Nan-t’ou

Nan-t’ou, shih (municipality) and seat of Nan-t’ou hsien (county), west-central Taiwan. It lies 26 miles (42 km) south of T’ai-chung city. Situated in a fertile alluvial plain on a tributary of the Wu River, the town flourished in the late 17th century and became the marketing centre for rice, sugarcane, bananas, and oranges grown nearby. Sugar and rice milling, fruit canning, woodworking, and pottery making are the main industries. The town is connected by the Chung-shan freeway to T’ai-chung in the north and T’ai-nan in the south. Pop. (2007 est.) 105,671.