Chianan Plain
The Jianan level or Chianan level (Chinese嘉南 平原, Pinyin Jianan Pingyuan ) is an alluvial plain in the west of Taiwan. It is the largest plain of the island and extends between the central and southern part of the west coast along the Formosastraße. The largest part of the plain is divided among the counties Jiayi and Tainan City, from which their name is derived ( Jianan (嘉南, Jianan ) is composed of the first syllable of Jiayi (嘉义, Jiayi ) and the second syllable of Tainan ( 台南, Tainan ) ). In addition, it extends north into the Yunlin County and south in the city of Kaohsiung into it.
Originally the plane was inhabited by indigenous peoples of Taiwan, which have largely been supplanted by immigrant Han Chinese since the time of the Qing Dynasty and today just are not minorities. Since the Japanese rule over Taiwan, the level produced many agricultural goods for the whole island.
Geography
The Jianan level is between the Formosastraße in the west and the foothills of belonging to the Taiwanese central mountains Alishan in the east. It is crossed by numerous rivers springing in the central mountains. To the south, the Pingdong level connects to the north is the Jianan level in the Taichung Basin counting Zhanghua plane over.
The plane has an area of about 2500 km ², its extent is 35 km wide and 145 km long.
The average annual rainfall in this area is approximately 1600 mm and is thus lower than in the rest of Taiwan. The rainy season is during the summer, so winter is the dry season. Among the rivers that run through the level, include the Beigang, Puzi, Bazhang, Jishui, Zengwen, Yanshui and Erren who strive from the eastern hill country through the plane of the coast and then emptied into the Formosastraße.
Settlement history
About 6000 years ago, the country was flooded by the seashore of Jianan level by the rising sea level and about 5000 years ago, the country lifted tectonically up. Various archaeological sites testify, among other things from the late Stone Age thaw culture (大湖 文化) that existed here between 1500 BC and the beginning of our era, and the Niaosong culture (茑 松 文化) from the Iron Age to the to about 1500 was here.
From the time of written records it is known that the Hoanya in the northern part of the plane survived and the south was inhabited by the Siraya. The Han Chinese began settling in the plane, since Taiwan was under Dutch rule. After Zheng Chenggong had defeated the Dutch East India Company and in 1662 Taiwan repossessed, the Han Chinese were the masters of the region and later to the majority. Most of them migrated from Zhangzhou and Quanzhou in Fujian and Chaozhou in Guangdong in the Qing Dynasty.
In 1895 the government of Japan on Taiwan. During this time, the Japanese colonial government started building the infrastructure in the plane - about the western rail line and the Jianankanals with its connections as well as the sugar manufacturing companies, which were later merged into the Taiwan Sugar Corporation. After the collapse of the Japanese Empire, the island was taken over by the Republic of China. The two major highways through the region, the highways 1 and 3 were completed at the end of the 20th century.
Economic use
The Jianan level is used for the cultivation of rice and to a lesser extent other cereals. It is the main growing area of sugar cane on Taiwan, the production of sugar, however, is continuously declining. Since the completion of Jianankanals can be carried out annually three rice harvests. Also, here peanuts, corn, sweet potatoes and some ornamental flowers and vegetables are grown. Previously, the production of salt, but most salt mines have now been abandoned. On the coast there are fish breeding stations.
The industrial use of the area takes place in various industrial parks, the heavy industries include, for example oil refineries, steel production and shipbuilding.