Yongkang Dist.

A Great Place for Bookworms and Visitors Alike

The historical site of the tomb of Cheng-kung ZHENG and Jing ZHENG, father and son. According to Chronicle of Taiwan Prefecture by Gong-qian GAO, they were buried at “Zhouziwie, Wuding Borough, Taiwan County”, i.e. Yanzhou Borough, Yongkang District, today. In 1699, the tomb was relocated to Nanan, Fujian, at the order of Emperor Kangxi, Qing dynasty. In 1980, the former Tainan County Government built the “Cheng-kung ZHENG Monument” here in memory of them.

Yongkang District is located on the formerly Taijian lagoon area (inland sea) with make lakes and bridges. The most famous lake is called Jiyu Lake. It was the Dawan Strait in the ancient time and became a lake when a lagoon was formd after a land uplift. The lake located in Yongkang District has three names, Jiyu Lake is one of them for the lake’s high yield of the crucian carp (Carassius auratus). The second name is Dong Lake for its location in the east of the prefecture. The third name is Long Lake for the location of the dragon according to geomancers.

Yongkang Social Education Center covers over 700m2 and is one of the few town-level public facilities in Taiwan to integrate a large performing space, public library and classrooms. The Center provides the general public with a venue for reading, art & cultural exchanges, recreation and lifelong learning. It is also used to display local cultural relics as well, making it an important cultural education institution and community center in the Yongkang district.

Yongkang Railway Station first started out as the Niaosong Rail Yard in 1903. It was not until 1941 that a wooden station building was erected to handle passenger traffic. The current brick & concrete station building was commissioned in 1991. Yongkang was just an ordinary local station for many years. It rocketed to fame after partnering with Bao-an Station to issue souvenir “Yongbao-Ankang (“Peace and Health Always”). The souvenir tickets are popular with passengers due to their auspicious meaning. 

Products of the Taiwan Metal Creation Museum (臺灣金屬創意館) are a common sight in Tainan's scenic spots, such as the Sword Lion Transformer at the edge of Tainan Baseball Stadium (台南棒球場) and the metal cows in the Liuying Holland Village (柳營荷蘭村). These creations turn ice cold metals into installation art, and allow everyone to see the creative potential of metals. Ornaments and furniture made of metal are scattered inside and outside the factory, displaying a surprising amount of variation for such a solid material as steel.

Occupying approximately 6 hectares, Yongkang Exploration Education Park(永康探索教育公園) is Taiwan's largest specialized exploration park, and with the neighboring Social Education Center, it forms the Yongkang Cultural Educational Area. The park has a vast expanse of lush green grass, and plenty of shady wooded areas, attracting neighboring residents to bring their children to play. They can use the standard recreational equipment, the more challenging bouldering course, or even more specialized low altitude exploration facilities.

Dawan Guanghu Temple (大灣廣護宮) was built in 1679 and enshrines Guang Hui Sheng Wang (Guanghui Sage King) (廣惠聖王). Located on the main road from Tainan’s old downtown area to Xinshi, transport is convenient and helps attract many worshippers to the temple. It is best-known for the centipede formation that makes an appearance during the jian jiao (建醮) main sacrificial ceremony; it attracts many photographers who have an interest in cultural subjects.

During the period of Japanese rule, the Japanese set up the Yongkang Sankandian Sugar Refinery Shinto Shrine (三崁店糖廠設立神社), commemorating Prince Kitashirakawanomiya Yoshihisa (能久親王), Amaterasu-Ōmikami (天照大神), and Toyouke-Ōmikami (豐受大神). The shrine was a religious center for the Japanese, and at that time the Tainan area had many shrines. The majority of those situated close to the most urbanized areas have already become damaged or disappeared. The sites initially selected for the construction of shrines would generally have been in a quiet or secluded environment surrounded by lush forest.

Completed in 1967, Dawan Lingxiao Main Hall and Wulong Temple(大灣凌霄寶殿武龍宮) each enshrine a main deity. The upstairs Lingxiao Main Hall enshrines Yu Huang Shang Di (Jade Emperor), while Wulong Temple downstairs is dedicated to Xuan Tian Shang Di (Dark Heavenly Highest Deity). Although not historic temples, they are extremely important belief centers in the Dawan area of Yongkang District and closely connected to people’s lives; joint events are often held with local communities and schools, and a blessing ceremony is also staged at exam time.