Taiwan's oldest city and former capital, where 400 years of history live on in Dutch forts, hundreds of temples and legendary, sweet-tasting street food.
臺灣最古老的城市與舊都,四百年歷史藏在荷蘭古堡、數百座廟宇,與帶著甜味的傳奇小吃裡。
Tainan is Taiwan's oldest city and was its capital for more than two centuries — the place where the island's recorded history begins. In 1624 the Dutch East India Company built a trading base on the sandbar of present-day Anping, raising Fort Zeelandia (today's Anping Old Fort) to govern the island and run a rich trade in deerskin, sugar and silk. In 1653 they built a second, inland fort, Fort Provintia, on the site of today's Chihkan Tower. Long before the Europeans came, this coastal plain was the homeland of the Siraya, the largest of Taiwan's plains Indigenous peoples.
臺南是臺灣最古老的城市,曾擔任首府超過兩個世紀,是全島信史的起點。1624 年,荷蘭東印度公司在今日安平的沙洲上設立貿易據點,興建熱蘭遮城(今安平古堡),統治全島並經營鹿皮、糖與絲綢貿易。1653 年又在內陸建第二座要塞普羅民遮城(今赤崁樓所在)。在歐洲人到來之前,這片海岸平原早已是西拉雅族的家園——他們是臺灣平埔原住民中人口最多的一支。
In 1661 the Ming loyalist Koxinga (Zheng Cheng-gong) landed near Anping with a great fleet and laid siege to Fort Zeelandia. After about nine months the Dutch surrendered in February 1662, ending 38 years of Dutch rule. Koxinga made Tainan the seat of his new regime; though he died only months later, his descendants ruled here until 1683.
1661 年,明朝遺臣鄭成功(國姓爺)率龐大艦隊登陸安平,圍攻熱蘭遮城。約九個月後,荷蘭人於 1662 年 2 月投降,結束 38 年的荷蘭統治。鄭成功以臺南為新政權的中心;他雖在數月後病逝,其後代仍統治此地直到 1683 年。
Under the Qing, Tainan (then Taiwan-fu, 臺灣府城) became the capital and the island's political and commercial heart for two hundred years — captured in the old saying "一府二鹿三艋舺" ("first the prefectural city, second Lukang, third Bangka"). When Taiwan became a province in 1885 the capital moved north and settled in Taipei, and the name "Tainan" was formally adopted in 1887. In 2010 the old city and surrounding county merged into a single special municipality. Today Tainan wears its history openly as Taiwan's "ancient capital" (古都).
清代,臺南(當時稱臺灣府城)成為首府,擔任全島政治與商業核心達兩百年——正是俗諺「一府二鹿三艋舺」(一府臺南、二鹿鹿港、三艋舺)所指。1885 年臺灣建省後,首府北移、最終定於臺北,「臺南」一名則於 1887 年正式啟用。2010 年,舊市與周邊縣份合併為單一直轄市。今日的臺南坦然承載歷史,是臺灣的「古都」。
Taiwan's first European fortress, begun by the Dutch in 1624 as Fort Zeelandia. It was the centre of Dutch rule and the place where Koxinga forced their surrender in 1662; today its old brick walls and a Japanese-era lookout tower remain.
Built by the Dutch in 1653 as the administrative Fort Provintia. The graceful Chinese pavilions seen today — the Sea God Temple and Wenchang Pavilion — are Qing-era buildings raised on the original Dutch foundations.
A 19th-century warehouse of the British firm Tait & Co., later abandoned and slowly swallowed by a giant banyan tree whose aerial roots now form its walls and roof. Opened to visitors in 2004, it is one of Taiwan's most photographed "ruins reclaimed by nature."
Taiwan's first Western-style coastal fortress, built 1874–1876. The Qing official Shen Baozhen commissioned it after a Japanese expedition, had a French engineer design it, and armed it with British Armstrong cannon.
Founded in 1665, this is Taiwan's first Confucian temple and its first school, honoured with the title "全臺首學" — "the First Academy of Taiwan." Its tranquil red walls and old courtyards still host Confucius's birthday rites each September.
Originally built in 1664 as a Southern Ming prince's mansion, it was converted into a temple in 1684 and became Taiwan's first official, government-sponsored Mazu temple — and the first to honour the sea goddess as "Empress of Heaven."
A lovingly preserved Qing-dynasty lane in the heart of the old Wutiaogang port district. Having escaped modern road-widening, its low wooden shophouses now hold cafés, craft shops and galleries, glowing with lanterns at night.
Opened in December 1932, "Hayashi" was Tainan's first department store, with one of Taiwan's earliest passenger elevators and a Shinto shrine on its rooftop. Beautifully restored, it reopened in 2014 as a boutique of local design.
A grand private museum founded by industrialist Shi Wen-long, its palatial building opened in 2015. It is famous for Western fine art, arms and armour, natural history, and what is billed as the world's largest collection of violins.
Established in Beimen in 1818, these are Taiwan's oldest surviving salt fields and the last "tile-paved" evaporation ponds. At sunset the mirror-like pans turn gold and pink, and visitors can still rake the salt.
A narrow mangrove waterway in Taijiang National Park where decades-old trees arch overhead to form a green "tunnel." Toured by flat-bottomed boat, it is nicknamed Taiwan's "Mini Amazon."
A snow-white "mountain" of sun-dried sea salt left from over three centuries of salt-making (the fields closed in 2002), beside Qigu Lagoon, the largest lagoon in Taiwan and a remnant of the historic Taijiang Inner Sea.
The Zengwen River estuary at Qigu is the single most important wintering ground in the world for the endangered black-faced spoonbill. Each winter, from roughly October to April, thousands gather here — the planet's largest concentration.
With the highest density of temples in Taiwan, Tainan is the island's home of folk religion, Confucian learning and traditional craft.
Tainan holds the highest density of temples in Taiwan and is a stronghold of belief in the Wang Ye (Royal Lords, 王爺), plague-dispelling deities honoured across the south. Its most spectacular folk ritual is the triennial Xigang Pilgrimage (西港刈香), first held in 1784 — a procession of dozens of villages with a King Boat ceremony, now a designated national heritage and nicknamed "Taiwan's Foremost Offering of Incense."
Tainan is the home of Taiwan's Confucian tradition, with the island's first Confucius temple (1665) and centuries of scholarly heritage behind the title "the First Academy of Taiwan." The city's old craft trades — lantern-making, paper effigies, embroidery and the carving of Buddhist and Daoist statues — still cluster in its historic lanes.
The Ming loyalist who drove the Dutch from Taiwan in 1662 and made Tainan his capital. Born in Hirado, Japan, he died in Tainan (Anping) in 1662 and is honoured throughout the city, especially at the Koxinga Shrine (Yanping Junwang Temple).
An influential social-realist writer born in Xinhua, Tainan. Known for works such as "The Newspaper Carrier" and "The Indomitable Rose," he is remembered at the Yang Kui Literature Memorial Museum in his hometown.
Held in Yanshui at the Lantern Festival, this is one of the world's most thrilling — and dangerous — festivals. Racks ("beehives") of tens of thousands of bottle rockets are fired straight into the helmet-clad crowd. The tradition began in the 19th century, when residents set off firecrackers to drive away a cholera epidemic.
Held each year around late April, centred on the memorial ceremony at the Koxinga Shrine, with rituals, performances and cultural events commemorating Koxinga's 1661 landing.
From roughly October to April, thousands of endangered black-faced spoonbills winter at the Qigu wetlands, drawing birdwatchers from around the world to the largest wintering flock on Earth.
The historic salt fields at Jingzaijiao and Qigu host seasonal sunset and lantern events, and the city regularly takes part in Taiwan's Lantern Festival celebrations.
Tainan is the island's street-food capital, and its cooking is famously sweeter than anywhere else in Taiwan.
The signature of Du Hsiao Yueh, founded in 1895 — a fisherman sold noodles to "get through the slack season," topped with savoury minced pork and a single shrimp.
Central Tainan 中西區A thick slab of deep-fried toast, hollowed out and filled with creamy seafood or chicken stew, with the cut-out lid set back on top.
Central Tainan 中西區Tainan is Taiwan's largest milkfish-farming centre; silky milkfish-belly congee is a classic, comforting local breakfast.
Citywide 全市Thin slices of fresh, never-frozen "warm-body" beef cooked in seconds by hot bone broth. Diners line up before dawn — some as early as 4 a.m.
Citywide 全市Whole shrimp, minced pork and fish paste wrapped in a thin pork-belly membrane and deep-fried until crisp — an Anping institution.
Anping 安平Crisp-fried eel and noodles flash-cooked over a roaring flame in a sweet-and-sour sauce — a Tainan night-market classic.
Night markets 夜市Silky tofu pudding with sweet syrup and toppings like beans, taro or peanuts; iced in summer, with warm ginger syrup in winter.
Citywide 全市Steamed savoury rice pudding topped with pork, egg yolk and shrimp; plus the chewy sun-dried noodles born in Tainan's Guanmiao District.
Guanmiao 關廟Taiwan's oldest city and former capital — the birthplace of the island's history.
The densest concentration of historic temples and the heart of folk religion.
Famous bites on every corner — and a local taste for sweeter seasoning.
Centuries of salt-making and Taiwan's biggest milkfish and oyster aquaculture.
The Qigu and Sicao wetlands and the world's largest wintering spoonbill flock.
The Chimei Museum's grand collection and southern Taiwan's design culture.
Introduce Tainan to a visitor — tap 🔊 to hear each sentence. 用英文向訪客介紹臺南,點 🔊 聽聽看。
Sources · 資料來源:臺南市政府觀光旅遊局、台江國家公園、文化部、交通部觀光署、維基百科等公開資料整理。