Hsinchu North

North District (北區) is the administrative heart of Hsinchu City and has the highest population density of any district outside Taiwan’s six special municipalities. It is home to the Hsinchu Prefecture Hall, completed in 1927 and still housing the city government, as well as numerous other Japanese colonial era buildings. Qing dynasty era heritage includes the Zheng Yongxi Residence, home of Taiwan’s first imperial examination scholar, and several filial archways. The former Hsinchu Shinto Shrine, once the largest in the prefecture, was converted to an immigrant detention center after the war and remains closed to the public.