Tainan City

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This article is about the city. For the county, see Tainan County.
Tainan
台南
—  Provincial city  —
Taichung City · 臺南市
Southern City (南市)
Downtown Tainan

Seal
Nickname(s): The Phoenix City (府城),[1]
The Prefecture City
Country  Taiwan
Region Southwestern Taiwan
Capital Anping District (安平區)
Government
 - Mayor Hsu Tain-tsair (許添財)
Area (Ranked 17 of 25)
 - Total 175.6456 km2 (67.8 sq mi)
Population (January 2009)
 - Total 768,739
 - Density 4,376.6/km2 (11,335.5/sq mi)
  Population ranked 11 of 25
Districts 6
Bird Black-billed magpie[1]
Flower Royal Poinciana (Delonix regia)
Tree Royal Poinciana (Delonix regia)
Website English Chinese
Tainan City
Traditional Chinese 臺南市 or 台南市
Simplified Chinese 台南市

Tainan City (traditional Chinese: 臺南/台南; simplified Chinese: 台南; pinyin: Táinán; Wade-Giles: T'ai-nan; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Tâi-lâm, literally "Southern Taiwan") is the fourth largest city in Taiwan after Taipei, Kaohsiung, and Taichung. By the end of 2010 the city and the adjacent Tainan County will merge to form a single municipality.[2]

Tainan was established as the capital of Taiwan in 1661 and remained the capital until 1887 during the Qing Dynasty. The city is famous for its abundant historical buildings and relics.

Contents

[edit] History

Little is known about Tainan prior to the Dutch rule except that it was a settlement of Han Chinese immigrants in the 14th and 15th centuries[citation needed] and was named Tayuan (大員, POJ: Tāi-ôan, from Sirayan). The Dutch established a trading post in 1624 at present-day Anping[3], and used it as a base of operation for a variety of business they conducted in the region. However, in 1661 the outpost was under siege by a fleet of Ming Dynasty remnants led by Koxinga, who established his own kingdom on Taiwan and renamed the city Tungtu (traditional Chinese: 東都; literally "East Capital") after the Dutch capitulated and withdrew from the island. In 1684, the Qing Dynasty conquered Taiwan and established Taiwan-fu (Taiwan Government) as the first official local government in Taiwan.[4]

William Campbell described the city in the 1870s:

As to Taiwan-fu itself, I may say that the brick wall which surrounds it is about fifteen feet in thickness, twenty-five in height, and some five miles in circumference. Lofty watch-towers are built over the four main gateways, and large spaces within the city are given to the principal temples and yamens—or quarters occupied by the civil and military mandarins. There is much need in Taiwan-fu for the carrying out of a City Improvement Scheme. Pleasant walks, no doubt, there are, and some of the shops have an appearance which is decidedly attractive; but, as a rule, the streets are narrow, winding, ill-paved, and odorous.[5]

Taiwan-fu was later renamed to Tainan-fu in 1885 when Taiwan was established as a province. Because it was formerly the capital of Taiwan, Tainan is also called Fu-cheng (traditional Chinese: 府城; literally "Government City"). Tainan also served as the capital of the Republic of Formosa after the Japanese took Taipei bloodlessly.

Tainan's Confucian Temple

Tainan has been historically regarded as one of the oldest cities in Taiwan, and its former name, Tayoan, has been claimed to be the source of the name Taiwan. It is also one of Taiwan's cultural capitals, as it houses the first Confucian School/Temple, built in 1665 on the island[6], the remains of the Northern and Southern gates of the old city, and countless other historical monuments.

Tainan claims more Buddhist and Taoist temples than any city in Taiwan. Tainan City (台南市) is administratively a municipality of Taiwan Province of the Republic of China. It is surrounded by Tainan County to the north and east and the South China Sea to the west and south. Tainan's complex history of comebacks, redefinitions and renewals inspired its popular nickname "City of the Phoenix."[1]

On January 24, 2004, a dead whale exploded in the middle of Tainan, showering parts of the city with the sperm whale's blood, blubber and organs. The whale carcass was being transported by truck, and the explosion happened due to critical gas pressure within the carcass.

[edit] Climate

Tainan has a sub-tropical maritime climate characterised by year-round high relative humidity and temperatures (although temperatures do dip somewhat in the winter months), with a rainy season (April to September) and a dry season (October to March).

Weather data for Tainan, Taiwan (1971-2000)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 23.0
(73)		 23.8
(75)		 26.6
(80)		 29.4
(85)		 31.3
(88)		 32.2
(90)		 32.9
(91)		 32.3
(90)		 32.2
(90)		 30.8
(87)		 27.7
(82)		 24.3
(76)		 28.9
(84)
Daily mean °C (°F) 17.4
(63)		 18.2
(65)		 21.1
(70)		 24.5
(76)		 27.0
(81)		 28.4
(83)		 29.0
(84)		 28.5
(83)		 28.0
(82)		 25.9
(79)		 22.4
(72)		 18.8
(66)		 24.1
(75)
Average low °C (°F) 13.7
(57)		 14.5
(58)		 17.1
(63)		 20.8
(69)		 23.8
(75)		 25.5
(78)		 26.1
(79)		 25.7
(78)		 24.9
(77)		 22.6
(73)		 18.9
(66)		 15.2
(59)		 20.7
(69)
Precipitation mm (inches) 19.9
(0.78)		 28.8
(1.13)		 35.4
(1.39)		 84.9
(3.34)		 175.5
(6.91)		 370.6
(14.59)		 345.9
(13.62)		 417.5
(16.44)		 138.4
(5.45)		 29.6
(1.17)		 14.7
(0.58)		 11.3
(0.44)		 1,672.5
(65.85)
Sunshine hours 182.4 158.7 187.3 188.7 192.0 190.6 221.5 195.7 200.5 197.7 174.9 173.7 2,263.7
% Humidity 78.3 78.7 77.4 77.3 78.0 80.1 78.8 81.2 78.6 77.4 77.0 77.5 78.4
Avg. precipitation days 4.5 5.4 5.1 7.2 9.9 13.1 13.4 16.7 9.3 3.6 2.5 3.3 94
Source: [7] 2009-05-15

[edit] Government

[edit] Administrative districts

Tainan has 6 districts (區 qu): District Population Land area
Districts of Tainan-Taiwan.png as of 2009 km²
■ Anping-qu 安平區 60,701 11.0663
■ Annan-qu 安南區 176,015 107.2016
■ East-qu 東區 194,436 13.4156
■ West Central-qu 中西區 80,578 6.2600
■ South-qu 南區 127,121 27.2681
■ North-qu 北區 130,538 10.4340

Tainan City currently has 6 districts: Anping, Annan, East, West Central, South, and North districts.

Annan district was originally the An-Shun township of Tainan County, and was merged into Tainan City in 1946. In 2004, Central District and West District were merged into the new West Central district.

[edit] Foreign relationships

Tainan City Hall
Tainan District Court
Tungfeng Street in the eastern side of city

[edit] ==International relations

Main article: List of twin towns and sister cities in China

[edit] Twin towns — Sister cities

The following places are sister cities to Tainan City[8]:

[edit] Friendship cities

Tainan City also celebrates friendly relationships with two other locations, although they are not considered official sister cities.

[edit] Transportation

Tainan train station
Bus stop in Tainan

[edit] Rail

Tainan Station is a major stop on the Western Line, with direct connections to Taipei, Kaohsiung, Taichung, Hsinchu and Keelung. There are also local trains to reach closer destinations.

[edit] High-Speed Rail

Tainan HSR Station is located just outside the city itself, in Gueiren township. Using the High Speed Rail system travellers can reach Taipei in under ninety minutes.

[edit] Mass Rapid Transit

There have been plans mooted for a Tainan MRT system. However, there has not been any progress on the issue for several years.[9]

To improve the communication with HSR station and reduce the outlay for MRT system, a new rail brach line is being built, and some new train stations are also planned to be added in the future. See zh:沙崙線(Shalun Line) and zh:台鐵捷運化.

[edit] Road

National Highway Nos. 1 and 3 run close by and connect via local highways to the city itself. Tainan City has a total of 142.9 km of highways, including national, local and rural highways.[10]

[edit] Air

Tainan Airport is located in the South District of the city. It is a domestic airport, currently operating flights to Kinmen and Makung.[11] Previously there were also services to Taipei's Songshan Airport, but these were dropped in light of falling revenues (generally agreed to be a result of the High Speed Rail commencing operation and rising fuel costs).[12]

[edit] Education

Tainan Chengkung University
Fujhong Street near Confucius Temple
  • National Cheng Kung University, one of the leading universities in Taiwan, is located in the East District. It is famous for its engineering programs. In 1931, NCKU was established as Tainan Technical College, located on the present Cheng-Kung Campus, with a total area of 183,000 square metres. As the number of colleges expanded, it was upgraded to a provincial university in 1956, then national university in 1971.[13] Today, National Cheng Kung University serves nearly 21,000 students through 9 colleges, 39 departments, and 49 graduate institutes.[14]
  • Chang Jung Christian University is a private university affiliated with the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan. CJU offers masters and doctoral degree programs and aims to promote fraternity, justice, and service for Taiwan. It is located south of the city, in Gueiren.
  • The Tainan University of Technology (台南科技大學) is a private university founded in 1964. The university offers graduate degrees in music, visual art, and applied sciences. The main campus actually sits in Tainan County just outside the official city limits.

[edit] Senior high schools

Public

Private

[edit] Politics

The city has generally been seen as a powerbase for the Democratic Progressive Party, especially in nationwide election. But, in fact, Kuomintang (KMT) always have more seats in city council.[citation needed] And in the most recent presidential elections (2008), a narrow majority of the city's residents voted for the eventual winner, Ma Ying-jeou of the Kuomintang.

[edit] City mayor

[edit] 2001 Mayoral elections

Hsu Tain-Tsair of the Democratic Progressive Party was elected with 43.23% of the vote. His closest rival was the Kuomintang legislator Chen Rong-sheng, who garnered 37.40%.

[edit] 2005 Mayoral elections

In 2005 Mayor Hsu was re-elected, polling 45.65% to Chen Rong-sheng's 41.40%.

[edit] Presidential elections

A majority of city residents have voted for the winning candidates in every presidential election since the position was first chosen by popular vote in 1996.

[edit] 1996 Presidential election

Main article: Republic of China presidential election, 1996

In common with every other city and county in the Republic of China, with the exception of Nantou, a majority of Tainan residents voted for eventual winner Lee Teng-hui and vice-president Lien Chan.

[edit] 2000 Presidential election

Main article: Republic of China presidential election, 2000
Party Candidate Votes Percentage
President Vice president
Independent James Soong Chang Chau-hsiung 114,299 27.53%
Kuomintang Lien Chan Vincent Siew 107,679 25.93%
New Party Li Ao Elmer Fung 580 0.14%
Independent Hsu Hsin-liang Josephine Chu 1,408 0.34%
Democratic Progressive Party Chen Shui-bian Annette Lu 191,261 45.06%

[edit] 2004 Presidential election

Main article: Republic of China presidential election, 2004
Party Candidate Votes Percentage
President Vice president
Democratic Progressive Party Chen Shui-bian Annette Lu 251,397 57.77%
Kuomintang Lien Chan James Soong 183,786 42.23%

[edit] 2008 Presidential election

Main article: Republic of China presidential election, 2008
Party Candidate Votes Percentage
President Vice president
Democratic Progressive Party Frank Hsieh Su Tseng-chang 216,815 49.29%
Kuomintang Ma Ying-jeou Vincent Siew 223,034 50.71%

[edit] Notable natives

Koxinga Temple

A non-exhaustive list of famous people born in Tainan, educated there, prominent in the life of the city, or otherwise associated with the city.

[edit] Sports

Uni-President Lions have been playing their home games at Tainan Municipal Baseball Stadium since 1999.

Tainan is home to the Uni-President Lions, who play their home games at the Tainan Municipal Baseball Stadium.[17] It is also the birthplace of Chien-Ming Wang, Hong-Chih Kuo, Tai-Yuan Kuo, En-Yu Lin, and many other prominent Taiwanese baseball players.

[edit] See also

 This article contains Chinese text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Chinese characters.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Tainan University of Technology official site
  2. ^ http://taiwanjournal.nat.gov.tw/ct.asp?xitem=53774&ctnode=413&mp=9
  3. ^ "Anping Harbor National Historical Park". Tainan City Government. http://anping.tncg.gov.tw/tour/tua_01.jsp?ID=1&Lang=E. Retrieved 2008-08-19. 
  4. ^ "Taiwan Fu". Harvard University Faculty of Arts and Sciences. http://chgis.fas.harvard.edu/search/china/v3_sep_details.php?pgnid=90030. Retrieved 2008-08-19. 
  5. ^ William Campbell (1913). Sketches of Formosa. London: Marshall Brothers. pp. 16–17. 
  6. ^ "Tainan Confucian Temple". Council for Cultural Affairs. http://confucius.cca.gov.tw/english/navigator/map02.htm. Retrieved 2008-08-19. 
  7. ^ "Statistics > Monthly Mean". Central Weather Bureau. http://www.cwb.gov.tw/eng/index.htm. 
  8. ^ "Sister Cities". Tainan City Government. http://www.tncg.gov.tw/tour.asp?sub1=01&sub2=0B&lang=E. Retrieved 2008-08-19. 
  9. ^ "MRT Plans" (in Chinese). Bureau of High Speed Rail. http://www.hsr.gov.tw/homepage.nsf/038ecb2053a216c44825688c000d7a45/c03b4eef9cb62868482570ba0035c379?OpenDocument. Retrieved 2008-08-20. 
  10. ^ "2005 statistics". Tainan City Government. http://www.tncg.gov.tw/warehouse/0708/94totalstat.pdf. Retrieved 2008-08-19. 
  11. ^ "Airlines". Tainan National Airport. http://www.tna.gov.tw/English/E_airlines.asp. Retrieved 2008-08-20. 
  12. ^ "FAT to sell investments to cover costs". Taipei Times. 2008-03-01. http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/biz/archives/2008/03/01/2003403575. Retrieved 2008-08-20. 
  13. ^ "Brief History". National Cheng Kung University. http://www.ncku.edu.tw/ver2006/en/ncku/history.htm. Retrieved 2008-08-20. 
  14. ^ "Organization". National Cheng Kung University. http://www.ncku.edu.tw/ver2006/en/ncku/organization.htm. Retrieved 2008-08-20. 
  15. ^ "Introduction". Tainan Theological College and Seminary. http://www.ttcs.org.tw/~en/Introduction.htm. Retrieved 2008-08-20. 
  16. ^ "Inventor of the Week: Momofuku Ando". MIT. http://web.mit.edu/invent/iow/ando.html. Retrieved 2008-08-19. 
  17. ^ "Parking near the Municipal Stadium" (in Chinese). Uni-President Lions. http://www.uni-lions.com.tw/traffic-park.asp. Retrieved 2008-08-20. 

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Coordinates: 22°59′N 120°11′E / 22.983°N 120.183°E / 22.983; 120.183

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