歷史古蹟

Since the Japanese Colonial Period, Xinhua (新化) has been a major political and commercial center at the gateway to the mountains of Tainan. You can probably imagine merchants of the time gathering to make deals with Japanese, Han Chinese and Pingpu Peoples. The large numbers of foreign style houses and street houses built here formed a prosperous commercial street, and business was extremely lively. Today’s Xinhua Old Street(新化老街) features well-preserved old foreign style houses and Baroque style buildings covered in tasteful designs and carvings.

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.

Wong Ji Shi Mansion(王雞屎洋樓) is a beautiful old house, and when it was built in 1937 it was Anping's most luxurious mansion. The house was named after its owner, Mr. Wong Ji Shi, who became rich from contracting the haulage for the Japanese Salt Co. during the Japanese Colonial Time, and had this house made, the tallest in Anping at the time. Beside the mansion there are some unique stone chairs, which were originally ballasts used by boats traveling across the Taiwan Strait.

Xishe Xilong Temple (西社西㡣殿) mainly enshrines Chi Fu Qian Sui (池府千歲) who protects the people of Xishe. The temple is where believers come to pray for safety at sea and to handle various other religious matters. It also enshrines a large number of other gods, the most obvious of which are Hsieh Fu and Huang Fu Yuan Shuai(謝府及黃府元帥), large statues of which can be seen on the left and right side of the main hall, respectively.

Eternal Golden Fort (億載金城), is also known as Erkunshen Fortress (二鯤鯓砲台), and is a red four-walled castle surrounded by bastions and moat on all four sides. In ancient times, the strip of turf in the center would have been used for military drills by soldiers, and when looking at the site on the map it becomes clear that it is of a particularly evenly proportioned rhombus design. Through the vicissitudes of history, the Eternal Golden Fort lost its relevance as a military stronghold, and has now become a popular tourist destination.

A combined Dutch military and commercial force captured modern day Anping in 1624, and built Fort Zeelandia(熱蘭遮城) as its defensive stronghold, which was completed in 1634. In 1662, Koxinga successfully took the Dutch fort back, and changed the name to Anping. The inner fort became the seat of government for Taiwan, and so it was known by Taiwanese as King's Fort.

The Lu Jing-tang Mansion (盧經堂厝) is the former residence of wealthy Qing Dynasty merchant Lu Jing-tang and is a city-listed historic site. It has been restored to its former glory. Inside, there are many old-time costumes that tourists can try on and be photographed wearing. Taking a trip back in time by wearing old-time clothes in the old house is much-loved by tourists. There is also the “one-year old catch” (抓周) ritual for babies that have reached the age of one year old.

Wei Residence in Anping Haitoushe (安平海頭社魏宅) is the ancestral home of the Qing Dynasty Vice-Admiral Wei Da-you. It has a single-wing layout, common amongst the houses of the lanes and alleys of Anping. It is built from bricks, with oyster cement spread on the walls and a “horseback” style roof ridge. The main room has a traditional layout, on the left side there is small archway connecting to the outside, with bedrooms on the East side. The layout of the house is typical of Anping houses of its time. The “single wing” design has made an appearance in the design of new homes today.

Anping Customs, built in 1926, was where cargo ships stopped to pay tariffs when arriving at or departing Anping. This beautiful red brick Japanese style building under a large tree next to the canal never fails to attract attention. Officially declared a municipal momument in 2003, it is surrounded by art installations that combine with the canal scenery, the scenes created by the merger of modern art and historic site making the Canal Museum a popular Instagram check-in spot. It regularly holds art exhibitions.

Oyster Shell Cement Kiln(蚵灰窯)was once the most important building material factory in Anping and is the only surviving oyster shell kiln in Taiwan. From the 1600s, oyster shell ash was an essential material in boatmaking for the many people in Anping who made their living from the sea. Later, syrup and glutinous rice juice were added to the ash to make the bricks and tiles for building houses. Entering the kiln, red brick walls covered in Awkeotsang Creeping Fig vines(愛玉子藤蔓) can be seen. Inside, is a large pit with a diameter of about 4 meters and depth of 2 meters.