Guanxi, Hsinchu

Guanxi Township or Guansi Township (Chinese: 關西鎮; pinyin: Guānxi Zhèn) is an urban township in Hsinchu County, Taiwan. The population of the township consists mainly of the Hakkas with a minority of the indigenous Atayal people.

History

Guanxi was first settled in the late-18th century as Meili Village (美里莊). Meili Village then changed its name to Xinxing Village (新興莊) after development rights changed hands. In 1850, Xinxing Village was again renamed to Xiancaiweng or Kiâm-chhài-àng (鹹菜甕), literally "pickle urn", for several reasons: First, the local Hakka population was skilled at making Chinese pickled vegetables, and second, the town was geographically located at the confluence of two rivers, making the terrain shaped like an urn.

The name Kiâm-chhài-àng carried over to Japanese rule. Since Kiâm-chhài sounded similar to Kansai in Japanese, the Japanese renamed the town once again to Kansai (関西). After Japan's defeat in the Second World War in 1945, Kansai was sinicized Guanxi by the Republic of China government, which is the current name used today.