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Introducing Tainan City
We’ve always been very fond of Tainan (Táinán), and always impressed with its array of temples and historical relics. But we often wondered if we simply needed to get out more. So one day we travelled to Beijing and saw some of the greatest architectural wonders of the Chinese world. And then we returned to Tainan and found we were no less impressed with it than before. No, it couldn’t compare directly to Beijing, but then travel is not a zero sum game in our opinion, and the wonderful deserves to be praised as much as the amazing.
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Tainan is the oldest city in Taiwan, and the fourth largest. It was here that Taiwan’s modern history began and it is here that much of its traditional culture continues to thrive. Outside Dutch-built forts, lively night markets sell dishes exclusive to the region. Inside hundreds-of-years-old temples, people bobui (toss divination sticks) to determine the best course of action, just as their ancestors did when the temple first opened. The only difference is that today, people then jump into their cars and head to air-conditioned homes.
But no-one seems worried by the dichotomy. Modernity is embraced in Tainan as much as the past is respected. There are shopping malls, luxury hotels, sharp-looking cafés and trendy bars. But there is also an approved NT3-billion-dollar budget for reviving and restoring the old harbour area of Anping and its trove of historical sights. Tainan has industries producing metals, textiles and machinery, a few old masters working on traditional crafts, as well as a new science park that promises to bring the city into the avant-garde of Taiwan’s hi-tech revolution.
You can visit Tainan any time of year, though we love winter when it’s warm (in the high twenties on average) and dry, and few tourists are about (try and find all those conditions in Beijing). Traditional festival days are of course a great time to come, as are the birthdays of temple gods. Give yourself at least a couple of days here to see the sights and observe the local culture.
Last updated: Feb 17, 2009
