Tainan Half Day Trip

Tour Introduction

Anping Old Street

Today, visitors may still find some of Taiwan’s oldest streets in Anping District as it was the original Dutch settlement in Tainan. The area surrounding Fort Anping (Fort Zeelandia) is full of small streets and alleyways that are packed with vendors, eateries, shops and gaming stores. However, the old buildings have not yet been exploited yet, which allows visitors to discover the unseen beauties and learn the stories behind these preserved buildings and streets.

Yanping Street is the oldest among the old streets in Tainan. It is also known as Anping Old Street or Taiwan’s 1st Street as it is the first established merchant street in the area. This street has little shops and food stalls that cover a full range of souvenirs and handmade products of different prices. The roads of Anping Old Street are rather narrow and winding, visitors may either walk or ride a bike to explore the every little stories of each old building. Set at a street intersection after entering from An Bei Road, visitors may find the most well-preserved civilian residence in Anping that was built around 1912 to 1925, which is the Wei’s Residence in Haitoushe.

Anping Fort(Fort Zeelandia)

During the seventeenth century, when Europeans from many countries sailed to Asia to develop trade, Formosa became one of East Asia's most important transit sites, and Fort Zeelandia an international business center. As trade at the time depended on "military force to control the markets", the value of Formosa to the Dutch was mainly in its strategic position. "From Formosa the Spanish commerce between Manila and China, and the Portuguese commerce between Macao and Japan could by constant attacks be made so precarious that much of it would be thrown into the hands of the Dutch, while the latter's dealings with China and Japan would be subject to no interruptions."[1]

On behalf of the VOC, ships departing from Formosa could head north to Japan, west to Fujian, or south to Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, India, Iran or Europe.

Anping Tree House

Located next to the Old Tait & Co Merchant House (Old De-Ji Merchant House) in Anping District of Tainan City, Taiwan, Anping Tree House used to be a warehouse of Tait & Co, one of the top five trading companies in Anping area during the period of Japanese colonization. 
Abandoned for many years, a gigantic banyan tree has taken over the warehouse in various ways, including its aerial roots and trunks that have became part of the architecture. The brick walls of the warehouse have faded and collapsed which allowed roots and trunks to take over walls, windows, doors and ground forming an extraordinary scene.

According to Taiwan’s folklore, banyan aerial roots convey negative energies that kept the local residents away from the warehouse as they believed the strong negative energies would bring misfortune. The Anping Tree House was once known as the “Haunted House” for many years until it was officially opened to public in 2004 as a project of the National Anping Harbor Historic Park. Visitors may also find a display centre for the history of the tree house and the ecological environment of the area. Today, Anping Tree House is a popular Tainan attraction that allures many local and oversea visitors for its mysterious, extraordinary appearance during their Tainan travel.

Old Tait & Co. Merchant House

Located next to Anping Tree House, the foreign style building with the pure white exterior is the Former Tait & Co. Merchant House, the Tainan base of the Tait & Co. firm established after the opening of Anping Harbor. As one of only five foreign firms able to access the port at the time, the company's main business was exporting sugar, camphor and tea, while importing opium. Located adjacent to the harbor, it was an important trading post during a very prosperous period. The building has long ceased to function as a business, and was transformed into Taiwan Kaituo Shiliao Wax Museum, using wax figures to display scenes of early life in Taiwan. In 2001 the museum created a time corridor to display the history and growth of the Tait & Co. Merchant House.