Central District (Chinese:中區; pinyin:Zhōng Qū) is an urban district in Taichung City, Taiwan. It is located at the heart of the city, though it has seen decline in recent years as newer districts nearby like Xitun has seen growth. It is the smallest district and township-level subdivision in Taiwan and the only one with an area under 1km².[3]
Taichung City was first settled in this district. Since the area used to be a swamp, they settled near a small hill known as Dadun (大墩). By the Qing Dynasty this area developed as a prosperous town.[4]
Map of Taichung (labeled as TAICHŪ) and surrounding area (1944)
Under the Republic of China, several Japanese districts, which included Tachibana-cho, Midori-cho, Sakae-cho, Taisho-cho, Takara-cho, Nishiki-cho, Shintomi-cho, Yanagi-cho, Hatsune-cho, and Wakamatsu-cho were combined to form Central District.
Central District used to be the heart of all business and commerce in Taichung. However, since the district was planned in the Japanese era, the roads are too tight to accommodate for modern growth. Therefore, the area has seen decline as newer districts like Xitun to the west grew rapidly. In 2010, the Taichung City Hall moved from Central District to Xitun District. There has been recent efforts to renew the city, with local businesses utilizing the historical buildings in the city to create unique shops and restaurants.
