Forts in Tainan

Today I walked to the other fort on Tainan's west side, a little north of yesterday's Fort. Here's my description of the two Forts.

Today's Fort - Anping Old Fort

What is now called the Anping Old Fort has been a fort since it was first built in 1624 by the Dutch, they called it Fort Zeelandia. When the Dutch arrive in the East they were notable for their red hair and so called the "red haired people". (Nowadays many Taiwanese have red hair but they are mostly college students.)

In 1661, the namesake of Cheng Kung University(my school) drove the Dutch out and renamed it: the Fort of the Monarch, Fort of the Prince, Taiwan Castle or Anping Castle, take your pick.

The current fort is what was rebuilt by the Japanese after 1895 and they gave it it's current name Anping Old Fort.


This all that is left of that original Zeelandia Fort. The bricks were imported from Batavia(Dutch Indoneisa) and the cement was made with rice, sugarcane, clay and crushed oyster shells.











This cannon had it's muzzle blown off. Artillery has always been a dangerous job even it is behind the lines.










This cannon had a inscription, I thought of the decorations WWII pilots put on their weapons. I guess it's a projection of feelings towards your tools.










This tower was constructed in Japanese time and gives a commanding view of Tainan waterways. There are 60 steps to the top(I counted them), the sea breeze there makes the climb worth it.














The Old Anping Fort has a nice museum tracing the history of the site with artifacts found at different level and models of what it looked like in different eras. What to me is amazing is that the same year the Dutch were setting up New Amsterdam (1625) in what would be New York City, they were also setting up Fort Zeelandia on Taiwan (1624). The Dutch, a small nation was colonizing both sides of the Earth.

Yesterday's Fort - The Eternal Golden Fort
















The Golden Eternal Fort was built in 1874 by the Qing Dynasty(1644-1911) to defend against the Japanese. But in 1895 the Chinese ceded Taiwan to the Japanese when the Japanese defeated the China in what the West calls the Sino-Japanese War. I don't believe any of that war took place in Taiwan, but Taiwan was given up as a spoil of war. The fort was build with Western expertise and armed with English guns. There are good English explanations about the site.

It's interesting that although gun powder was discovered in China, the art of cannon making was developed in Europe and then exported back to the Chinese. The European gunpowder had a higher nitrate content and so could shoot cannon balls a long distance. When the European arrived in the East their fire power made them the conquerors. Score another victory for superior technology.

The Jesuits are famous for there influence in early China(say the 1600s) and they were the conduit whereby news of China reached Europe. The Jesuits originally didn't have much influence until they showed the Chinese Emperor the art of European cannon making. All part of doing God's work.

Here a nice dish "shao rou fan". A meat sauce is made from dried meat(probably pork) and served on rice. It seems that most "sit down" meals like this come with soup. This meal had a delicious miszo soup with small minnows in it. I think that in Chinese meals the soup comes last. Most dishes are not spicy, hot but there is hot sauce on the table for individual use. I like the hot, spicy stuff.