¬ Exploring Taiwan's history, culture and languages through its place names
Monday 24 January 2022
River Tamsui (淡水河), Taipei City / New Taipei City
River Tamsui (淡水河; Mdn. Danshui; lit. "Fresh-water River") is unusual in that its official romanization is based on Hoklo Taiwanese rather than Mandarin.
Formed by confluence of the Xindian, Dahan and Keelung rivers, it bears the name Tamsui River for just a short distance to the Taiwan Strait.
It was formerly known as Dolatok [MC: Aboriginal name? Needs confirmation; sole source for this is English-language Wikipedia.]
Xiadanshui River (下淡水溪; “Lower Fresh Water River”) is a former name for Gaoping River (高屏溪) in southern Taiwan, which was renamed in 1960 to avoid confusion.
Text and photo copyright Jiyue Publications 2022
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