Located in the Taichung Basin, the city was initially developed from several scattered hamlets helmed by the Taiwanese indigenous peoples.

It was constructed to be the new capital of Taiwan Province and renamed "Taiwan-fu" in the late Qing dynastic era between 1887 and 1894.

[11] In the 17th century, the Papora, Babuza, Pazeh, and Hoanya established the Kingdom of Middag, occupying the western part of present-day Taichung.

[citation needed] In 1684, Zhuluo County was established, encompassing the underdeveloped northern two-thirds of Taiwan.

Modern-day Taichung traces its beginnings to a settlement named Toatun (Chinese: 大墩; pinyin: Dàdūn; Wade–Giles: Ta4-tun1; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Toā-tun; lit.

To strengthen Qing control, a garrison was established in 1721 near the site of present-day Taichung Park by Lan Ting-chen.

[12] North of the city, on the Dajia River, an aboriginal revolt broke out in 1731 after Chinese officials moved in and compelled them to provide labor.

The revolt spread through the city as far south as Changhua County in May 1732 before the rebels were chased into the mountains by Qing forces.

They were eventually defeated by a coalition of Qing forces, Hakka, Quanzhou Fujianese descendants, and aboriginal volunteers.

Qing official Liu Ming-chuan received permission to oversee development of the area, which included constructing a railway through the city.

After the Qing dynasty lost the Sino-Japanese War in 1895, Taiwan was ceded to Japan by the Treaty of Shimonoseki, and the name of the city was changed to Taichū (Japanese: 臺中).

The Japanese sought to develop the city to make it the first "modern" area of Taiwan[17] and invested in roads, dams, and levees.

Taichū Middle School (now known as Taichung First Senior High School) was founded in 1915 by elite members of local gentry, including Lin Hsien-tang and his brother Lin Lieh-tang [zh], two wealthy Taiwanese intellectuals of the era.

This was in an effort to teach children the culture of Taiwan and to foster the spirit of the Taiwanese localization movement.

Taichung also served as the temporary capital of the exiled Jiangxi (Kiangsi) provincial government in 1949 after the Chinese Communist Party took control of the province.

[20] On 25 December 2010, the city was merged with the surrounding Taichung County to create a special municipality of 2.65 million people spread across 2,214 km2 (855 sq mi).

[35] Unlike Taipei in the north, which is solidly in the Pan-Blue political camp, and the southern cities of Kaohsiung and Tainan that are solidly Pan-Green, Taichung is more balanced, with the urban city center area leaning Blue and the suburban and rural areas leaning Green.

Taichung City's executive branch is headed by mayor Lu Shiow-yen of the Kuomintang.

Taichung is also home to the Central Taiwan Science Park, known for the many semiconductor factories located there, most notably TSMC.

Notable business located in Taichung include Giant Bicycles, SRAM, and TRP Brakes.

[47][48][49] Taichung's financial center and central business district is the 7th Redevelopment Zone, where many corporation offices are located.

[60] For a short period of time, the city operated a bus rapid transit system, named the BRT Blue Line, running down Taiwan Boulevard.

It occupies the western corner of Ching Chuan Kang Air Base (CCK) and is about 20 kilometers (12 mi) from downtown Taichung City.

[63] In 1943, the Advanced Academy of Agronomy and Forestry (now National Chung Hsing University) became an independent entity and moved to Taichung.

[66] Unlike Taipei, which uses a capital letter at the beginning of every syllable, Taichung City uses the standard form of Hanyu Pinyin on street signs erected in recent years.

Each year, worshippers carry a litter containing a statue of Mazu and travel 340 km (210 mi) on foot to Xingang, Chiayi and back.

Many other deities are worshipped in the city, including: Taichung has several open-air night markets that feature local food and diversions:[71] Taichung has a famous hot spring, Guguan hot spring, located in Heping District.

By late December, an agreement was reached between Sinon Corporation and E-United Group, and the team was renamed EDA Rhinos and moved to Kaohsiung.

The Special Force II division of the Flash Wolves esports team is known as the Taichung Flash Wolves, the team competed in the Special Force II Pro League (SF2PL) based in Taipei.

[73] In 2015, after the CTBC Holdings took ownership of the Brother Elephants and renamed the team CTBC Brothers, they made Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium their home as part of Taiwan's CPBL's effort to establish home fields in all major Taiwanese cities.