Tainan City Gates 臺南的城門

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Tainan was the capital of Taiwan during the Dutch Rule and Qing Dynasty, a span lasting over 200 years. During the Qing Dynasty earth and stone walls were built around the city, including 14 city gates. Today only four city gates remain, which we will explore in this blog. 

Historical Background:
The walls of Tainan first started as a brick wall around Fort Provintia in 1652.
After the Qing Dynasty took Taiwan, an uprising by 17 year old Zhu Yigui was successful in exiling the provincial government out of Taiwan after heavy taxation and a bad earthquake had left the people destitute. The Qing took back Tainan about a month later and Zhu Yigui was executed. Later a bamboo palisade was built around the City in 1733 to prevent further rebellion. Bamboo walls surrounded the city until about 1788. When the bamboo walls started to decay, the Fujian provincial government decided to make earthen walls around the capital city instead starting in 1788.
However by 1867, the earthen walls had crumbled due to heavy rains year after year, and they were repaired for the last time in 1875.
During the Japanese era, most of the walls of Tainan were destroyed because the Japanese thought that walls around the city stifled development. The west wall later became what is now Ximen Road. 
In its prime, there were a total of 14 city gates in the walls. Today, only four gates remain: Dongan Gate (東安門), Ningnan Gate 寧南門, Jingpo Gate 靖波門, and Duiyue Gate 兌悅門. 

Hours:
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Price:
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How to get to Tainan?
You can book tickets to travel to Tainan via inter-city bus on Klook here. 
You can book tickets to Tainan via high speed rail (HSR)  on Klook here or KKDay here. 
Book tickets via the normal train (TRA) on Klook here.

Need travel insurance? Compare prices on Insubuy here. 

How to get around in Tainan:
As always, we recommend renting a scooter as the best way to see Taiwan. However, you can also a great deal of Tainan by taking the train, inter-city bus, local bus, Youbike, or just walking. Getting around in a car is also a convenient option as there is plenty of parking pretty much everywhere in this less crowded county. 
Scooter Rental: Looking for scooter rental in Tainan? You can search KKday here or Klook here to look for options.
You can also check out our scooter rental guide here. 
Car Rental: If you are looking for car rentals in Tainan, you can also search Klook here or KKDay here. 
You can also check out our car rental guide here. 

Where to stay?
Most of the accommodation you will find is near the city center.  If you only want to visit old Tainan, you can book a hotel near the west part of downtown and consider walking or cycling around the city. 
We have stayed at and recommend Liho Hotel (you can book on Agoda here, Booking.com here, or Hotels.com here), a quality hotel right next to Chikan Tower, and Famouse Hotel (you can book on Agoda here or Klook here), which is another great hotel also within walking distance of Chikan Tower in old Tainan. 
You can find out where to stay in our Taiwan hotels guide or search for the best hotel deals in Taiwan here.
Need travel insurance? Compare prices on Insubuy here. 
You can also book Wifi and SIM cards for Taiwan on Gigago here.  
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Tours: 
You can find more tours and activities in Tainan such as Life Sciences Museum, Zuojhen Fossil Park, National Museum of Prehistory and Archaeology, Tainan Art Museum, Ten Drum Cultural Village, Shuei Jiao She Cultural Park, Great Wall Exhibition, Anping Canal Cruise, and more on Klook here or KKday here. 
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Map:
Please see the existing city gates marked with red castle icons below:

Our Journey:

I have passed by the gates of Tainan many times but never thought to make a blog post about them until now.

Jingpo Gate 靖波門

Jingpo Gate (aka lesser west gate 小西門) was built in 1775 as a minor gate in the main western wall. Originally placed at what is now the intersection of Ximen Road and Fuqian Road, this gate was moved to NCKU campus for preservation. The main tower is a littler different from the original.

On either side of the gate are parts of the wall that were also moved here.

Ningnan Gate 寧南門

Ningnan Gate is the most well preserved/restored of all the gates in my opinion. The gate has its own park.

The park is also a safe zone during disasters.

Large banyan tree in the park.

Also in the park is the old Tainan Broadcasting Station built in 1932 by the Japanese. Now it has been converted into the Tainan Film Center.

Ningnanmen was built in 1725, and rebuilt in 1977 as the main southern gate. Originally there was a large graveyard in front of this gate.

Looking at the Da Nanmen Gate.

Closer view inside.

What I assume is a Qing era cannon on display.

You can walk all the way around the walls on top.

At the top of the gate the main building was closed off.

Another display cannon.

Dongan Gate 東安門

Dongan Gate, (aka Yingchun Gate 迎春門) was built in 1725 as the main eastern gate. It was later refurbished in 1977. It sits in the middle of a roundabout on Dongmen Road and there is a large square in front. There was no where to park so I did not get any other photos. 

​I missed Duiyue Gate 兌悅門 whihc was built on the western outer city walls. It is a small gate built in 1835, and still allows vehicles to pass under it.

​You can find more tours and activities in Tainan such as Life Sciences Museum, Zuojhen Fossil Park, National Museum of Prehistory and Archaeology, Tainan Art Museum, Ten Drum Cultural Village, Shuei Jiao She Cultural Park, Great Wall Exhibition, Anping Canal Cruise, and more on Klook here or KKday here. 

Check out our full guide to Tainan here.

You can also check out our full travel guide to Taiwan here. 

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