HISTORY

Shanhua District is located about 20 km northeast of downtown Tainan and has been an agricultural settlement from the very begin-ning. The district stretches from Zengwun River to the north and Shinshih District to the south, with wide-stretching plains that are conducive to farming. Shanhua District is highly accessible with its north-south railway line and provides many services and facilities for its farming villages. Commercial functions gradually emerged with population growth and the establishment of agricultural produce markets and trade, transforming the early farming settlements into modern downtown Shanhua with its streets and boulevards. The downtown area serves as the district's center of administration as well as a hub of regional social, economic, cultural, and commercial services.
According to Nanying Caifong (Lands of Nanying), Shanhua Dis-trict was called Backloun Settlement during the Dutch colonial era. As the district was located next to Wanli River, the area was thus re-ferred to as Wanli Jie of Anping County in Tainan Prefecture during the Cing Administration and was governed by a Syunsi (provisional district official.) The Japanese occupation led to the establish-ment of civil administration over the district and designated the ar-ea as Wanli Benmusho of Tainan Ken (Wanli Administration Office of Tainan County). In 1897, the district was included as part of the Tavocan Benmusho and was renamed Wanli Benmu-Chisho (Wanli Branch Administration Office). In 1899, the Gai-sho-ku (ward, vil-lage, and district) system was established, dividing Shanhua Village into Eastern and Western Ku (districts). In 1920, regional admin-istration reforms were carried out. The Western Ku (district) was merged to form Shanhua Sho (Shanhua Village), and was later pro-moted to Shanhua Gai (Shanhua Ward) with a Gai Yakuba (Ward Of-fice) (1940). After the Second World War, the area was renamed as Shanhua Township. On 25 December, 2010, the area was promoted to Shanhua District of Tainan City.