Toponym: Pacific American School is currently located in Chu-Nan, Hsinchu, Taiwan. PAS locates in the East side of Hsinchu where named as 'Chu-dong', which 'dong' means East in Mandarin Chinese and 'chu' simply represents 'Hsinchu'. Site: 24'29'20N, 121'02'55E The island of Northern, which Hsinchu located, has a humid subtropical climate that has substantial seasonal variation of temperatures. The temperature is usually between 15 to 30 Celsius degree. About 23% of Taiwan's land area consists of fertile alluvial plains and basins watered by rivers running from the eastern mountains, so does Hsinchu. The city has two main water resources: Toucian River from Chu-dong and Phoenix mountain small streams from Northeast. Also, because Hsinchu is right beside Taiwan Strait, aquatic resources are always fruitful. Topography - Except Southeast and Northwest have hilly lands, rest of the Hsinchu are flat plain. From East to West, Toucian River goes into Taiwan Strait, while Phoenix mountain river streams through the city and goes into the same ocean. The topography mainly looks like bamboo shoot, long and narrow. Hsinchu's soil belongs to quaternary deposit, which is arenaceous soil. Situation: there is a saying of 'Tao-Chu-Miao', representing cities between Taipei and Taichung: Taoyuan, Hsinchu, and Miaoli. North of Hsinchu is Taoyuan, south of Hsinchu is Miaoli. How PAS and its location in Hsinchu reflects the globalization of economy and culture? Most of the students in PAS do speak neither Hakka nor Minnan, although Minnan is a widely use language in Taiwan. Most of the students are local people of Hsinchu, only few of students are from other cities in Taiwan, and a few of them transferred from States. In fact, many PAS students have their parents work in Science park, which is not far from the school. The fact that where the school located is in a crowded area that is right beside top college, Ching-Da University, makes the traffic horrible, especially during Fridays or holidays. The basic mind map: downtown - PAS (college area) - Science Park - North Hsinchu, where the HSR located, also the area of future business development. | Regions:
Concentration: people are clustered in mainly downtown area, where the Hsinchu train station located. The new cluster is in Chu-bae, North of Hsinchu, nearby the HSR station. People are also clustered in where PAS located, mainly because there are two universities at that area; most of the people are students. Pattern: In 1920, under Japanese rules, Hsinchu street was established; In 1930, the city system was applied. Overall, the main streets look organized. Globalization of economy: Compare to cities like Taichung or Taipei, Hsinchu is not much globalized except science park. Industry business starts developed since railroad was built. Then years later, high-tech industry replaced steel or other traditional industries. Since then science park in Hsinchu has been the major area for Taiwan's technology invention and production. Culture: Since the development started from Toucian River that is nearby the sea, different states of Chinese came, making a combination area of Hakka, Minnan, and aboriginal. Even after the aboriginals blend into the Han people, Hakka and Minnan are still the main ethic groups in Hsinchu. |
Essential Questions:
- What are the most important ways in which Hsinchu can be described as a unique place?
- What are the most important ways in which Hsinchu is similar to other places on earth?