Hemei

Héměi (和美) is a densely populated urban township northwest of Changhua City with approximately 88,740 residents. Originally Babuza territory known as Kalisan, the area was settled by immigrants from Zhangzhou and Quanzhou in the Qing dynasty era. Hemei emerged as one of Taiwan’s major textile and umbrella production centers in the 1970s, earning the nickname “Umbrella Kingdom”. The township’s cultural heritage is anchored by the Daodong Academy (1857), a national monument and one of Taiwan’s best-preserved Qing dynasty era academies. It is also home to the Chen Family Mansion (1929), an eclectic neo-Baroque residence that served as a literary salon for the Taiwan New Literature movement.