在地藝文

Dunyuan Society(敦源社) was a Chinese Studies society formed by scholars in the Xinfeng area of Tainan in 1883. In 1927, society members, poets and local gentry jointly raised funds for the building of a temple and cast a statue of Confucius to which sacrifices were offered. The temple was a privately built temple, not government-built. The Temple of Confucius is a classical building with a swallowtail roof. In its grounds stand a large number of old longan trees.

The Center was built in the days of Tainan County. As the county was large in area and the seat of the county government was Xinying in the north, the Southern Area Integrated Activity Center was planned to promote a cultural industry north-south balance. Completed and opened in 1998, it had a performance hall, art museum, meeting hall, children’s hall, offices and outdoor performance plaza, and became an important cultural resource for the people of the Xinan area. It was renamed Gueiren Cultural Center after Tainan County and Tainan City were merged.

Da Guanyin Temple(大觀音亭) was built in 1678 and was the first temple in Taiwan to enshrine Guanyin Bodhisattva. Xingji Temple, which enshrines Bao Sheng Da Di (BaoshengEmperor) and was built in 1679, is on the same site, creating the unusual situation of Buddhist and Daoist temples together. Entering Da Guanyin Temple, the solemn and imposing Two Generals Heng and Ha(哼哈二將) can be seen on each side; Guanyin Bodhisattva, wearing a serene expression, is in the middle, giving people a feeling of peace and harmony.

Sicao Artillery Fort(四草砲台)was built during the Opium War(鴉片戰爭) of 1840 during the reign of the Daoguang Emperor in the Qing Dynasty. Together, with Anping Fort, one on the right and one left, it protected the Anping and Taijiang areas. The fort was initially a temporary gun platform but later a solid granite outer wall was erected, while an inner wall was built using pebbles. The fort wall has 13 round gun holes; the wall is located next to present-day Zhenhai Elementary School; covered in banyan roots, it is now part of the school’s perimeter wall.

The Sicao Dazhong Temple (四草大眾廟) enshrines the Marshal of the Sea (or Dazhong Ye), called Chen Tze (also known as Chen Yu), a Taiwanese general of Koxinga.He was known for his bravery and skill at fighting, and once defeated over 300 Dutch soldiers, but was betrayed by traitors and committed suicide by throwing himself into the ocean.

The National Museum of Taiwanese History (國立臺灣歷史博物館) is situated beside the historically significant Taijiang Lagoon (台江內海). Since the 17th Century, Taijiang Lagoon has attracted traders from both east and west, but due to environmental changes has gradually silted up. The historical museum was established here to give visitors a sense of the transformation of sea into land over time. All parts of the museum, inside and out, are worth savoring.

Zhengmen Temple (鎮門宮) is a small temple at Xikou in Luermen (鹿耳門溪口) with a Ming Dynasty style exterior, facing the Natural Defense of the Capital stone tablet (Fucheng Tianxian;府城天險石碑;). The temple serves as a shrine for the hero Koxinga. It is not as well-known as the Luermen Tianhou Temple (鹿耳門天后宮), but this temple has a unique feature: two "Barefoot Western Door Gods", the idea of painter Lin Zhong Hsin. Lin believed that since Koxinga defeated the Dutch, he should be served by the Dutch.

Go around Anping Fort and Anping Tianhou Temple and, furthest to the west, Saint Lawrence Catholic Church(聖樂倫天主堂) in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tainan can be found. The museum is on the church’s 1st floor. Nearly 1,000 religious relics are exhibited periodically.

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.