Miaoli County is a county in western Taiwan. The name Miaoli was coined using two Hakka words, cat and raccoon dog, which phonetically approximate Pali (Bari), a community of Taokas people. Miaoli is contiguous with Hsinchu county, Hsinchu city to the North, Taichung City to the South and borders Taiwan Strait to the West. The Council for Economic Planning and Development of Taiwan regard Miaoli as a county of Central Taiwan, while Taiwan Central Weather Bureau regard Miaoli as a county of the North. Miaoli city is the capital of the county, and is also known as "Mountain Town", owing to the number of mountains nearby, making it a destination for hiking
