Tainan

Tainan (台南) is the historic capital of Taiwan. The Dutch established a fort and trading post at Anping in the early 17th century but were expelled by the pirate-king Koxinga, a Ming dynasty loyalist, in 1662. An independent polity, the Kingdom of Tungning, only lasted 30 years before it was absorbed by the Qing, who typically governed western Taiwan with disinterest for the next two centuries. The capital was moved to Taipei shortly before Taiwan was integrated into the Empire of Japan but Tainan’s cultural importance never waned; the historic core preserves the island’s densest concentration of temples, colonial architecture, and heritage sites.

The flat expanses beyond the city were transformed under Japanese rule. Southwestern coastal districts like Qigu and Jiangjun became Taiwan’s largest salt production zone, with saltworks operating until 2002. Inland towns developed around sugar: the Xinying Sugar Factory anchored the northern plains, while Xinhua preserves an exceptional streetscape of Japanese colonial era shophouses. Yanshui, once Taiwan’s fourth-largest city, hosts the annual Beehive Fireworks Festival, and the northeastern district of Baihe is home to Guanziling, a historic hot springs resort dating to the Japanese colonial era.