By rail
Tainan HSR station, ~1 h 45 min from Taipei
East Asia · Taiwan
Tainan, Taiwan
Taiwan's oldest city of temples and snacks
Getting there
By air
Kaohsiung (KHH), ~1 h
Best time to visit
October to April — warm and dry
Don't miss
Chihkan Tower
Anping Fort
The Confucius Temple
Shennong Street
Things to do
Temple-hopping
Snack tours
The old fort at Anping
Where to eat
Sources: Photo: Koika · CC BY-SA 3.0
What to pack
Light clothes
A quieter corner
The Anping Tree House, a warehouse swallowed by banyan roots
Questions travellers ask
How long does it take to get from Taipei to Tainan?
About 1 hour 45 minutes to Tainan HSR station. For flights, Kaohsiung (KHH) is around 1 hour away.
Which snacks is Tainan known for?
Danzai noodles, milkfish congee and coffin bread — ideally on a snack tour.
What's the Anping Tree House?
A warehouse swallowed by banyan roots. Pair it with the old fort at Anping.
When is Tainan most comfortable to visit?
October to April, when it's warm and dry. Light clothes will do.
About Tainan
- Coastal
Where it is
Tainan lies on the coastal plain of south-western Taiwan, facing the Taiwan Strait, with the old harbour district of Anping on its western edge and the city of Kaohsiung to the south.
History
The Dutch East India Company began building Fort Zeelandia at Anping in 1624 and added Fort Provintia in 1653, and in 1662 Koxinga drove them out and made the town his base. Under Qing rule Tainan remained the island's capital until the late 1880s, and it is counted as the oldest city in Taiwan.
People
Tainan's people speak Taiwanese Hokkien and Mandarin, and the city is known for its many temples and their festivals, and for a snack cuisine of danzai noodles, milkfish soup, coffin bread and shrimp rolls.
Known for
- Chihkan Tower and Anping Fort
- The Confucius Temple
- Street snacks such as danzai noodles
- The old houses of Shennong Street
- The Anping Tree House
Did you know?
Tainan's Confucius Temple, founded in 1665, was the first Confucian temple in Taiwan and was long the island's highest place of learning.
We haven't written a guide for this place yet — you can still plan a trip here.