Luodong

Luodong 羅東鎮
Township
Luodong Township
Location of Luodong within Yilan
Country	Taiwan
Province	Taiwan
County	Yilan
Area
• Total	11.34 km^2 (4.38 sq mi)
Population (December 2014)
• Total	72,533

Luodong Township (Chinese: 羅東鎮; pinyin: Luódōng Zhèn; Wade–Giles: Lo²-tung¹ Chen⁴; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Lô-tong) is an urban township in the central part of Yilan County, Taiwan. Luodong township is the smallest township in Yilan County.

Naming

Its name derives from the Kavalan word rutung, meaning "monkey", referring to a large population of monkeys there half century ago.

History

Qing Dynasty

In 1804, a Pingpu tribe chief Pan Xian Wen and Maoge from Changhua led a group of people to settle down in Luodong area, in which they established Alishih and Ashushih communities and developed a large scale agricultural industries. In 1812, Qing Dynasty officer Fan Bang Gan was assigned of Luodong. Two years later, Han settlers entered the region to begin clearing and developing the area. The Pingpu tribe and Han settlers used to fight over land ownership but eventually they ended up working together to develop Luodong. Years later, Luodong became a developed region with a special characteristics of the combination of aboriginal and Han cultures.

Japanese Empire

Under the Japanese rule, Luodong was developed into the base for industries established by the Taiping Mountain logging business. In 1916, the Japanese government established the Yilan 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's Yuanshan 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 and Tuchang, the branch office was officially moved to Zhulin, Luodong. From that moment onward, Luodong became a commercial center.^[1] From 1920-1945, Lutung was administrated as Ratō town (羅東街) of Taihoku Prefecture.

Geography

Luodong is located on Lanyang Plain. It covers an area of 11.34 square kilometres (4.38 sq mi) and as of 2014 had a population of 72,533 people. It has a large, landscaped sports park.

Administrative divisions

Luodong Township consists of 25 villages and 524 neighborhoods.^[1] Villages in the township are: Kaiming Village, Daxin Village, Tungan Village, Xinqun Village, Luozhuang Village, Nanchang Village, Nanhao Village, Chenggong Village, Rende Village, Renhe Village, Zhongshan Village, Hanmin Village, Weiyang Village, Xian Village, Beicheng Village, Guohua Village, Xianwen Village, Gongzheng Village, Jixiang Village, Xinyi Village, Shulin Village, Zhulin Village and Renai Village.

Tourist attractions

Luodong has a large night market - Luodong Night Market - containing many varieties of local 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 Sanxing township. People visit Luodong year-round to enjoy its charming bed and breakfasts.

There is a second park in Luodong which is more family-oriented than the Luodong Sports Park.

Transportation

Luodong Station

Luodong is served by the Yilan Line of Taiwan Railway Administration at the Luodong Station.

There are two interchanges in Luodong township along National Highway 5.

Notable natives

• Lin Tsung-hsien, Magistrate of Yilan County

See also

• Yilan County, Taiwan

References

1. "[ Information For Foreigners In Yilan ]". Foreigner.e-land.gov.tw. 2008-08-07. Retrieved 2014-05-25.

External links

• Luodong Township (Chinese)

Coordinates: 24°40′36.06″N 121°46′0.93″E / 24.6766833°N 121.7669250°E