Guanxi was first settled in the late-18th century as Meili Village (美里莊). Meili Village then changed its name to Xinxing Village (新興莊) after development rights changed hands. In 1850, Xinxing Village was again renamed to Xiancaiweng or Kiâm-chhài-àng (鹹菜甕), literally "pickle urn", for several reasons: First, the local Hakka population was skilled at making Chinese pickled vegetables, and second, the town was geographically located at the confluence of two rivers, making the terrain shaped like an urn.[1]
The name Kiâm-chhài-àng carried over to Japanese rule. Since Kiâm-chhài sounded similar to Kansai in Japanese, the Japanese renamed the town once again to Kansai (関西). After Japan's defeat in the Second World War in 1945, Kansai was sinicized Guanxi by the Republic of China government, which is the current name used today.[1][2]
Geography
It had an area of 125.5 square kilometres (48.5 sq mi) and an estimated population of 27,051 as of February 2023.[3]
^106年1月 新竹縣人口統計報表 [Hsinchu County population table, January 2017]. hsinchu.gov.tw (in Chinese). Hsinchu County Gov't. Archived from the original on 15 February 2017. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
