Yonghe District (Chinese: 永和區; pinyin: Yǒnghé Qū; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Éng-hô-khu) is an urban area in the southern part of New Taipei, Taiwan. Yonghe District is the smallest district in New Taipei City. It is primarily a mixed residential and commercial area. With around 38,000 inhabitants per square kilometer as of 2019, Yonghe is one of the most densely populated urban areas in the world.[1]
On 1 January 1979, Yonghe was upgraded from an urban township to a county-administered city of Taipei County. With the changing of Taipei County to the special municipality of New Taipei City on 25 December 2010, Yonghe City was changed to Yonghe District.
The Xindian River forms a natural boundary between Yonghe and Taipei City to the north and east, although three bridges connect the two areas. To the south and west lies Zhonghe District, which shares some administration and facilities with Yonghe.[2]
The city is famous for its soy milk, and breakfast stores advertising "Yonghe Soy Milk" can be found all over Taiwan.[3]
The district comprises 62 villages:[4] Anhe (安和), Bao'an (保安), Baoping (保平), Baoshun (保順), Datong (大同), Daxin (大新), Dehe (得和), Dianjie (店街), Dingxi (頂溪), Fuhe (福和), Fulin (福林), Fuxing (復興), Guangfu (光復), Guangming (光明), Guilin (桂林), Hebin (河濱), Heping (和平), Heti (河堤), Houxi (後溪), Lixing (勵行), Minben (民本), Minfu (民富), Minle (民樂), Minquan (民權), Minsheng (民生), Minzhi (民治), Minzu (民族), Qianxi (前溪), Ren'ai (仁愛), Shanglin (上林), Shangxi (上溪), Shuanghe (雙和), Shuiyuan (水源), Tan'an (潭安), Tanqian (潭墘), Wangxi (網溪), Wenhua (文化), Xiaxi (下溪), Xiehe (協和), Xinbu (新廍), Xinsheng (新生), Xinyi (信義), Xiucheng (秀成), Xiude (秀得), Xiuhe (秀和), Xiulang (秀朗), Xiulin (秀林), Xiuyuan (秀元), Yong'an (永安), Yongcheng (永成), Yongfu (永福), Yongle (永樂), Yongxing (永興), Yongyuan (永元), Yongzhen (永貞), Yüxi (豫溪), Zhengxing (正興), Zhiguang (智光), Zhongxi (中溪), Zhongxing (中興), Zhongyi (忠義), Zhulin (竹林).
Yonghe is served by the Zhonghe-Xinlu Line of the Taipei Metro, two stations of which are located in the district: Yongan Market and Dingxi. In addition, Fuhe Bridge passes through Yonghe and has an interchange there, as does the MacAuthur 1st & 2nd bridges .
Three major bridges connect Yonghe with other districts:
Yonghe is where Xiulang Elementary School (aka Shou-lang Elementary School) is located. Xiulang was once the world's largest elementary school by number of students.[6]