Changhua County

Changhua County 彰化縣
County
Top:View of Wu River from National Highway 74, between Changsha and Wuri, 2nd left:Changhua County Hall, 2nd right:Baguashan Great Buddha in Changhua City, 3rd left:Lukang Tinhau Temple, 3rd right:View of inside in roof at Longshan Temple, Lukang, Bottom left:View of entrance in Baguashan Buddha Park, Bottom right:Koo's House in Lukang Folk Museum
Flag Coat of arms
Coordinates: 23°56′N 120°32′E / 23.933°N 120.533°E / 23.933; 120.533Coordinates: 23°56′N 120°32′E / 23.933°N 120.533°E / 23.933; 120.533
Country	Taiwan
Province	Taiwan Province
Region	Western Taiwan
Seat	Changhua City
Largest city	Changhua City
Boroughs	2 cities, 24 (6 urban, 18 rural) townships
Government
• County Magistrate	Wei Ming-ku (DPP)
Area
• Total	1,074.396 km2 (414.827 sq mi)
Area rank	15 of 22
Population (2016)
• Total	1,288,923
• Rank	6 of 22
• Density	1,200/km2 (3,100/sq mi)
Time zone	National Standard Time (UTC+8)
Website	www.chcg.gov.tw
Symbols
Bird	Grey-faced buzzard (Butastur indicus)
Flower	Chrysanthemum
Tree	Peepul (Ficus religiosa)

Changhua County (Chinese: 彰化縣; pinyin: Zhānghuà Xiàn) is the smallest county on the main island of Taiwan by area, and the fourth smallest in the country. With a total population of 1.3 million, Changhua County is the most populous county in Taiwan.

There are prehistoric burial sites in Changhua that date back 5000 years. The number of burials tally to 32. The original name of the area was Poasoa (Chinese: ; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Pòaⁿ-sòaⁿ; literally: "half line"), colloquially so-named by Taiwanese aboriginals. Poasoa used to be inhabited primarily by the Babuza people, who have since been mostly assimilated by the Han Chinese.

Qing rule in Taiwan began in 1683, and in 1684, Taiwan Prefecture was established to administer Taiwan under Fujian Province. The prefecture consisted of three counties: Taiwan County (), Fongshan District (Formosa) () and Zhuluo. Poasoa and modern-day Changhua County were under the jurisdiction of Zhuluo, but the Changhua area was spread over three counties.

In 1723, after the Zhu Yigui rebellion, an inspector official in Taiwan requested to the Qing Emperor to designate Changhua to another county magistrate and legal warden because of the increasing population in the northern part of Zhuluo County. As a result, Changhua County was created, encompassing the area of modern Changhua County, Taichung, half of Yunlin County and three townships of Nantou County. Changhua County Hall was built in the middle of the district and is regarded as the beginning of the Changhua County establishment.