Banciao City

Chinese
t=板橋市
p=Bǎnqiáo Shì
tp=Bǎnciáo Shìh
w=Pan-ch'iao-shih
poj=Pán-kiô-chhī
altname=Taiwanese name
t2=枋橋
poj2=Pang-kiôInfobox City
official_name = Banciao City
板橋市
map_caption = Location in the county of Taipei
subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = ROC
subdivision_type1 = Province
subdivision_name1 = Taiwan Province
subdivision_type2 = County
subdivision_name2 = Taipei County
leader_title = Mayor
leader_name = Hui Chen Chiang (江惠貞)
image_

area_note =
area_magnitude = 1 E9
area_total_km2 = 23.42
population_as_of = 2006
population_total = 543342
population_density_km2 = 23199.9
timezone = CST
postal_code_type = ZIP code
postal_code = 220
area_code = 02
utc_offset = +8
website = [http://www.banciao.gov.tw www.banciao.gov.tw]
established_title = Established
established_date = 1846
footnotes =

Banciao City is the county seat of Taipei County, Taiwan (Republic of China). It is the most populous county-controlled city in Taiwan.

Geography

Banciao is located in western part of the Taipei Basin of northern Taiwan, in the subtropical climate zone.

Banciao is surrounded by several cities and towns: Taipei to the east, Sanchong to the north, Sinjhuang to the northwest, Shulin to the southwest, Tucheng to the south, and Jhonghe to the southeast. Banciao is also bordered by two rivers, Sindian River (新店溪) to the northeast and Dahan River (大漢溪) to the northwest.

Name origin

The city's old name was 枋橋 (py: Fāng-qiáo), pronounced Pang-kiô in Taiwanese, and means "bridge made of wooden planks". The name's origin goes back to the Qing Dynasty during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor (1735 - 1796 AD). A wooden bridge was built for pedestrians to cross a brook located in the west of today's Banciao. Eventually, this place acquired the name Pang-kiô (枋橋). In 1920, the Japanese government changed the name to 板橋 (py: Bǎnqiáo, tw: Pán-kiô), which has remained unchanged to this day. In Taiwanese, the name continues to be pronounced Pang-kiô.

Education

Banciao is home to several universities, such as the National Taiwan University of Arts, the most famous university for the arts in Taiwan. As for secondary education, the National Panchiao Senior High School is considered one of the top high schools in the Taipei areaFact|date=February 2007.

Colleges

*National Taiwan University of Arts (國立台灣藝術大學)
*Oriental Institute of Technology (亞東技術學院)
*Chihlee Institute of Technology (致理技術學院)

High schools

*National Panchiao Senior High School (國立板橋高中)
*National Overseas Chinese Senior High School(國立華僑高級中學)
*Kwan Jen High School (光仁中學)
*Hai Shan High School (海山中學)

Tourism

The [http://en.linfamily.tpc.gov.tw/ Lin Family Mansion and Garden] (林本源園邸) is one of the best examples of Qing era Chinese architecture in Taiwan. It was originally built in the late 1800s.

ports facilities

Due to its position as the county seat of Taipei County, Banciao has several sports facilities, and the annual Taipei County sports game is hosted in the city. However, Banciao lacks major baseball facilities, forcing its baseball fans to go to Taipei or Sinjhuang to watch baseball games.

*Taipei County Stadium
*Banciao City Stadium

Transportation

Banciao is well served by multiple public transportation services. A couple dozen bus linesFact|date=February 2007 connect Banciao with nearby cities, especially Taipei. There are five Taipei Rapid Transit System stations in Banciao, four along the Banqiao Line and one on the Tucheng Line. Banciao Station serves as Taiwan Railway Administration and Taiwan High Speed Rail trains, as well as the Taipei RTS. All railroads have been underground since 1997.

ister cities

*

Notable residents

* Scott Chang - CEO of Lastertech
* Chung-Cheng Hsiao, M.D. - Superintendent of Hsiao Chung-Cheng Hospital [http://www.hsiaohospital.org 蕭中正醫院]
* The members of Lin Family of Banciao (板橋林家).

External links

* [http://www.banciao.gov.tw/ Government website zh] [http://www.banciao.gov.tw/bravo_en/index.php en]