countries around it. It is home to an I-Max theatre and hundreds of different shops. The food court itself varies in the variety of food and is relatively cheap. Thus, Big City is a huge nodal region that attracts hundreds to thousands of people every day. The final functional region in Hsinchu is Downtown Hsinchu. Downtown Hsinchu is where the Sogo is and people who live there often go to Sogo instead of taking a bus all the way to Big City, unless it’s for watching movies. Vernacular regions in Hsinchu are hard to find. Perhaps arguably the only good one is that Hsinchu, the region itself, is supportive of the KMT political party. The reason why so many of the people in Hsinchu support KMT is because after their retreat from China, many former soldiers and their families lived in northern Taiwan which is why they support the KMT. Second, the people in Hsinchu consider themselves high earners meaning they earn a lot of money for Hsinchu. That is on the large part true as it has the highest income level in Taiwan. Ironically, Hsinchu receives little of the funds from Taipei and the environment stays relatively poor. Finally, people in Hsinchu also consider themselves highly educated as they have some of the best universities in Taiwan, including NTHU and NCTU.
Hsinchu is a relatively populated place with a population density of around 4000 people per square kilometer. However, in Jhu-bei there aren’t as many people as in the downtown area of Hsinchu City. The majority of the people are concentrated in the downtown area where the Cheng Huang Temple in Hsinchu is. Jhu-bei on the other hand, is much less concentrated; however, its buildings are much more modern, clean, and the living standards are much higher, thus, it is a growing region in Hsinchu as a whole. PAS, along with other international schools around Hsinchu, is a sign of globalization because it shows that the people in Hsinchu are starting to want to connect with the outside world by going to international schools. Long before PAS was established, there were already signs of globalization or westernization. McDonalds, for example, has been in Taiwan since 1982 and it spread rapidly throughout the country. Traditional food in Hsinchu has already started to be taken over by Japanese, Italian, or even Vietnamese food. Right downstairs from PAS there’s a northern European restaurant and a Japanese restaurant, and just across the street there are more Japanese restaurants and a Vietnamese place. Right next to where I live there are two Italian restaurants because of the popularity of foreign food in Hsinchu.
Essential Question:
1) Hsinchu is unique in the way that it has a very diverse culture. Because of the Science Park, it attracts international people to live in Hsinchu. The food itself shows the diversity as it covers Asian food, local Taiwanese food, Italian Food, Scandinavian Food, etc. Hsinchu also has a port in Nanliao, but unlike other port cities, Hsinchu makes by far, most of its money from the Science Park.
2) Hsinchu is similar to other cities in that it has largely been westernized. McDonalds is absolutely widespread here and so is KFC. The majority of the people in Hsinchu also speak Chinese and not local Taiwanese. As the majority of Asia speaks Chinese or a dialect of Chinese, Hsinchu is not special in that sense.