Anping District

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Anping District (traditional Chinese: 安平區; pinyin: ĀnpíngQū; Wade-Giles: An-p'ing Ch'ü; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: An-pêng-khu) is a district of Tainan City. The history of Anping dates back to the 17th century, when Dutch East India Company occupied Tayuan/Tayoan (the Sirayan origin of the modern name Taiwan). In the period of the Japanese occupation, the history of trade between China and Japan unfolded at Anping.

Anping was a small island separated from mainland Taiwan until the 19th century. Because of the ocean current, the small ocean between Anping island and Taiwan was silted up on account of lots of sand brought by the ocean current. Afterwards, the small ocean between Anping island and Taiwan gradually disappeared. And then, Anping was getting closer to mainland Taiwan and became a part of Tainan.

[edit] Attractions

• Fort Zeelandia (Taiwan)

When the Dutch occupied Tayoan, they built up the first castle in Taiwan called Fort Zeelandia. At that time, it was the heartbeat of politics and trade in Taiwan. Over the years, Fort Zeelandia had several name changes and is currently known as Anping Castle.

• Eternal Golden Castle (traditional Chinese: 億載金城 or 二鯤鯓砲台)

Eternal Golden Castle or Uhrkuenni Battery was built in 1874 by Shen Bao-Jhen, a famous Qing Dynasty official. At that time it was used to fend off the Japanese and defend Anping from attack from the sea. In 1895, when Japan took over Taiwan, the Taiwanese resisted the Japanese's warship from this fortress. During the Russo-Japanese War, the Japanese government sold some of Eternal Golden Castle's guns in order to pay for the war. Afterwards, the fortress lost its military value.