Beinan, Taitung

Beinan Township
卑南鄉
Beinan Township; 卑南鄉
Rural township
	Beinan Township in Taitung County
Location	Taitung County, Taiwan
Area
• Total	413 km2 (159 sq mi)
Population (February 2023)
• Total	16,798
• Density	41/km2 (110/sq mi)

Beinan Township or Peinan Township (Chinese: 卑南鄕; pinyin: Bēinán Xiāng; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Pi-lâm) is a rural township in Taitung County, Taiwan. It has a population of 16,798 as of February 2023.^[1] It is home to the Puyuma and Rukai peoples.

Name

This southeastern region of Taiwan was originally dominated by the Puyuma people. The township is named in Puyuma in honor of chief Pinara.^[2]

In Dutch Formosa, the Dutch called the township Pimala. During Qing rule, access to the area was prohibited.

In 1875, Pi-lam Subprefecture (卑南廳) was established. During the period of Japanese rule, Pinan Village (卑南庄) was established under Taitō District, Taitō Prefecture. After the handover of Taiwan from Japan to the Republic of China in 1945, Beinan was established as a rural township of Taitung County.

Map of Beinan area (1944)

Map of the region including the Beinan area (1951)

The northeast portion of the township is part of the Huatung Valley.

The township comprises 13 villages: Binlang, Chulu, Fushan, Fuyuan, Jiafong, Liji, Lijia, Meinong, Mingfong, Taian, Taiping, Tunghsing and Wenkuan.

Taromak tribal gathering site of the Rukai people

Shanli Station

Beinan Township is accessible from Shanli Station of the Taiwan Railways.

^ "本所月戶數人口數統計(含臺東市、卑南鄉、綠島鄉、蘭嶼鄉(表1)". tth.taitung.gov.tw (in Chinese (Taiwan)). 16 October 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
^ "Beinan Township". Taitung County Govt. Archived from the original on 2017-11-07. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
^ "Chulu Ranch". Tour.taitung.gov.tw. Archived from the original on 2014-05-25. Retrieved 2014-05-14.
^ "East Rift Valley National Scenic Area::PDA". Erv-nsa.gov.tw. Archived from the original on 2013-10-29. Retrieved 2014-05-14.