Travel Guide

The Koxinga Shrine, also known as Kaishan King Temple, is a historically significant temple located in Tainan City, Taiwan. It was originally built in the 17th century to commemorate Zheng Chenggong's father. After the Qing dynasty took control of Taiwan, Zheng Chenggong's tomb was moved to Fujian, and the worship of Zheng Chenggong was prohibited. However, the people of Taiwan secretly continued to worship him under the name 'Zhu Chenggong'. In 1897, during the Japanese colonial period, the shrine was converted into a Shinto shrine and renamed Kaishan Shrine. After World War II, it was restored as a Confucian temple in 1947. In 1961, the temple underwent a major renovation, and its architectural style changed from the original Fuzhou style to a Northern Chinese style. The Koxinga Shrine is an important historical and cultural attraction in Tainan City, drawing many visitors to learn about Zheng Chenggong's historical achievements and Taiwan's development.

The Tainan Judicial Museum, originally known as the Former Tainan District Court, is a historic building located in the West Central District of Tainan City, Taiwan. The building was completed in 1914 during the Japanese colonial period, designed by Japanese architect Matsunosuke Moriyama. It features an ornate Baroque architectural style with a unique pediment-style asymmetrical porch and an eight-sided oeil-de-boeuf window facade. After Taiwan's retrocession in 1945, the building underwent multiple renovations. It was designated a second-class historic monument in 1991, and restoration work began in 2003, concluding on November 8, 2016, when it reopened to the public as a museum. The museum offers a rich array of exhibits, including the building's history, legal documents, local history, an introduction to the architect, displays of the restoration process, and historical photographs, making it an important venue for understanding Taiwan's judicial history and architectural art.

Tainan Garden Night Market (Tainan Flower Night Market) is a tourist night market located in the North District of Tainan, Taiwan, and is generally considered the city's largest and most famous night market. It is often said, 'Garden in the South, Fengjia in the Central, Shilin in the North'. The night market was officially established in 1999, making it one of the youngest night markets in Tainan City. Garden Night Market is open every Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday, from 5 PM to midnight. It does not open on rainy days. Various foods and items are sold here, such as fried chicken, oyster omelets, beef rolls, scallion pancakes, takoyaki, eel noodles, bubble tea, clothes, dolls, phone cases, lighters, etc. Arcade games like basketball machines, ring toss, and balloon shooting can be found here.

Anping Fort, originally known as Fort Zeelandia, was a fortress built by the Dutch East India Company (VOC) in Anping, Taiwan (now Tainan) from 1624 to 1634. In the 17th century, it served as an important trade hub and international commercial center in East Asia. The site has been renamed multiple times, and its current Chinese name means 'Anping Old Fort'. From 1661 to 1662, Koxinga (Zheng Chenggong) besieged the fort and eventually forced the Dutch to surrender.

The Tainan Confucius Temple (also known as the First Academy of Taiwan), located on Nanmen Road, West Central District, Tainan City, Taiwan, was built in 1665 and is Taiwan's oldest Confucius Temple. It was proposed by Chen Yonghua during the Kingdom of Tungning period as a place for lectures and cultivating intellectuals. During the Qing Dynasty, it underwent multiple repairs and expansions, forming its current scale. During the Japanese colonial period, it was used as a public school and military barracks, and later underwent large-scale renovations in 1917. Today, the Tainan Confucius Temple is a popular tourist attraction and regularly holds ancient Confucian ceremonies, while also housing artifacts and musical instruments used for the rituals.

The National Museum of Taiwan Literature (NMTL), located in Tainan, Taiwan, and operated by the Ministry of Culture, Taiwan, is the first national-level literary museum in Taiwan. The museum is responsible for researching, cataloging, preserving, and displaying literary artifacts, and holds a large collection of local works written in Taiwanese, Japanese, Mandarin, and classical Chinese. The museum was originally the Tainan Prefectural Hall, built in 1916, and was converted into a literary museum in January 2003. It is an important example of 'adaptive reuse of historic buildings' among official Taiwanese architecture, and was designated a national monument on November 10 of the same year.

Tainan's Douhua is renowned for its adherence to traditional preparation methods and unique flavor. Made fresh daily from freshly ground non-GMO soybeans, it boasts an incredibly smooth and delicate texture with a rich soybean aroma. The accompanying syrup and toppings are also meticulously selected.

A rice-based snack made by steaming seasoned indica rice batter with ingredients such as pork, salted egg yolk, mushrooms, and dried shrimp in a bowl. Tainan's Wa Kueh is dark brown and has a firm texture, making it a beloved breakfast or snack for locals.

A distinctive hotpot from Tainan, using a traditional charcoal copper pot. The broth is simmered with pork bones and dried flatfish, but its soul lies in the handmade shacha sauce. The shacha sauce usually includes secret ingredients like peanuts and garlic, offering a rich aroma and a flavor far superior to commercial products.

A traditional sweet snack commonly found in Kaohsiung night markets and traditional markets. Glutinous rice dough is deep-fried, then coated with peanut powder and powdered sugar. The Kaohsiung version is usually fried to be crispier and comes in more varied shapes.

A representative snack from the Anping district of Tainan. Fresh fiery shrimp, pork, fish paste, water chestnuts, and green onions are wrapped in pork omentum or special dough skin, then deep-fried until golden and crispy.

Tainan's most iconic breakfast and a unique culinary culture of the city. Freshly slaughtered warm beef is thinly sliced and then blanched to medium-rare directly with boiling hot beef bone broth. The soup is delicious, and the beef is incredibly tender.