Xitun District 西屯區

Setting and landscape

The Fazi River (筏子溪), the district's main river, splits it in two. West of the stream lies the gentle eastern slope of the Dadu Plateau; east of it is the western edge of the Taichung Basin. The district office notes that the plateau side has wider swings between day and night temperatures than the basin. The plateau's soils, laid down from gravel and sand, are dry and suit sweet potatoes, sugarcane and grains, while the more fertile alluvial soils of the basin suit rice and vegetables. Ten streams cross the district, and all belong to the Wu River (烏溪) system.

History

The land was once open grassland where the Pazeh (拍宰海族), a plains Indigenous people, lived. Tradition holds that in 1701 Wang Chengchu (王成楚) led 170 people from Litoudian (犁頭店, today's Nantun) to open paddy fields here. The place names Upper and Lower Shipai (上石牌、下石牌) come from the stone tablets set up to mark the southern limit of the land the Anli community (岸裡社) was permitted to clear. In the Daoguang (道光) era a settlement between Litoudian and Baya (壩雅, today's Daya) became a market street called Xidadun Street (西大墩街). The district office places Xitun's first market where a Daoguang-era north–south route, today's Guangming Road (光明路), met a Guangxu-era (光緒) road that became Xitun Road (西屯路). Under Japanese rule the area became Xitun Village (西屯庄) in 1920, and on 1 February 1947 it was taken into Taichung City as Xitun District.

What to see

The National Taichung Theater (臺中國家歌劇院), designed by Toyo Ito, stands in the Seventh Redevelopment Zone (七期重劃區). On the campus of Tunghai University (東海大學), the Luce Memorial Chapel (路思義教堂), designed by I. M. Pei and Chen Chi-kwan (陳其寬), is a national monument. Two clan temples are municipal monuments: the Zhang-Liao Family Temple (張廖家廟) beside Feng Chia University (逢甲大學) and the Zhang Family Ancestral Temple (張家祖廟) south of the Taichung Industrial Park. The Fengjia Night Market (逢甲夜市) spreads through the streets around Feng Chia University. Taichung Metropolitan Park (台中都會公園) sits on the Dadu Plateau on the border with Shalu District (沙鹿區), and Taichung Central Park (台中中央公園), completed at the end of 2020, lies in the Shuinan (水湳) development area.

Highlights

• National Taichung Theater 臺中國家歌劇院: Designed by Toyo Ito, in the Seventh Redevelopment Zone.
• Luce Memorial Chapel 路思義教堂: National monument at Tunghai University, designed by I. M. Pei and Chen Chi-kwan.
• Zhang-Liao Family Temple 張廖家廟: Municipal monument beside Feng Chia University.
• Fengjia Night Market 逢甲夜市: Night-market district in the streets around Feng Chia University.
• Taichung Metropolitan Park 台中都會公園: Park on the Dadu Plateau on the Xitun–Shalu border.