West Central Dist.

Build in 1950, Chuan Mei Theater is one of the oldest second-run theaters in Tainan. The theater is often mentioned by Li Ang the movie director as the place that nurtured his movie-making ambitions. The most distinctive feature of Chuan Mei Theater is its continued use of hand-painted movie posters so even the latest 3D animated movies are given a Taiwanese hand-painted make-over. Look up as you pass by to check out its hand-painted movie posters - they are now a rare sight in Taiwan and the world.

Located behind Yanping Koxinga Temple, Lady Linshui Temple(臨水夫人廟) was built in 1736. It enshrines Lady Linshui, Chen Jing-gu. It is said that she was extremely clever and had psychic powers as a child. When a serious drought struck Fujian Province in China, despite being several months pregnant, Chen set up at altar and prayed for rain. While she successfully brought rain, during her efforts she disturbed her fetus, suffered a miscarriage and died: In her last words she swore: “I will be the midwifery goddess after death, helping women who suffer difficult labor”.

Kailong Temple is the temple with the longest history of worship of the Seven Star Goddess(七星娘娘) in Taiwan. Its images of female kindness are believed to give blessings to children, and its seven fairy images are interpreted as bringing good fortune in romance and relationships. Kailong Temple(開隆宮) is well known in Taiwan for its coming of age ceremony, where every Qixi Festival (七夕Chinese Valentine’s Day) parents from all over Taiwan bring their 16 year old children to participate in the incredible adulthood ceremony.

Shennong Street (神農街) was the entrance to the Tainan Five Channels area important river ports from the Qing Dynasty. Merchants at the time would all enter Tainan through this street, making it the busiest district. However, a century of evolution has transformed the original river port into a city road.

Known as “Taiwan’s first temple,”Xiluo Temple is an extremely important temple in the Five Channels area. It was built by a man surnamed Kuo during the reign of the Kangxi Emperor of the Qing Dynasty in 1718. Enshrining GuangZeZun Wang (Guangze King) (廣澤尊王), it has a long history and attracts many worshippers. The temple houses many precious plaques, such as En You Quan Tai(Blessing all of Taiwan;恩祐全台)presented by the Xianfeng Emperor and Bao An Tian Xia (Protect the nation;保安天下), one presented by the Guangxu Emperor, another by President Chiang Ching-kuo.

Over the past few years, Hai'an Road (海安路) has become the busiest art walking area in Tainan at night. Both sides of the road have a rather dilapidated look, as buildings have been half torn down to widen the road, with exposed steel reinforcing bars and crumbling bricks and tiles. Due to the enthusiastic rallying of well-known curator Du Zhao-xian, artists make use of the current appearance to recreate all kinds of public art. The City Government has been actively pursuing landscape transformation in recent years, and wants to give tourists more comfortable walking spaces.

When visiting the Confucian temple (孔廟) area, taking a stroll around the sights and sounds of Fuzhong Street (府中街) should not be overlooked. Try one of the famous fried instant noodle shops from within the brimming alley and from where you can also smell the incense that wafts from the nearby temple. This temple is the Yonghua Temple (永華宮), dedicated to the the GuangzeZunwang (Guangze King), and was originally a place that enshrined General Chen yonghua (陳永華).

The white, elegant church next to Tang Te-chang Memorial Park (湯德章紀念公園) was founded in 1865 by Dr. James Laidlow Maxwell (馬雅各), missionary of the British Presbyterian Church(英國長老教會). The Church towers over the district in exotic foreign style, and it has had a strong connection with the area for centuries. The Tai Peng Keng Church is now a memorial to Dr. Maxwell.

The National Museum of Taiwan Literature(台灣文學館) is arguably the most important landmark in Tainan city center. It was designed by the Japanese architect Mariyama Matsunosuke(森山松之助), and construction was completed in 1916. At the time, under the Japanese Colonial Time, Tainan Prefectural Government was the highest administrative center in Tainan. During the World War II, it suffered damage from Allied bombing, but was later restored to its original state.

Beiji Temple(北極殿) mainly worships Beiji Xuan Tian Shang Di, and lies above Jiuling(鷲嶺), a relatively high point in Tainan. Because of the Northern Black Tortoise, unlike other temples, Beiji Temple uses black as its main color. The temple currently has the oldest horizontal plaque in Tainan, the "Wei Xian He Yi" plaque (威顯赫奕)from 1669, presented by King Ning Jing Wang Zhu Shu-gui.