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Chao Jhou Township, with Alluvial fan surroundings, is located in the southern part of Pingtung Plain, between Tungkang River and Linbin River, encircled by Chutien and Sinpi Township.During Qing dynasty, ethnic groups like Hoklo, Hakka, and Shofan inhabited around at the same time; therefore, it caused the regional differences from within. This article attempts to discuss the time-space difference of Chao Jhou’s settlement to present the regional characteristic, by focusing on “ethnic exploitation” and “country management”. Once a small town with the function of providing farm produces in Qing dynasty, Chao Jhou had a country street supplying the basic needs to the villagers nearby and became the center of administration and business down in the southern part of Pingtung Plain during Japanese-ruled period. Due to the fact that our government’s unbalanced industrial investment and inconvenient transportation network after World War II, the development of rural settlement and the country street in Chao Jhou began to go down. These factors as well as the changing environment contributed to decline the productivity and the growth of Chao Jhou Township.
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