An Binh Old Fort (Anping Old Fort)

In the early 17th century, the Dutch occupied the city of Tainan. A peninsula with a long sandy shore on the coast of Tainan was chosen to build a fortress for military purposes and a strong rear in case the city was besieged. The strategic location of An Binh fortress is clearly shown on ancient maps. In terms of topography, there are a series of sandy beaches stretching from north to south; To the east of the sandbar is a wide strait. The cannon was built on a large sandbar to control ships moving from the strait to the inland area.

On April 30, 1661, the Ming army surrounded the fortress (then guarded by 2,000 Dutch soldiers) with 400 warships and 25,000 soldiers. After nine months of fighting, besieging the citadel, the Dutch surrendered on February 1, 1662. The Dutch abandoned the fort and all goods and possessions. On February 9, 1662, the Dutch governor Frederick Coyett handed over the keys to the Ming army and brought all soldiers and civilians to Batavia (present-day Jakarta area) by sea, ending 38 years of colonial rule. Dutch territory in Taiwan.

During the Qing Dynasty, the fortress was badly damaged due to the erosion of the coast, and some Qing soldiers took the fort's materials to build the Eternal Fortress. The fortress was rebuilt after the Japanese Colonial Period. Today, the only vestige of the Dutch colonial period is the southern brick wall outside the Old Fort's front gate, covered by the tangled roots of ancient banyan trees, a testament to the most obvious for a historical period of nearly 400 years. In 1975, An Binh Ancient Fort was repaired and expanded. A pointed roof has also been added to the observation tower area, and the walls are painted white; that is An Binh Ancient Fort that we see today.

Inside the fortress is a small museum where you will have the opportunity to learn about the history of formation and development of Tainan city through artifacts, and historical documents. Outside the fortress are the walls built with red clay, the statue of Trinh Thanh Cong, a talented general of the Ming dynasty who had the merit of expelling the Dutch, regaining independence for Tainan city.

The fortress is open daily to visitors from 08.30 AM to 05.30 PM. Entrance fee is NT50. From Tainan Railway Station, you can take bus number 2 or number 99 to visit Anping Fortress.