Shenkeng District

History

The area is first recorded as the preserve of a tribe of Pingpu aborigines during the Qing dynasty period in Taiwan. When Han Chinese farmers eventually moved in to develop the area, they bought the low-lying land from the aborigines and began cultivation in the main valley. The modern name of the township, Shenkeng, literally means deep pit or deep mine, and indeed the area used to have several active coal mines.

Geography

Shenkeng is a rural district which borders Taipei City's Wenshan District to the west, Nangang District to the north, and the Shiding District of New Taipei City to the east.

Transportation

Transportation in Shenkeng is limited to roads only; there is as yet no railway or mass transit service, although proposals have been made to extend the Wenshan Line of the Taipei Metro into Shenkeng. Three bus companies offer passenger services within Shenkeng and between Shenkeng and surrounding settlements.

Politics

Politics in Shenkeng have largely been uneventful; the town is considered a safe seat for the Kuomintang. An exception was in 1996, when several members of the council were arrested on suspicion of connection with organised crime.

Education

Shenkeng is home to Tungnan University, a private technical university. There is also a Junior High School and an Elementary School in the town.

Tourist attractions

The economy of Shenkeng is centred on tourism, and that tourism is based largely on tofu. The district is sufficiently well known in culinary circles that it has been a subject of media interest in Japan and Hong Kong. The tofu from Shenkeng has an unusual ratio of soybean to gypsum, giving it a yellowish colour and distinctive flavour. The town has become so readily identified with tofu that it has earned the epithet "The Tofu Capital".

There are also extensive hiking trails, some of which were in use during the Japanese era by anti-Japanese guerilla fighters.