Tainan (Chinese: 台南; Hanyu Pinyin: Táinán, Wade-Giles: T'ai-nan, Taiwanese_POJ: Tâi-lâm) is a city located in southern Taiwan and is the fourth largest after Taipei, Kaohsiung and Taichung.
Tainan was established as the ancient capital of Taiwan in 1661 by Koxinga after he took over the island from Dutch colonial rule. In 1684, the Qing Dynasty conquered Taiwan and established "Taiwan Fu" (Taiwan Government) as the first official local government in Taiwan. This was later renamed to "Tainan Fu" in 1885 when Taiwan was established as a province. Because it's the former capital of Taiwan, Tainan is also called Fu-cheng.
Historically it is regarded as one of the earliest cities on Taiwan, when the Dutch colonists developed a nearby port, called An-ping. Now, it is one of the cultural capitals in Taiwan, as it houses the First Confucian School/Temple built 1665 on the island, the remains of the Northern and Southern gates of the old city, and countless other historical monuments.
Tainan is known as the city with the most Buddhist and/or Taoist temples on the island of Taiwan. Tainan City (台南市) is administratively a municipality of Taiwan Province of the Republic of China. It is surrounded on north and east by Tainan County and South China Sea to the west and south.
Tainan has 6 district : An-ping, An-nan, East, Central and West, South and North district. National Cheng Kung University, one of the leading university in southern Taiwan located in East Dist., Tainan.
A Buddhist temple round gate in Tainan
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