Breaking News, World News and Taiwan News.

Updated Monday, March 22, 2010 9:47 am TWN, By Alex Jiang, CNA



	Ancient photos show a large number of merchant ships taking berths at the once-bustling Anping Harbor in southern Tainan that served as one of Taiwan's main gateways to international trade for more than two centuries. (CNA) Enlarge Photo

Sponsors
▪	Get the best deals for Guangzhou Hotels or choose from more than 10,000 hotels in 499 Chinese cities.
▪	Find great real time deals on China Flights. Book flights to China or China domestic flights 24/7.
▪	Buy china wholesale products from reliable chinese wholesalers on DHgate.com!
▪	Save 75% for all hotels in Shanghai, Beijing and whole China. Lowest rates for Flights in China.

Sumptuous breakfasts reveal old-time pride in Tainan area

The Dutch considered the harbor to be their operational hub in the Asia Pacific region when they ruled Taiwan between 1624 and 1661.

Even after the Dutch left, Anping continued to be the greatest source of Tainan's prosperity, serving as Taiwan's main gateway to trade for more than 200 years.

But starting in 1823, sediment washed down by local rivers during typhoons began filling the lagoon in the area, and by the late 19th century, when it was no longer the island's political center and the harbor became more land than sea, Anping lost its importance.

The city's wealth can also be seen on Shennong Street, one of the best preserved streets in Tainan and lined with two-story houses owned by rich merchants 200 years ago.

“At the time, people rowed boats on the rivers inside the city. Tainan was just like Italy's Venice,” says Chang Feng-chi, a local high school teacher.

During Japanese rule between 1895 and 1945, Tainan gained its initial shape of a modern city, but it was replaced as Taiwan's political center by Taipei, and Kaohsiung surpassed it as southern Taiwan's biggest city shortly before the end of Japanese colonial rule.

Tainan showed, however, that its aptitude for commerce had not suffered, as beginning in the 1950s, a group of businessmen made a fortune in the apparel business and then expanded their interests to textiles, construction, finance and food processing in the following decades.

The most notable example is Uni-President Enterprises Corp., Taiwan's largest food company, which has formed partnerships with international brands such as 7-Eleven, Starbucks, Carrefour and Mister Donut.

Despite the success, the people of Tainan have become what some describe as “declining nobles” because it has not been able to revive its glorious past as Taiwan's political, commercial and cultural center.

But hints of those days of glory remain in the delicately prepared breakfasts served around the city, meals that fill the people of Taiwan's former capital with old time confidence and pride.

1|2