Taichung, officially Taichung City, is a special municipality in central Taiwan. Taichung is Taiwan's second-largest city, with more than 2.85 million residents, making it the largest city in Central Taiwan. It serves as the core of the Taichung–Changhua metropolitan area, Taiwan's second-largest metropolitan area. Located in the Taichung Basin, the city was initially developed from several scattered hamlets helmed by the Taiwanese indigenous peoples.