TAINAN INFORMATION
Tainan City is the fourth largest city in Taiwan after Taipei, Kaohsiung, and Taichung. It is officially administrated as a provincial city of Taiwan Province in the Republic of China.
Tainan was established as the 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 was formerly the capital of Taiwan, Tainan is also called Fu-cheng (Prefecture City).
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 and was named Tayoan. "Tayoan"/"Tayouan" is the old name of Tainan and became the name of the island later. The city is famous for its abundant historical buildings and relics. The Dutch established a trading post in 1624 at present-day Anping, 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led by Koxinga, who established his own kingdom on Taiwan and renamed the city Tungtu after the Dutch capitulated and withdrawn from the island.
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 1665 on the island, the remains of the Northern and Southern gates of the old city, and countless other historical monuments.
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.
The city has generally been seen as a powerbase for the Democratic Progressive Party, especially in nationwide election. But, in fact, Kuomintang always have more seats in city council. 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.
Transportation of Tainan, By 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. Tainan City has a total of 142.9km of highways, including national, local and rural highways. By Air: Tainan Airport is located in the South District of the city. It is a domestic airport, currently operating flights to Kinmen and Makung. 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).
Tainan is home to the Uni-President Lions, who play their home games at the Tainan Municipal Baseball Stadium. 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.
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