Colonel William A. Phillips

Yilan City (Mandarin pinyin: Yílán Shì; Hokkien POJ: Gî-lân-chhī) is a county-administered city and the county seat of Yilan County, Taiwan. The city lies on the north side of the Lanyang River.

History

The Yilan Plain in which the city is located has historically been referred to as Kapalan (Chinese: 蛤仔難; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Kap-á-lān),[2] Kapsulan (蛤仔蘭; Kap-chú-lân; also 甲子蘭), Komalan (噶瑪蘭; Kat-má-lán), etc. These names, as well as that of Yilan itself, were given to the sites by the Kavalan tribe of Taiwanese aborigines. Later arrivals included Han Chinese settlers during the Qing dynasty in China (1802) and settlers from Okinawa during Taiwan's Japanese era (1895–1945).

Qing dynasty

In 1810 under Qing dynasty rule, a formal administration office was established at Wuwei (五圍) and "Komalan Subprefecture" (噶瑪蘭廳; Kat-má-lán Thiaⁿ) was at the present day location of Yilan City. Construction of the city wall was completed a year later. After a few years once the basic infrastructure was ready, the city assumed the political, economical, cultural and educational center for the Lanyang Plain. In 1878, Komalan was a large rice production area commonly called Kapsulan, and became a district called Gilan Hsien.[3] It was one of the three new districts that constituted the new Taipeh Prefecture.

Empire of Japan

Map of Yilan (labeled as GIRAN) and surrounding area (1944)

According to the 1904 census, the population of Giran town was about 15,000.[4]

Republic of China

Map of the region including Yilan (labeled as I-lan (Giran) 宜蘭) (1954)

After the handover of Taiwan from Japan to the Republic of China on 25 October 1945, Yilan City was created in January 1946 as a county-administered city the county seat of the newly created Yilan County and continued to become the political, economical and cultural centers of the region.[5]

Geography

Yilan City in Yilan County

Yilan City is located on Lanyang Plain with an average altitude of 7.38 meters above sea level.[6]

  • Area: 29.87 square kilometres (11.53 sq mi)[6]
  • Population: 95,019 (September 2023)[7]

Climate

Yilan City experiences a humid subtropical climate (Köppen: Cfa) with mild winters and hot, humid summers.

Climate data for Yilan City (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1936–present)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 29.7
(85.5)
29.9
(85.8)
30.6
(87.1)
32.4
(90.3)
34.9
(94.8)
36.0
(96.8)
38.8
(101.8)
38.2
(100.8)
35.4
(95.7)
34.9
(94.8)
32.7
(90.9)
29.1
(84.4)
38.8
(101.8)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 19.7
(67.5)
20.4
(68.7)
22.7
(72.9)
25.7
(78.3)
28.5
(83.3)
31.4
(88.5)
33.2
(91.8)
32.8
(91.0)
30.6
(87.1)
27.1
(80.8)
24.2
(75.6)
20.9
(69.6)
26.4
(79.6)
Daily mean °C (°F) 16.6
(61.9)
17.1
(62.8)
19.0
(66.2)
21.9
(71.4)
24.7
(76.5)
27.3
(81.1)
28.9
(84.0)
28.6
(83.5)
26.8
(80.2)
23.8
(74.8)
21.1
(70.0)
17.9
(64.2)
22.8
(73.1)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 14.0
(57.2)
14.4
(57.9)
16.0
(60.8)
18.8
(65.8)
21.7
(71.1)
24.3
(75.7)
25.6
(78.1)
25.4
(77.7)
24.0
(75.2)
21.3
(70.3)
18.7
(65.7)
15.5
(59.9)
20.0
(68.0)
Record low °C (°F) 3.2
(37.8)
4.2
(39.6)
4.8
(40.6)
6.4
(43.5)
12.1
(53.8)
16.3
(61.3)
19.9
(67.8)
19.2
(66.6)
15.8
(60.4)
11.5
(52.7)
9.0
(48.2)
4.8
(40.6)
3.2
(37.8)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 155.2
(6.11)
147.0
(5.79)
115.2
(4.54)
125.5
(4.94)
222.5
(8.76)
189.6
(7.46)
140.2
(5.52)
243.4
(9.58)
409.6
(16.13)
428.1
(16.85)
335.8
(13.22)
232.2
(9.14)
2,744.3
(108.04)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) 17.5 15.5 16.8 15.0 17.9 14.5 8.9 11.7 15.2 18.5 19.5 18.5 189.5
Average relative humidity (%) 80.3 81.1 79.6 80.8 82.6 81.9 77.9 79.0 79.5 80.7 83.0 81.4 80.6
Mean monthly sunshine hours 68.2 70.0 93.2 97.9 115.6 155.3 235.2 213.9 151.1 92.8 72.7 63.7 1,429.6
Source: Central Weather Bureau[8][9][10][11][12]

Administrative divisions

Yilan City consists of 38 villages and 478 neighborhoods, including:[1][13]

  • Baili (擺厘里), Beijin (北津里), Beimen (北門里), Caiyuan (菜園里), Chenggong (成功里), Cian (慈安里), Daxin (大新里), Fuguo (負郭里), Fuxing (復興里), Jianjun (建軍里), Jianye (建業里), Jiaobai (茭白里), Jinshi (進士里), Kaixuan (凱旋里), Liming (黎明里), Meizhou (梅洲里), Minquan (民權里), Minzu (民族里), Nanjin (南津里), Nanmen (南門里), Nanqiao (南橋里), Qijie (七結里), Qizhang (七張里), Shennong (神農里), Siyuan (思源里), Taishan (泰山里), Dongcun (東村里), Dongmen/Tungmen (東門里), Wenhua (文化里), Xiaolian (孝廉里), Xiaodong (小東里), Ximen (西門里), Xinmin (新民里), Xinsheng (新生里), Xindong (新東里), Yanping (延平里), Zhongshan (中山里) and Zhongxing (中興里)

Government institutions

Tourist attractions

Transportation

Yilan Station

Yilan City is accessible by Yilan Station of the Taiwan Railways.

Sister cities

Yilan City became a sister city of Rockville, Maryland, in 2019.[14] The relationship gained notoriety as diplomats from the Embassy of China, Washington, D.C., unsuccessfully attempted to scuttle the agreement.[15][16]

References

  1. ^ a b 各里里長 [Village leaders] (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Yilan City Office. Archived from the original on 2017-02-22. Retrieved 2017-02-21. 宜蘭市總里數 :38里,鄰數:478
  2. ^ "Entry #40193 (蛤仔難)". 臺灣閩南語常用詞辭典 [Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwan Minnan]. (in Chinese and Hokkien). Ministry of Education, R.O.C. 2011.
  3. ^ Davidson, James W. (1903). The Island of Formosa, Past and Present. London and New York: Macmillan. p. 211. OCLC 1887893. OL 6931635M.
  4. ^ Takekoshi (1907), p. 200.
  5. ^ "Discovery Center of YiLan – Yilan City Office". Ilancity.gov.tw. Archived from the original on 2014-04-30. Retrieved 2014-05-25.
  6. ^ a b 認識宜蘭市 [Get to Know Yilan City]. ilancity.gov.tw (in Chinese). Yilan City Office. Archived from the original on 2017-08-29. Retrieved 2017-02-21.
  7. ^ 宜蘭縣宜蘭市 現住人口數按性別及年歲分 [Resident Population Figures by Gender and Age, Yilan City, Yilan County] (PDF). ilhhr.e-land.gov.tw (in Chinese). Yilan City Household Registration Office. September 2023. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2023-10-31. Retrieved 2023-10-31.
  8. ^ "Monthly Mean". Central Weather Bureau. Archived from the original on 9 December 2022. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  9. ^ "氣象站各月份最高氣溫統計" (PDF) (in Chinese). Central Weather Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 October 2022. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  10. ^ "氣象站各月份最高氣溫統計(續)" (PDF) (in Chinese). Central Weather Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 October 2022. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  11. ^ "氣象站各月份最低氣溫統計" (PDF) (in Chinese). Central Weather Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 February 2022. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  12. ^ "氣象站各月份最低氣溫統計(續)" (PDF) (in Chinese). Central Weather Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 December 2022. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  13. ^ "2018 Local Elections". Central Election Commission. Retrieved 23 November 2019. Shennong Vil. Minquan Vil. Jinshi Vil. Nanqiao Vil. Jianye Vil. Nanjin Vil. Kaixuan Vil. Liming Vil. Tungcun Vil. Yanping Vil. Qizhang Vil. Cian Vil. Xinmin Vil. Tungmen Vil. Xiaotung Vil. Caiyuan Vil. Xiaolian Vil. Xinsheng Vil. Jiaobai Vil. Beijin Vil. Meizhou Vil. Beimen Vil. Zhongshan Vil. Ximen Vil. Nanmen Vil. Fuguo Vil. Minzu Vil. Jianjun Vil. Siyuan Vil. Wenhua Vil. Fuxing Vil. Chenggong Vil. Xintung Vil. Qijie Vil. Taishan Vil. Daxin Vil. Zhongxing Vil. Baili Vil.
  14. ^ "Rockville-Yilan City Corporation". Archived from the original on 2022-05-27. Retrieved 2023-08-07.
  15. ^ Newland, Sara A. (20 January 2022). "Paradiplomacy as a response to international isolation: the case of Taiwan". The Pacific Review. 36 (4): 784–812. doi:10.1080/09512748.2022.2025889. ISSN 0951-2748. S2CID 246116441.
  16. ^ Allen, Bethany (2023). "Spies and Sister Cities". Beijing Rules: How China Weaponized Its Economy to Confront the World. HarperCollins. pp. 72–73. ISBN 9780063057418. OCLC 1356620867. Two embassy diplomats subsequently showed up, expressing "concerns" about Rockville's new relationship with Yilan and offering to have the embassy introduce other mainland Chinese cities to Rockville for potential new sister city relationships.

Bibliography

External links