Banqiao District

Banqiao District Banciao, Panchiao or Pan-ch'iao is a district and the seat of New Taipei City, Taiwan. It has the third-highest population density in Taiwan, with over . Until the creation of New Taipei City, Banqiao was an incorporated county-administered city and the former seat of Taipei County. Name origin The district's old name was Pang-kio, which dates back to the Qing Dynasty during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor (1735 - 1796 AD). A wooden bridge, locally called Pang-kiô-thâu (枋橋頭), was built for pedestrians to cross a brook located in the west of today's Banqiao, the modern day Nanzigou (湳仔溝, literally "Nanzi Creek"). The spellings Pankyu, Pankio, and Pankyo can be found in English-language works of the early 20th century. In 1920, the Japanese government modified the name to . The same characters are still used today, but are read Bǎnqiáo in Mandarin. However, in Taiwanese Hokkien, the old name Pang-kiô is still the norm. History In the early 20th century, Pankyo (Pankyu) was a walled city and said to be owned by a landlord who had lived there "in feudal style", surrounded by armed retainers.