Taiwan Today

Tainan City’s 400 years of history is catalyst to imagination.

The streets of Tainan, Taiwan’s oldest city, took on a surreal tinge last spring, when an inflatable red ball weighing 122 kilograms and measuring 4.5 meters in diameter began appearing around the southern city. This was part of the world’s longest-running traveling street artwork, Kurt Perschke’s RedBall Project. The 10-day run in the city began and ended with the eye-catching ball placed at two historic monuments. It was first wedged in the Official Reception Stone Arch dating from 1777 before ending its tour at Tainan Great South Gate, which dates back to 1725. “The installation art events were conceived to get people to revisit cultural heritage and look anew at the urban environment on the city’s 400th anniversary,” said Hsieh Shih-yuan (謝仕淵), director general of Tainan City Government’s Cultural Affairs Bureau (CAB).

In the late 1990s Tainan was home to just seven national historical sites, but with growing public-private awareness of the value of cultural legacy, there are now three times that number, in addition to 208 city-designated sites and structures. “We have heritage from every era of Tainan’s development,” Hsieh said. He cited Fort Zeelandia, completed by the Dutch East India Company in 1634; the Confucius Temple, built in 1665; and Hayashi Department Store from the Japanese colonial period (1895-1945) as particular examples. “Each is valuable for its distinctive character and is an integral part of the city’s evolution,” he added.

Valued History
The varied landscape of Tainan’s recognized tangible assets owes much to municipal acknowledgement of diversity and the need to construct an inclusive identity to fully leverage city resources. Action taken to research and preserve physical vestiges includes work by the Foundation of Historic City Conservation and Regeneration (FHCCR), a nonprofit operated by academics since 1999, which has broadened horizons by conserving industrial buildings. “Until recently this type of heritage received little attention in Taiwan,” foundation CEO Yen Shih-hua (顏世樺) said. “We believe it’s an integral part of our story worth preservation, particularly as we like to look beyond obvious aesthetic norms.”
  Renovating sites safely presents unique challenges as it involves highly specialized mechanical and engineering expertise. Examples of structures FHCCR has worked on include the Japanese colonial era Old Tainan Watercourse. In the early 2000s FHCCR undertook extensive research and called on the government to help conserve the facility, which was designated a national historic site in 2005. A major renovation began in 2011, resulting in a museum that opened to the public eight years later. More gems like the Jingzaijiao Tile-Paved Salt Fields in Beimen District, designated in 2009, and the sugar factory in Shanhua District, designated in 2018, have since been included on official lists of cultural assets.

  Yen, who specializes in community regeneration, noted that the foundation also recognizes the importance of renovating the variety of dwellings that enrich Tainan’s cityscape. The municipal government passed regulations for reviving historic areas in 2012, offering subsidies for renovation of pre-1971 properties. “Tainan is a pioneer in this respect,” Hsieh said. “Not only have many domestic buildings been saved, but local construction workers have accumulated experience in conservation techniques.” To preserve old homes in the city, FHCCR published “Old House School,” a book for renovation workers that provides knowledge of old construction techniques and remedies for age-related damage from sources like weather and termites.

Officially designated sites are mostly public venues scattered across the greater urban area. Private residences, which exist in larger numbers, are often repurposed as small businesses like cafes or hostels after renovation. Government subsidies to restore them come with requirements, such as offering guided tours. To date 126 former dwellings have been restored using subsidies and thousands more have been privately renovated.

  Glorious Times
The Old Tainan Magistrate Residence, built in 1900, was occupied by various government agencies over the second half of the last century. A major renovation of the site began in 1998 when it was designated a historic building, and in 2010 the city government began offering contracts for private entities to run the two-story residence as a commercial venture.

The current operator, Antio Design, offers classes in flower arrangement and wine tasting, in addition to selling Japanese antiques. “It’s a unique building and a perfect venue for art and culture classes,” said Lu Hsien-wen (呂賢文), company owner and designer by profession. The interior has spaces for dining and art exhibitions, while guided tours provide insights into the residence’s history. Lu has decorated with Japanese artifacts including ceramics from the early decades of Japan’s Showa period (1926-1989), as the site was visited by Imperial Crown Prince Hirohito three years before he ascended to the throne. The revenue streams from classes and antiques are augmented by a restaurant where replicas of dishes served to the prince feature on the menu. Miniature versions of the tableware Hirohito used are among the most popular souvenirs on sale.

The city government’s CAB is proactive in seeking out projects that align with its vision of the metropolis as an art hub. Since 2013, Next Art Tainan (NAT) has given annual awards to promising artists based in Taiwan. During Art Lane Tainan, a monthlong retrospective exhibition of NAT work, pieces from the past 11 years were placed around the city in an engaging combination of contemporary art in legacy settings.

Another CAB event on the calendar this year is the 10-day Creative Expo Taiwan starting Aug. 23, which will take place at historic sites around the metropolis and feature exhibitions, forums, performances and workshops spotlighting the dynamic cultural life of the old capital. Held mostly in Taipei City since 2010, the expo, organized in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture, will take place in Tainan for the first time.
  As a city that proudly celebrates all its eras and identities, next year Tainan will host events to mark the 300th anniversary of its walls and gates, which were designated a national historic site in 2023. A human chain will be formed along the 12-kilometer structures and approximately 10,000 participants are expected at the celebration. “Tainan is a splendid city and everyone can enjoy the vestiges of its long history in many different ways,” Yen said.
 

Write to Oscar Chung at mhchung@mofa.gov.tw