Tainan City

Tainan City, for the purposes of this project, is an amalgamation of five districts at its urban core: Anping, the historic coastal district first colonized by the Dutch; West Central District (西中區), encompassing the most historic parts of the Qing and Japanese urban centers; East District (東區), which extends from the railway line into the suburban hinterland; the suburban industrial sprawl of North District (北區); and the progressively more rural South District (南區).

Anping retains traces of its origins as a Dutch trading post, including the ruins of Fort Zeelandia (1624), while West Central bears the densest layering of Ming-Zheng, Qing, and Japanese colonial heritage. Ming-Zheng landmarks include Taiwan’s first Confucian Temple (1665) and Chihkan Tower, built atop the ruins of Dutch Fort Provintia; additional Qing temples like the Grand Mazu Temple and Koxinga Shrine contribute to the city’s reputation as Taiwan’s temple capital; and the Japanese added the Prefecture Hall and Hayashi Department Store. East District grew with the railway and now serves as the city’s commercial and educational center; North District developed around sugar processing and light industry; South District transitions into the agricultural hinterland, its old neighborhoods giving way to fish ponds and farmland toward the coast.