Tainan was established as the capital of Taiwan in 1661 and remained the capital until 1887 during the Qing Dynasty. In fact, "Tayoan"/"Tayouan" is the old name of Tainan and became the name of the island later. The city is famous for its abundant historical buildings and relics.
Little is known about Tainan prior to the Dutch rule except that it was a settlement of Han Chinese immigrants in the 14th and 15th centuries and was named Tayoan (??, POJ: T?i-ôan, from Sirayan). The Dutch established a trading post in 1624 at present-day Anping, and used it as a base of operation for a variety of business they conducted in the region. However, in 1661 the outpost was under siege by a fleet of Ming Dynasty remnants led by Koxinga, who established his own kingdom on Taiwan and renamed the city Tungtu (; literally "East Capital") after the Dutch capitulated and withdrawn from the island. In 1684, the Qing Dynasty conquered Taiwan and established "Taiwan Fu" (Taiwan Government) as the first official local government in Taiwan. This was later renamed to "Tainan Fu" in 1885 when Taiwan was established as a province. Because it was formerly the capital of Taiwan, Tainan is also called Fu-cheng (; literally "Government City"). Tainan also served as the capital of the Republic of Formosa after the Japanese took Taipei bloodlessly.
Tainan has been historically regarded as one of the oldest cities in Taiwan, and its former name, Tayoan, has been claimed to be the source of the name Taiwan. It is also one of Taiwan's cultural capitals, as it houses the First Confucian School/Temple built 1665 on the island, the remains of the Northern and Southern gates of the old city, and countless other historical monuments.
Tainan claims more Buddhist and Taoist temples than any city in Taiwan. Tainan City (???) is administratively a municipality of Taiwan Province of the Republic of China. It is surrounded by Tainan County to the north and east and the South China Sea to the west and south. Tainan's complex history of comebacks, redefinitions and renewals inspired its popular nickname "City of the Phoenix."[1]
Government
Administrative districts
Tainan City currently has 6 districts: Anping, Annan, East, West-Central, South, and North districts.
Annan district was originally the An-Shun township of Tainan County, and was merged into Tainan City in 1946. In 2004, Central District and West District were merged into the new West-Central district.
Foreign relationships
Tainan City Hall
Tainan District Court
Tungfeng Street in the eastern side of city
Tainan Chengkung University
Sister cities
The following places are sister cities to Tainan City:
National Cheng Kung University, one of the leading universities Taiwan, is located in the East District. It is famous for its engineering programs. In 1931, NCKU was established as Tainan Technical College, located on the present Cheng-Kung Campus, with a total area of 183,000 square metres. As the number of colleges expanded, it was upgraded to a provincial university in 1956, then national university in 1971. Today, National Cheng Kung University serves nearly 21,000 students through 9 colleges, 39 departments, and 49 graduate institutes.
Chang Jung Christian University is a private university affiliated with the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan. CJU offers masters and doctoral degree programs and aims to promote fraternity, justice, and service for Taiwan. It is located south of the city, in Gueiren.
Southern Taiwan University of Technology, founded in 1969, is located near the northeastern border of Tainan City, within a 30-minute driving distance from the Tainan Airport.
The Tainan University of Technology (??????) is a private university founded in 1964. The university offers graduate degrees in music, visual art, and applied sciences. The main campus actually sits in Tainan County just outside the official city limits.
Nan Ying Vocational High School of Business & Technology
Salesian Technical School
Chang Jung Girls' Senior High School
Deguang Catholic Girls' High School
Kuang Hua Girls' Senior High School
Tainan Liuhsin Senior High School
Kuen-Shan Senior High School
Ying-Hai High School
Notable natives
Koxinga Temple
Wu Hui Ju (???), archer and also a member of the team that won the bronze medal for Chinese Taipei in 2004 Summer Olympics in the women's team archery competition
Encyclopedia
top
