|Flower=Royal PoincianaTainan (literally "Southern Taiwan") 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 and remained the capital until 1887 during the Qing Dynasty. In fact, "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.
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 (大圓, POJ: Tāi-ôan, from Sirayan). 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 (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.
William Campbell described the city in the 1870s:
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 (literally "Government City"). Tainan also served as the capital of the Republic of Formosa after the Japanese took Taipei bloodlessly.
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, 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."
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.
To improve the communication with HSR station and save the expenses for MRT, a new rail brach line is being built. See 沙崙線(Shalun Line).
Private
| 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% | |
| 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% | |
| 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% | |
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.
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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