Tainan’s Anping District has an awesome array of historic buildings, waterfront parks and perhaps Anping’s most famous thing to do – Anping Treehouse.
If you are travelling around Taiwan, we’d recommend at least a couple of days in Tainan (ideally longer).
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Taiwan’s national tourist board have described Anping District as one of the ‘best small tourist towns’ in Taiwan and it is a wonderful place to walk around exploring old and new sites.
From Taiwan’s only warship museum (complete with Transformers on deck) to the shopping and eating delights of Anping Old Street, there is much to enjoy in Anping, especially when combined with Tainan.
Featuring temples and tree-houses, here is our guide to Anping District in Tainan, Taiwan.
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Getting to Tainan
The best way to get to Tainan from other parts of Taiwan is by train.
The Taiwan High Speed Rail (HSR) is super fast and arrives into HSR Tainan Station (Note: this station is a little bit out of the city, so you will need to take a bus or taxi to get to your hotel). You can book your high speed rail tickets online with Klook for convenience.
There is an alternative and much cheaper TRA train that arrives at Tainan station (in the city centre) and is half the price of the high speed rail. However the journey time is over twice as long, but is a great choice for travellers who are on a budget and not time limited.
Alternatively you can travel to Tainan in style from Taipei in this private chartered car or hire a motorcycle in Tainan with KK Day.
Taiwan 5 Day Joint Train Pass
You can book a Taiwan 5 Day Joint Train Pass for overseas travellers which gives you unlimited travel for 5 days on Taiwan High Speed Rail and Taiwan Railway trains. Click here to book your Taiwan 5 Day Joint Train Pass on Klook >
How to get to Anping District by public transport
To get to the Anping District from Tainan city centre, you can take the Tainan tourist shuttle bus (route 88 or 99) from the bus stop immediately across the road from the train station (the bus stop is named ‘Tainan Railway South Station’).
Alternatively you can take the local city bus (route number 2: Kun Shan University ↔ Anping).
The fare is only 18 TWD one way and you can either pay by cash (try to use the exact amount as no change is given), or utilise the standard EasyCard which is accepted all over Taiwan.
Taiwanderers Tip
Grab a Taiwan EasyCard as a convenient way to use buses and public transport in Taipei and across Taiwan. They can be easily topped up at stations and convenience stores.
Read more about how to use a Taiwan EasyCard, including how to top up >
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Brief history of Anping
A quick Anping District history lesson before we explore – the town of Anping dates back to the 17th century, when the Dutch East India Company occupied a small sandy ridge called Tayouan and built Fort Zeelandia (which we visit later).
The Dutch moved their headquarters to Taoyuan after leaving the Pescadores in 1624. Due to silting over time, the islet joined with the mainland and Japan seized control of the area and brought an end to the Dutch colonisation.
The architecture here is very reminiscent of Tamsui in Taipei, another historic harbor and port that was ‘run’ by the Dutch, Spanish and Japanese at various stages, creating an array of awesome architecture styles and old buildings that can still be visited today.
You might like – Our 1 day Taipei highlights itinerary or our 3 day ‘best of Taipei’ itinerary
Anping Treehouse
Along with the Old Fort (see below), the best known Anping District attraction is the Anping Treehouse. The Anping treehouse itself is actually a former warehouse that was abandoned for many years and allowed to go to ruin, overgrown with banyan trees.
Anping Treehouse in Tainan opened to the public in 2004 and is now one of the most popular Tainan tourist attractions – it reminded us a little of Angkor Wat temples with its overgrown banyan trees.
It doesn’t sound that cool but walking around the Anping Treehouse ruins with roots pushing through the foundations everywhere is fascinating.
There are viewing platforms which allow you to explore the old warehouse from above plus there is a small museum, gift-shop and cafe onsite.
Out the back, there is a small ‘sky bridge’ that goes over a river and allows views of the nearby area.
The entry price for Anping Treehouse as of summer 2024 is NT$70 (around $2.20 USD or £1.70) – discounted Anping Treehouse tickets can be bought from Klook.
Try this – Tainan Tours with Klook, Viator and KK Day
Anping Fort
A short walk from Anping Treehouse is Anping Fort (also known as Fort Zeelanda).
Anping Fort can be seen for miles around and was built in the 1620s by the Dutch East India Company, to act as an international business centre.
As trade at the time depended on military force to control the markets, the value of Tainan to the Dutch was mainly in its strategic position.
Now, its history appears to be taught in a lot of local schools, as on the day we visited, we bumped into several school groups, all of whom wanted us to know they knew how to say ‘Hello’ and ‘Goodbye’ in English – too cute!
As well as exploring the Anping Fort walls and original bastion, you can climb up steep stairs to a viewing tower, providing 360 degree views of the local area (although there are narrow stairs up so not great if you don’t enjoy heights).
There is a nice gift shop plus an excellent museum and interpretation information. We also visited the cafe as it was a hot day and their tables and chairs were in the shade.
The cafe was really cheap and we opted for a Taiwan beer (only 40 TWD) as it had special local branding on, unique to the region. Any excuse for a lunchtime beer eh?! These special edition Taiwan beers were also available at Anping Treehouse gift-shop.
The entry price for Anping Old Fort as of summer 2024 is NT$70 (around $2.20 USD or £1.70) – discounted Anping Old Fort tickets can be bought from Klook here >
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Tianhou Temple
Close to Anping Fort, Tianhou Temple as it is the first main temple you see as you exit the fort gates. An incredibly intricate and beautiful temple with its origins dating back from 1668 (although last rebuilt in 1994), this the largest temple in the area.
Tianhou (also known as Anping Matsu Temple) was very busy with worshippers paying their respects whilst we visited so we tried not to get in their way and only stayed a short amount of time to get some photos – it is free to visit.
Inside, there are helpful volunteers with temple information leaflets plus several stalls that sell charms and religious tokens.
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Anping Chou’s Delicacy
Anping is famous for its shrimp rolls. So we paid a visit to Anping Chou’s Delicacy (or Chou’s Shrimp Rolls), found at 137 Anping Road (a couple of minutes away from Tianhou Temple).
The restaurant was heaving and we managed to grab the last free table. Much like a fish & chip shop in the UK, you go up to the counter (we had to ask for an English menu), order your food and then they make it there and then within seconds.
We opted for two shrimp rolls (65 TWD for two) and a rice noodle dish (50 TWD) – note prices may have increased since our visit.
Both were tasty although the shrimp roll was a little too greasy and fatty due to the batter. We have also heard of other shops using intestines as the outer layer for shrimp rolls.
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Anping Oyster Rolls and Oyster Shucks
On the intersection of Anping Road, you’ll find lots of oyster stalls and shuckers including Chen Oyster rolls.
They are famous for their seafood dishes, and not just oyster omelettes and shrimp rolls – they also serve up the famous Tainan dish milkfish in a dumpling soup.
We were also fascinated to see a group of elderly locals shucking hundreds of oysters an hour in the sheds on the same intersection, just across from the Chen Oyster Shop stall.
The oyster shuckers were dedicated to their task in hand, skillfully shucking away and barely making a sound – amazing to watch.
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Anping Old Street (Yanping Street)
A little walk from Anping Fort, Anping’s Old Street is a busy, bustling side-street packed full of street-food stalls, gift stores, fairground style carnival games plus various bakeries and sweet shops.
Given how narrow it is, Anping Old Street gets pretty rammed with people and push-chairs (especially on weekends and public holidays). Incidentally, ‘Old Street’ as a term in Taiwan often refers to somewhere with lots of tourist shops and restaurants, not necessarily an old street.
Keep an eye out (literally) for the prawn cracker stalls and their airborne snacks. There is a constant popping of prawn crackers in little machines, which would then be packaged up by the stall holders.
We found Anping Old Street one of the cheapest places for souvenirs in the whole of Taiwan, especially things like faux LEGO sets or cute drink carriers.
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Anping Navy Destroyer Museum
Taiwan is ‘Transforming’ – welcome to the Navy Destroyer Museum in Anping Harbour (in Tainan), Taiwan’s only warship museum which currently has a very special display (a great thing to do in Tainan with kids).
Until the end of the 2004 (31 December), you also catch these Transformer-style robots onboard the ROCS Te Yang vessel (formerly the USS Sarsfield) which was built in 1945 & decommissioned in 2005 – it has been docked in Anping Harbor since 2009.
Buy your Navy Destroyer Museum tickets here with Klook or KK Day.
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Anping Fisherman’s Wharf / Historic Harbor Park
A nice spot for a stroll beneath the banyan trees and overlooking the water, you can walk into Anping from the Navy Destroyer Museum via Fisherman’s Wharf and Lin Mo-niang Park.
The latter is named after and has a huge Mazu statue of Lin Mo-Niang, a deity / goddess who protects the sea.
Alternatively, have a ‘whale’ of time in Tainan at Anping Fisherman’s Wharf, memorable for its ‘Big Fish’s Blessing’ installation.
This is a whale shaped lookout and observation deck designed by Taiwanese artist Yang Shiyi, complete with a stained-glass ceiling.
It is made from almost 4,000 steel supports & 450 pieces of colourful glass. Free to visit, it can be found overlooking the harbor at Anping Fisherman’s Wharf.
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Tainan Anping canal boat tours
Head out on the water and see Anping District from its canals – there are three different routes to choose from. Fun is to be had when going beneath the bridges as you need to bow down.
Perhaps the best route is the Anping Port Line , which departs every weekend. It sails through gorgeous and scenic spots such as Anping Lighthouse, the Destroyer ship, Anping Fishing Market and Anping Lighthouse.
Book your Anping cruise with Klook >
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Other things to do in Anping District
- Pose in the giant instant noodle near Anping Old Street
- Fill your boots at the Anping all you can eat Taiwanese BBQ >
- See the Totoro mural near to Anping Treehouse (a bit ‘meh‘ to be honest but OK for Studio Ghibli super-fans). The mural can be found on Google Maps here >
- See how tightly packed the graves are at Anping District First Cemetery
Overall, we loved our half day visit to the Anping district, one of the most historic and well preserved places in Taiwan. It is well worth a visit whilst staying in Tainan as its very cheap both to get there on the bus and in terms of admission prices.
If you are really pushed for time, we would recommend that your number one thing to do here would be a quick visit to the tree-house, given how unique (and tree-mendous!) an adventure it is.
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