Tainan Tomb Sweeping

Easter in Taiwan came and went without so much as a single coloured egg.   Disappointingly, it seems the Easter bunny has forgotten about me in Taiwan for a second year in a row!   

Although Easter is left largely uncelebrated in Asia, Taiwan does seem to pack large number of holidays into the first third of the year.  While I'd often rather be working and making money than on holiday, the annual Tomb Sweeping Festival gave me a couple of days off and provided a good opportunity to see another of Taiwan's “big cities”.

The Tomb Sweeping Festival (清明節)is a time when families pay respects to their ancestors.  As the name implies, the cleaning and sweeping of graves and tombs is an important holiday tradition.  Most families migrate to the locale of their family burial ground and make offerings to their departed relations.

To best utilize the short break, I planned a trip down south to Tainan.  Tainan was the last of Taiwan's "big cities" I had yet to visit and as Taiwan's first and oldest city, it was a must-do on my Taiwan tourist itinerary.

Tainan was the landing point of Taiwan's first Western settlers, the Dutch and where they established their initial trading base.  Tainan has a great deal of historical sites, most of which surround the seaside historical heart of Tainan (and all of Taiwan), Anping.

The woman on the right's shirt says "Ipad" on the back...

Anping is a district which features both Dutch and Chinese architectural remnants in addition to Taiwan's oldest street. The center point of the area is the Dutch-built Anping Fort (originally Fort Zeelandia).

Other attractions in the area include the Anping Tree house, an abandoned warehouse that was engulfed by a massive banyan tree; numerous archaic merchant houses; and of course, many old temples.

Taiwan's Oldest Street

Away from the Anping District, in Tainan's city center are many more historical attractions.  Numerous old temples and religious sites can be found along Tainan's streets including some of Taiwan’s oldest.  Tainan also retains portions of its ancient city walls and a massive city gate that once protected the city from invaders. 

Chihkan Tower is Tainan’s most famous historic site and tourist attraction. Constructed by the Dutch as "Fort Provedentia" in 1653, the Chinese nicknamed it "Tower of Savages" or "Tower of Red-haired Barbarians". The tower has since been named Chihkan Tower, after an aboriginal settlement that once inhabited the area. 

Tainan is a nice city with a great mix of old and new and the size of the city center made it very manageable to explore on foot, which is a good thing, given that Tainan's public transit system is a far-cry from the convenience of Taipei's.

Hand-painted movie posters.

Tainan is also home to some of Taiwan's most famous night-markets.  Unlike Taipei, the night-markets in Tainan operate on alternating nights of the week.  Luckily for me, the largest night-market  and the one I was most keen to visit was open on Saturday evening. 

The Garden Night Market (花園夜市) was not like any others I had visited in Taipei; rather than lining a narrow city street, Tainan's Garden night market sprawls across a large open parking lot.  Despite its more open plan, the night-market was equally as crowded and congested as Taipei's best. The market was an ideal place to have dinner and try out some of Tainan's famous foods.  

One dish that is claimed as a Tainan original has a distinctly Western flavour.  Coffin bread (棺材板) is made from a thick slice of bread that has been deep-fried, cooled, and cut open to form a box and lid. The inside is then filled with a thick chowder, essentially conforming to the soup in a bread-bowl idea ("and then I ate the bowl!").  

Tainan also has a fairly good nightlife.  The HaiAn Road bar district is lined with patio bars, something Taipei certainly lacks.  There are also several bars housed in turn of the century shop-houses giving them an interesting atmosphere.

It's no secret that I am a beer enthusiast. I was excited to find that a Craft Beer festival was to take place in Taipei in mid-April. Although the event sold out long in advance I was able to acquire a scalped ticket over the internet. The event ticket included unlimited samples of craft beers from around the world. I was one of fewer than 10 foreigners in attendance and the event was clearly aimed at Chinese speakers. Nonetheless, I really enjoyed myself and my only disappointment was that only one Taiwanese brewery was present at the event.

Over a year here in Taipei now and I am still enjoying myself.  The end of my time here is quickly approaching so I'll need to start making an effort to cross off the last remaining items on my Taiwan to-do list.  As my departure date becomes more imminent, I am feeling the pressure to study more Chinese.  I wish I had been this motivated to learn during my entire stay here as I don't think I'll be as proficient in Chinese when I leave here as I had hoped.  That said, I'll do the best I can with my remaining time here.