Ⅰ. History
The county originally belonged to the Chiayi Government Longjiaotanbao. Long ago the many classes of bamboos were called Toujhuwei and Erjhuwei. Erjhuwei has the same pronunciation as yi in Taiwanese and rumor has it that when the Japanese Prince Kitashirakawa Yoshihisa attacked Yizhu from Bajhangsi, he was killed by a brave warrior hiding in the tree when passing through the township’s Renli Village Lintou Alley.
This angered the Japanese army, who burned and destroyed the entire village. Later on, there were 49 morally courageous individuals who died for justice. In memory of their righteousness (yi in Taiwanese means acts of justice or other moral principles at the risk of personal loss), the township was named Yizhu.
Ⅱ. Local Tourism
Yizhu County is honorably known as the township of doctorates. It has an abundant humanitarian history and county-designated historical sites such as Wong Cingjiang Historic House, Donghouliao Jhao Family Historic House and Donghouliao Church etcetera. To encourage development, the township office has constructed the bicycle route to encompass historical sites, scenery spots and the pigeon bell racing season, in hopes of the town becoming an excellent vacation place.
1. Wong Cingjiang Historic House
The house was built in 1908 and completed in 1912. It is a merger of Fujian-, Japanese- and Western architecture, and nowadays it is a popular filming site for cable TV stations. The features of this historic residence include the shield and plant ornamental patterns on top of the Bofong entrance at the front hall as well as an abundance of Japanese rooms.
According to Professor Wong Yinghuei, the shield and plant decorations are symbols of being master of both the pen and the sword. It is easy to imagine Wong Cingjiang’s hopes and dreams for his descendents, that they would live in peace and enjoy their work; each a master of the pen and the sword.
2. Donghouliao Jhao Family Historic House
The Jhao family is a prominent family in the Donghouliao community. The Jhao Family Historic House was built in the Ch’ing Dynasty during Emperor Guangsi’s rule. Originally there were five buildings, the fourth of which has been kept more or less intact. The Jhao Family Historic House adopts a five-room design. During the era in which the Japanese ruled there were seven rooms. The back of the present day house displays the brick style of Ch’ing Dynasty and the Japanese ruling period. The ridge of the roof is decorated with mud-made kylin and carp spitting water.
Other features include windows bearing the word “shou” (meaning longevity), the bagua shaped hongweidou hanging off the front eaves, the Phoenix (one of the four deities) carrying the wooden beam in the house and the guatong favored by ancient Cyuan artisans. All of which are rare pieces of artwork in the Yizhu Township and worthy of admiration.
3. Donghouliao Church
Built in Shōwa 2 (1927), it is currently Southern Taiwan’s most intact brick-made church building. It is located next to the Provincial Highway 19 from Yizhu towards Puzih, on the side of the Yizhu Township’s Guang Rong Primary School. The building is built in the Basilica style; the floor plan is divided into two parts—the main shrine and the holy altar.
The entrance has a gable surface and the bricks are cut in English style. There is one door and two windows (arch-shaped windows). The gable wall on the back has three sets of strengthened counter forts, making the overall structure simple and powerful. It was listed in One Hundred Historic Sites in Taiwan, published by the Council of Cultural Affairs in 2002.
4. Pigeon bells ringing in Yizhu
The town is a classic rural village. The most unique local entertainment is the pigeon bell race. The pigeon bell race is a game where different sized wooden bells are tied onto pigeons, and utilizing the floating power created through the blowing of wind into the wooden bells, allow the pigeons to fly higher and further. The pigeons must transport the wooden bells back within the given distance, and the winner is the one with the most bells transported back.
Every February and March of the lunar calendar, the more leisurely months of farming, the pigeon bells can be heard ringing in the sky, symbolizing the year’s abundant harvest and peace, livening up the otherwise quiet village.
5. Yizhu Park
The park measures 1.2 hectares; it has a basketball court, three sets of games, a croquet field, artificial hills, gazebos, stone tables and chairs, floral corridors, flower-beds, sunshine, grass and more. It offers townspeople a great place for recreation and relaxation.
6. Yizhu Township Bajhangsi old coastal corridor
The old coastal corridor bears images of Yizhu’s history of development; there are resting platforms, bicycle and pedestrian routes, a plaza that crosses the embankment, pictures of the pigeon bell race and a coastal sidewall story corridor. It offers recreational facilities suitable for the old and the young and nighttime lighting, providing townspeople with a place for leisure activity while displaying Yizhu’s humanitarian features.
7. The Yizhu station
Situated next to CPC Corporation’s Yizhu gas station it integrates leisure- and bicycle routes, a good place for socializing.
Ⅲ. Agricultural and fishery features
The township is located in the southwestern part of the Chiayi County and part of the Chianan Plain. The total area measures 79.2925 square kilometers, with 46.6341 square kilometers of cultivated land (36.1913 square kilometers in paddy fields, 10.4378 square kilometers in dry farmland). The area of agricultural cultivation makes up 58.8% of the area.
Currently fish farms take up an area of approximately 1,700 hectares. The township’s major agricultural products are coarse food grains. Cianzihliao’s super sweet melons won first and second place in 2006’s “high quality melon competition.”
Other products such as big watermelons, small watermelons, Sishih pomelos, TP-99-7 white sugar canes, sweet corn and Iven mangos are also very popular. In the husbandry industry, chicken eggs are the main products. As for fish farming, most of the fish are highly economic types, such as bass, milkfish, bream and eel, etcetera.