Zhongli District () is a district in Taoyuan City, Taiwan. Zhongli is spelled variously as Jungli, Jongli, Jhongli or Chungli on railway stations, bus stops and road signs. Historically, the city is the site of the Zhongli Incident of 1977, the most significant event of the democratization movement prior to the 1980s. Ethnically, it is considered a capital city for Hakka Taiwanese, who live in great numbers here and in surrounding areas; many elderly persons can speak Hakka in addition to Mandarin and Taiwanese Hokkien. In recent years many foreign workers (mainly from the Philippines and Thailand) have also settled in and around the city due to the heavy industry in the suburbs of the city, making it a center for foreign laborers. The district of Zhongli has three large parks and over 70 green reserves. Zhongli District is the busiest district in Southern Taoyuan (南桃園), as well as the location of the Taoyuan HSR station. History Qing dynasty In the 19th century, the area was home to Plains aborigines. During the Qing dynasty, immigrants from Fujian and Guangdong provinces arrived along with Hakka. The original name of the area was Kan-a-lek () due to its location between Tamsui and Hsinchu. During Japanese rule, the town was administered as , Chūreki District, Shinchiku Prefecture. Republic of China After the handover of Taiwan from Japan to the Republic of China in 1945, Zhongli was reorganized as Zhongli Town. In October 1950, it was placed under Taoyuan County. On 1 July 1967, Zhongli was promoted to a county-administered city and became Zhongli City. On 25 December 2014, as Taoyuan County was upgraded to a special municipality named Taoyuan City, Zhongli became a district of the municipality. Demographics Zhongli's population was estimated at 424,945 in January 2023, including 8,417 Taiwanese aborigines. Zhongli is subdivided into 85 villages, with the eight biggest but least populated villages on the western side of the district (39 square kilometers but with 35,000 people), while the eastern side is occupied by industrial factories and the heart of the metropolitan area. This reflects the imbalance of development of western and eastern Zhongli. Administrative divisions The district comprises 88 villages: Chenggong (成功), Deyi (德義), Duxing (篤行), Fude (福德), Fuhua (復華), Fuxing (復興), Guangming (光明), Guoling (過嶺), Heping (和平), Houliao (後寮), Huaai (華愛), Huaxun (華勛), Jianxing (健行), Jinhua (金華), Jiuming (舊明), Linsen (林森), Longan (龍安), Longchang (龍昌), Longci (龍慈), Longde (龍德),