Life Update: Our Trip to Tainan, the Charming Old Capital of Southern Taiwan
Towards the end of the Lunar New Year celebration in 2022, Derek and I decided to take an impromptu trip to Tainan with our old friends, Yimou and Rik. It was our first proper vacation since we reunited in Taiwan in November 2021.
Tainan, a city on Taiwan’s southwestern coast, has quite a colourful history. It was first developed by the Dutch East India Company (VOC) as a trading base called Fort Zeelandia. Then, Zheng Chenggong, (鄭成功), a Ming loyalist who resisted the Qing conquest of China, led his army and defeated the Dutch in 1661. General Cheng started the Kingdom of Tungning and the city became a Ming outpost on the island. The Qing forces eventually took over in 1683. It became Taiwanfu, the capital of the Taiwan Prefecture under Qing rule until 1887 when the capital was moved to Taipei.
This trip wasn’t our first time to Tainan—we visited years ago with my parents. We saw the Anping Old Fort, the fortress built by the VOC between 1624 to 1634. We also went to the Chikan Tower, originally built as Fort Provintia in 1652 and later rebuilt after an earthquake in the 19th century. But for this trip with our friends, Derek and I skipped the historic landmarks. We stayed in a B & B in a traditional house in a hip district to get a taste of the local culture.
Derek and I standing in front of a traditional Taiwanese home on Shennong Street. Many of the homes on this street have been preserved and turned into a trendy tourist hotspot of cafes, bars, and shops.
We stayed in the Western Central District near Shennong Street (神農街), famous for its 100-year-old home dotting the narrow lane. It’s a vibrant district brimmed with shops, cafes, and bars. There is also a traditional market nearby filled with delicious street food and even a Japanese sashimi bar that had fresh oysters.
Kayo enjoying her fresh oyster in a sushi bar at the traditional street market in Tainan.
Tainan is famous for its countless Daoist and Buddhist temples. Since we visited during the Lunar New Year celebration, we decided to make an offering at the local Mazu (Tin Hau) temple and to chase away any unlucky spirits that may be lingering. Inside the temple, Mazu was housed in an elaborately decorated wooden sedan chair, in which we walked under. A Daoist priest then performed a ritual in which he swung a branch with green leaves while chanting a prayer. Then, I deposited a $100 NT note into the donation box and was given a cloth amulet and a piece of candy.
Kayo received a blessing from Mazu via the Daoist priest.
One of our favourite things to do during our Tainan trip was to roam the streets and alleys where we found many charming Taiwanese structures built in the 20th century. In my opinion, some of the best architectural features are the handmade wrought iron window grates and balcony railings, the adorable balconies made of concrete with carved-out patterns, and the solid wood doors and window frames. These types of features are becoming rarer and rarer in the urban area of Taiwan, which makes Tainan a charming destination for architecture buffs.
Tainan also has several Japanese colonial structures. We visited the Tainan Art Museum Building 1, which is a charming art deco building that was built for the Tainan Police Department during Japanese colonialism. There was a Yoshimoto Nara exhibition happening at the time but it was sold out. Instead, we checked out the other exhibits and had some coffee and dessert in the lovely courtyard.
The interior of the Tainan Art Museum.
Yimou and Rik posing in front of the ancient banyan tree in the Courtyard of the Tainan Art Museum. There’s also a fabulous cafe next to it.
This sign says “Please speak Mandarin for public and private conversations.” It’s an indication of how the Taiwanese language was suppressed during the Kuomingtang-led ROC period of Taiwan.
We also walked by the Tainan Wude Hall, which was constructed in 1936. It was a martial training center for police, military, and other citizens. Now, it is the assembly hall for the lucky students and teachers of Zhongyi Elementary School.
The Tainan Wude Hall is the assembly hall of Zhongyi Elementary School and not open to the public.
Derek and I had an action-packed weekend with our dear friends. We definitely left pieces of our hearts in the old capital. Until next time, Tainan!
