Tainan, officially Tainan City, is a special municipality of Taiwan, facing the Formosan Strait or Taiwan Strait in the west and south. Tainan is the oldest city on the island of Taiwan and also commonly known as the “Capital City” for its over 200 years of history as the capital of Taiwan under Koxinga and later Qing dynasty rule. Tainan’s complex history of comebacks, redefinitions and renewals inspired its popular nickname “the Phoenix City”.
Tainan was initially established by the Dutch East India Company as a ruling and trading base called Fort Zeelandia during the period of Dutch rule on Taiwan. After Dutch colonists were defeated by Koxinga in 1661, Tainan remained as the capital of the Tungning Kingdom until 1683 and afterwards the capital of Taiwan Prefecture under Qing Dynasty rule until 1887, when the new provincial capital was moved to Taipei. Tainan has been historically regarded as one of the oldest cities in Taiwan, and its former name, Tayouan, has been claimed to be the origin of the name “Taiwan”. It is also one of Taiwan’s cultural capitals, for its rich folk cultures including the famous local street food and traditional cuisine, extensively preserved Taoist rites and other living local traditions covering everything from child birth to funerals. The city houses the first Confucian school–temple in Taiwan, built in 1665, the remains of the Eastern and Southern gates of the old city, and countless other historical monuments. Tainan claims more Buddhist and Taoist temples than any other city in Taiwan.
Tainan is famous for its diversity and density of temples and shrines. Some of them are the only of its kind on Taiwan Island. In all, there are officially listed seven Buddhist temples and eight Taoist. As of 2015, Tainan has the most numbers of registered temples among other municipalities, cities or counties in Taiwan, reaching 1,613 temples. Due to its abundant numbers of temples and shrines, the traditional temple decoration crafters and their business flourishes in Tainan. There are masters still passing their knowledge to maintain the temples in the traditional way.
Tainan has a tangible sense of history and is a pleasing city, the site of several spectacular religious festivals. As well as its string of forts, the first capital of Taiwan has some 300 ancient sanctuaries, from the island’s first Confucian temple to its first Taoist temple.
Taiwan Confucian Temple
The Taiwan Confucian Temple (or the Scholarly Temple) was built in 1665 by Cheng Ching, son of Koxinga, to offer lectures and cultivate intellectuals. It was the first learning institute for children when Taiwan was ruled by the Qing Dynasty. As a result, it is also called the First Academy of Taiwan. The temple is a popular tourist attraction and preserves ancient Confucian ceremonies, which are conducted regularly. The grounds include storerooms for the ritual implements and musical instruments that are used in these ceremonies.
National Museum of Taiwan History
The National Museum of Taiwan History is located in the Annan District. The construction of the Exhibition and Education Building began in 2005, and opened on 29 October 2011.The main objectives of this museum include collection, categorization, preservation, research, exhibition, education and promotion of artifacts related to Taiwan’s history and culture for both locals and visitors.
National Museum of Taiwan Literature
The National Museum of Taiwan Literature researches, catalogs, preserves, and exhibits local literary artifacts as part of its multilingual, multi-ethnic focus. The museum is housed in the former Tainan City Hall, constructed in 1916 and famous for its historical significance.
Fort Provintia Fort Provintia was built in 1653 by the Dutch during their colonization of Taiwan and was eventually surrendered to Koxinga. Since 1945, the site has been known as “Chihkan Tower”, a phonetic derivation from “Sakam” (also spelled “Chakam” or “Sakkam”). In addition to the site’s architectural and artistic significance, its library of dictionaries and business transactions documents the Siraya language spoken by the native inhabitants of the region during Dutch rule.
Shopping and Recreation
As Tainan is the one of the larger metropolitan areas in Taiwan, it has many department stores, shopping malls and prestigious boutiques. Several of the best-known luxury brands have branches or counters in Tainan. Flower Night Market is a good place to enjoy the Taiwanese lifestyle. It is one of the most famous night markets and it is often considered to be the largest night market of Taiwan; however, unlike the others, this night market is open for business three days a week – Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday.
Bee hives
In Yanshui District, the most important and prominent fireworks in Lantern Festival are the so-called “bee hives”, essentially multiple launchers of bottle rockets. These rocket forts are actually thousands of bottle rockets arranged row atop row in an iron-and-wooden framework. The setup looks like a beehive full of unleashed gunpowder. When the contraption is ignited, rockets shoot out rapidly in all directions. Dazzling explosives whiz and whirl across the sky and often into the crowd itself, both thrilling and intimidating the spectators.
