Historic Tainan

It had just stopped raining when I exited the train station in Tainan, once the largest city in Taiwan. Because of its rich cultural heritage and striking architecture, it is often referred to as the 'Kyoto' of Taiwan. My friend an local guide Stephan was waiting with a taxi. There was quite a celebration happening in the streets as we exited the car and began walking down a narrow pedestrian/moped alley towards his friend's guesthouse - my humble lodgings. Emerging from around a dark corner, I literally ran into a parade celebrating the reunion of individual "branch" gods who reside in small temples unto themselves. (That explains the commotion from earlier.) Every so often, these gods must gather at the main temple to celebrate [their godliness??] Afterwards, they are paraded together back through the streets and alleyways, stopping at one another's small temple in a sign of brotherly unity. Exploding fireworks, blaring music, and dancing temple gods manifested delightful chaos - the best welcome gift a traveler could ever ask for. 

As the parade dissipated and the gods retreated to their homes, we ventured out for dinner. We made our way to Fort Provintia, a very scenic building originally constructed as a Dutch fortification and government center. Founded in 1622 by colonist for the Dutch East India Company (remember those guys?), Tainan has since been ruled by no fewer than five entities: the Dutch, Tungning Kingdom, Qing Dynasty, Imperial Japan, and since 1945, the Republic of China. Each occupation brought their own architectural influences, making many alterations to the buildings. The present design stems from the Qing Dynasty and was preserved during Japanese rule from 1895 through the end of WWII. Inside is a small museum chronicling the fort's history with paintings, artifacts, and a clay model of the original Dutch structure. 

Compare to picture below

A lively local crowd was gathered in the beautiful courtyard garden. Surrounded by the elegantly illuminated fortress and lush vegetation, a flute quintet serenaded everyone with classical pop songs. Walking past a small waterfall, ducking beneath elongated Spanish moss dangling from the oversized banyan trees, I paused and listened as they played John Denver's "Take Me Home, Country Roads." Stephan and I listened a few more minutes while they played various local songs with pleasing melodies to the ears. As we listened, he pointed out the musical variations influenced by the different cultural periods throughout Tainan's history. 

Gardening goals

Over a delicious bowl of beef soup, Stephan chronicled in depth the many cultural periods which influenced modern Taiwan. The main takeaway is that there is no such thing as 'pure' Taiwanese - rather, there is a smorgasbord of aboriginal, Dutch, Qing, Japanese, and some Spanish all mixed together. I was curious why he didn't mention Chinese as well. Obviously there HAD to be at least some Chinese intermingling. To my surprise, post-WWII Chinese immigrants who fled Maoist China are seldom included in Taiwanese identity. Only their offspring who were born and raised in Taiwan were assimilated in a new Taiwanese-born, Sino-cultural race. This group of 'New Taiwanese' also includes ethnic Chinese and old Taiwanese who married foreigners, particularly those from southeast Asia and the west.

My arrival nights couldn't have been more festive

Reality Check

Contrary to western teaching, Chiang Kai-shek was not exactly welcomed with open arms when he arrived in 1949. For more than half a century - and to a degree for much longer - Taiwan was closely linked with Japan. During the occupation from 1895 to 1945, the Japanese went to great lengths to protect local Taiwanese people and preserve their culture, heritage, and religion. Many investments were made to improve infrastructure, urban development, utilities, medicine, commerce, and education. In short, the Japanese were responsible for rapidly modernizing Taiwan, pulling it head first into the 20th century. Contrarily during WWII, American bombers were responsible for decimating the island, killing thousands of civilians. Survivors were left in uninhabitable conditions among widespread destruction.

Old Tainan Martial Arts
Academy

As civil war on the mainland between Chiang's Kuomintang and Mao's Communists wore on, it became clear that Taiwan was the natural refuge for the exiled Nationalist government. At first, sympathetic Taiwanese welcomed their exiled brothers and sisters, as well as the heroic Chiang Kai-shek - viewed as instrumental in ending the Qing Dynasty, defeating the Japanese, and modernizing China . It wasn't until later they realized that the 'heroic' Chiang wasn't such a hero after all. Chiang grasped Taiwan with an iron fist, hell-bent on eradicating any trace of Japanese influence from the island. Vengeful rhetoric directly led to destruction of Japanese architecture, temples, and religious contributions, among many other facets of daily local life. For the people of Taiwan, it was a soul-crushing blow. Many considered Japanese influence a great part of their cultural heritage and identity.

Japanese home and garden;
behind you can see a Chinese temple

Furthermore, Chiang and his thugs resorted to violence, coercion, and torture to sway public opinion in his favor, legitimizing his claim to power in Taiwan. Thousands were imprisoned, tortured, and/or killed. Thousands more were ruthlessly stripped of their property by the government, in particular those either owned or previously owned by the Japanese government and their sympathizers. Gee, this sounds awfully familiar; I wonder what would happen if we substituted the location and the people to somewhere in Europe? 

Tainan Meeting Hall, prime example of
Meiji-European design

Escalation ensued as this tyrannically defiled form of eminent domain was extended to include all Taiwanese backgrounds. Chiang and his thugs used force and violence to coerce property owners to deed their holdings for pennies on the dollar. As soon as the ink was dry, they turned around and rented it back to the previous owners for drastically inflated premiums. Those who couldn't afford the new rents were evicted as new owners re-sold their property well above what they paid, relegating many into poverty. Despite all this, American and other western nations threw their full support behind Chiang, propping him and his government up to emasculate communist China. Solely for this reason, the west turned a blind eye to his flagrant transgressions. In truth, Chiang and Mao were two dictators cut from the same cloth.

 - Drops the Mic - 

The City Lives On

Yum-Yum-Good!

Walking along the street after dinner, I spotted one of my favorite Asian desserts: shaved ice covered in fruit. Forget about ice cream - this incredibly refreshing (and much healthier) dessert is topped with fresh fruit or sweetened red bean paste. Alex introduced me to it in Fuzhou a few years ago and I instantly fell in love. Tonight, Stephan and I opted for a mix of mango, kiwi, pineapple, papaya, strawberries, and other local fruits. Our night ended at his friend's small art gallery with a psychedelic collection of prints and paintings. I drank a not-so-delicious Taiwanese-made German beer at the bar downstairs. It wasn't awful, just not appealing to my taste. 

Stephan

We rendezvoused Monday morning and began touring the not-so-touristic parts of Tainan, but not before a filling breakfast of fried fish in a thick, sweet soup and a plate of shrimp rice balls. Stephan pointed out a peculiar black temple, unique in Tainan since its columns are painted black in lieu of the traditional red. Here, black and gold symbolize the North Star in the evening sky. We moseyed our way into Wu Garden, a former estate belonging to the wealthiest family in Tainan. The estate is divided into three distinct parts: a koi pond with Chinese pavilions and walkways; a Meiji-European style ceremonial hall; and a traditional Japanese wooden house. The hall was built as a gift to the people, available to anyone who wanted to rent the space for parties, ceremonies, speeches, or celebrations. The wooden  house was converted to a traditional Taiwanese teahouse. In the rear of the estate was a public swimming pool - later demolished by Chiang's government. 

Local crochet

I thoroughly enjoyed seeing Japanese, Chinese, and Western architecture seamlessly mingled together throughout the city. In the Confucian Temple's rear garden, there is a well known area where you can see the 5 Styles of Taiwan: Chinese, traditional Japanese, Meiji-European, Western, and Modern. The temple was crawling with people enjoying wonderful scenery, playing games with children in the gardens, and holding incense as they prayed. I spotted several elderly people performing Tai Chi in one of the courtyards. For locals, the Confucian Temples is equally sacred a social gathering place as it is a place to worship and learn.

Left to Right: Traditional Japanese, Modern, Meiji-European, Western, and Chinese.

Spiritually replenished, we walked a short way down Zhongzheng Lu - Chinese for "Main Street" - to Hayashi Department Store, the first one in Tainan and an important symbol of modern lifestyle during Japanese rule. Opened in 1932 and modeled in the late Meiji-European style, for years it was the tallest building in Tainan. It boasts a wonderful rooftop patio with restaurants and an observation deck; upon opening, its most modern feature was the first working elevator in Taiwan. Countryside locals from near and far, just as those in America or Europe, flocked to the store on the weekend to marvel at its modern technological and architectural beauty. 

Quirky handicrafts for sale 

Like Selfridges in London, this store became synonymous for shifting the paradigm of social progress. It was the place to see and be seen, a place where all classes interacted equally, and ushered in a new era of chaperone-free dating. Additionally, the store boasted Tainan's first movie cinema; when films weren't showing, the 'ballroom' would be transformed to host pop-music concerts, swing dancing, etc. - you get the point. The building fell victim to American bombings and was nearly destroyed. A painstaking restoration was recently completed, reopening in 2014. Hayashi sells mostly local handicrafts and food items. 

We enjoyed a light snack of Japanese fare at one of the rooftop restaurants. In exchange for a photo of the cook, our food was on the house. The rain steadily increasing, we bolted for a chique local teashop to relax and enjoy the sophisticated art of team time - Taiwanese style. Unlike mainlanders, Taiwanese don't wash and discard the first batch since it is rolled differently than in China. The second batch is often stronger that the first - which is probably why mainlanders discard it? I suppose the jury is still out on this debate. 

I loved how no two utensils or pieces of tableware were alike. The shopkeeper told us that she carefully selects each piece from antique shops around the country. We tried a black tea, followed by a local green tea. Taiwan's unique climate and geography allows year-round harvesting of tropical fruits in the lowlands, and apples, teas, and other seasonal plants more acclimated to the cooler mountain regions along the central and eastern half of the island, all the way from north to south. 

Going Solo

Fort Zeelandia during Dutch occupation

I ventured out on my own the next day, beginning in the historic Anping district, centered around Fort Zeelandia (known now as Ft. Anping) - a 400 year-old fortress built by Dutch mercenaries to protect Tainan's natural harbor. I say mercenaries because they were soliders employed by the Dutch East India Company. It has had several facelifts and major changes over time; the Japanese converted its steep walls into multi-tiered ramparts, and constructed a customs house at the top. An observation tower was later added and remains open to the public, offering sweeping panoramic views of the city and harbor; it was too hazy to see much. I patiently waited as dozens of young school children descended from the top, staring at me - some polite enough to wave and say, "Hello" - as I proceeded to climb the winding stairs. 

The small gardens below were rather enjoyable to stroll through. A massive, partially ruined brick wall originally part of the fortification divided two main garden areas. On the nearer side, at the footsteps to the customs house, is a formal garden with lots of colorful flowers, Zen-like trees, and neatly manicured shrubberies - some slightly higher than the others creating a two-level effect. On the far side is a simpler garden park with open grassy areas, shrubs, hedges, and banyan trees. In the middle is a zigzagged wall donning several historical depictions made of bronze, chronicling war stories between the Dutch and Koxinga (ko-sheen-ga) Tungning, and other conflicts involving the Qing, Japanese, and Kuomintang.

I followed a quiet street through a Fan-like neighborhood over to the famous Tree House, formerly a large warehouse for a goods exporter. Left abandoned after WWII, it continues to be consumed by enormous banyan trees. Today, reinforced steel beams support whats left of the ruins so tourists can walk through the warehouse. 

As you move up and down the stairways, you can marvel from various vantage points the beauty of these giant banyans slowly undoing mankind's attempt at outwitting mother nature. Inside I came across some the richest colored mosses I've ever seen, greener than the Emerald City of Oz. Adjacent the tree house is another abandoned export warehouse that was converted into a small historical museum with artifacts and memorabilia from Tainan's storied import-export days. 

Earth mounded ramparts at the
Eternal Golden Castle

The rain held out so it was a lovely - albeit muggy - day to walk several miles along the waterfront, passing several repurposed warehouses - one had a very cozy Japanese garden - and a quiet waterfront park. The city seemed very empty. I hardly encountered anyone en route to the Eternal Golden Castle, a brick and earth fortification closer to the mouth of the harbor. It reminded me a lot of Fort Cornwallis back in Malaysia: huge cannons, a moat, lovely restored landscaping, but not much else to see. 

Tired but willing to sweat it out, I walked the 70 minutes back to my guesthouse, stopping along the canal for a bubble tea. Once off the canal street and back to winding through alleyways, I came across one of the coolest things I'd seen yet: an older gentleman hand painting movie posters. He definitely had a steady hand owing to the fine detail.  

Another job lost to the machines

Stephan and I met up that evening for one last meal. On our way back, he took me by a 7-11. I was a bit perplexed when he insisted I come inside to see something - it looked like any other run of the mill 7-11 I'd seen in China. He walked over to an obscure kiosk and pressed a few buttons. As he began explaining himself, I felt my jaw dropping closer and closer to the floor. It turns out that Taiwanese 7-11s are far more practical than American ones: this kiosk is a one-stop service center. Need a taxi? No problem. Want to buy/exchange/print your train tickets? Easy. You can pay your utility bills, phone bills, and taxes! Hell, you can even purchase health or life insurance! Whether buying tickets to concerts or other entertainment, this full-service kiosk was some sort of brainchild of Willy Wonka's little known technology company. 

A cold front had blown through earlier, clearing out the muggy haze and clouds, leaving a clear, starry night sky. It was a perfect atmosphere to enjoy one last evening walk through Tainan's alleyways. The wet stone and tile surfaces reflected the soft evening lights; water droplets sparkled like diamonds on orchid leaves. Barely anyone out, the neighborhood was left for own personal pleasure. 

Late as it was, we weren't the only ones taking advantage of the cool night air. Sitting on the sidewalk outside his small workshop, we encountered a man welding a personal metal cistern. I find it humbling when given the opportunity to interact with locals I might never encounter normally, observing them making their crafts and trying to learn something new. Through Stephan I politely asked the man if I could take his picture. He pleasantly agreed. Shortly afterwards, I parted ways with Stephan and thanked him for being an excellent host. Waking the next morning to see that the pouring rain had resumed, I bid Tainan farewell. Seated comfortably on the high speed train, I took in my last views of Taiwan's green countryside racing by, bound for one last night in hustle and bustle of Taipei.