anping’s backstreets

Tucked away all through Anping were tiny alleyways that were worth exploring. I first wound my way to Wei’s ancestral home whose past resident had been a Manchurian navy officer. But there were other tiny houses that seemed just as old. Sometimes only a roof remained, or a couple of brick walls to give a hint of what was once there.

Zeelandia fort (later anping fort)

Anping Fort was in the heart of the area’s tourist bubble, where from the bus stop, stalls lined both sides of the road all the way to the entrance into the fort. The site was typical of 17^thcentury forts and a symbol of Dutch governance on the island. 

taijiang national park’s sicao green tunnel

If you’ve never been surrounded by mangroves, Green Tunnel is the place to visit. I crossed the car park where litter lined the walkway. In fact, I’d walked all the way from Anshun Salt Flats, and loads of garbage had fluttered by the side of the road — and this was a national park.

the long forgotten anshun salt factory

Tainan had been Taiwan’s earliest salt producing region since the mid 1600s, so within Taijiang National Park was a ghost village. Once this site with its small temple between dormitories on either side, housed a salt factory. Now the factory held little more than a few rusty displays.

tainan city’s parks

I entered Wu garden positioned between city buildings that blocked out the sound of traffic. Unfortunately for me, a band started playing and it was no longer the peaceful nook it had been when I first entered.

Koxinga’s corner of tainan

Koxinga and his troops arrived in Taiwan not long after his failure at the Nanking battle in 1658. But in 1661 he captured Fort Provintia making it his residence. After he overthrew the Dutch in Fort Zeelandia, they left Taiwan in early 1662.