Before the 17th century Ketagalan people had settled in Taoyuan Plateau and Atayal people had settled in the Dakekan mountain area. During Dutch and Spanish colonization, Taoyuan was almost deserted, thus explaining why aggressive cultivation was not initiated. Cultivation of the area didn' t start until troops of Zheng Kexuan began to open up the wasteland in Nankan when they were stationed there in the Late Ming Dynasty. It was the beginning of planned cultivation in Taoyuan. In 1685, Chen Yu, a native of Quanzhou, settled in Nanjingjuan and recruited serfs from Tangshan to cultivate the land there.

 

The place was later called Taoziyuan, peach blossom garden, because immigrants from Tangshan grew lots of peach blossoms there. This is the origin of Taoyuan. After the Qing Court seized Taiwan, people from Fujian and Guangdong began immigrating to Taiwan. The development of Taoyuan was accelerated under colonization policies during the Japanese Colonial Period. When the government retreated to Taiwan in 1949, a lot of veterans’ villages were built in Taoyuan to accommodate large veteran populations and their families. Since the county is not far from the central government, it is contains the highest density of veterans' villages.

 

After continuous development and fusion of ethnic groups, there remain traces of cultivation by ancient people and lots of cultural relics in the county. You can feel and experience the wisdom of our ancestors when you visit Taoyuan. Cultural assets are one of the main draws of Taoyuan. With the continued and concerted efforts of artists, the valuable cultural history of Taoyuan is expanding, and its content becoming richer.