Old Tainan Magistrate Residence Audio Guide

Old Tainan Magistrate Residence: what does the audio guide cover?

1. 01

   Welcome to Old Tainan Magistrate Residence

   Welcome to one of the most storied houses in Tainan. You are in East District, standing before the Old Tainan Magistrate Residence, a two-story building completed in 1900. Locals have a nickname for it: the Clock Tower. We will get to why in a moment. This was never an ordinary home. It was built as the official residence of the top local official of the Japanese colonial administration, and over the decades it became a guest house for royalty, a government office, a staff dormitory and, today, a place for coffee, books and design. Few buildings in Tainan have been given so many roles. Over the next few minutes we will look at the building's face and its architecture, then at the royal visits that made it famous, and finally at how a house that survived war and many changes of use found a new life. Take a moment to look at the roofline and the front of the building. That is where the story begins.

2. 02

   Why They Call It the Clock Tower

   Look up at the gable of the original roof. Carved in relief there is a clock pattern, and that single decorative detail is the reason Tainan residents call this building the Clock Tower. It is not a tower at all, but the name stuck, and it tells you how a neighborhood remembers its landmarks: by the feature you can spot from the street. The house is a two-story building in an English colonial style, a look that reflects the era in which it was built. It was completed in 1900 as the residence of the Tainan Prefecture governor, Imai Konichi, in the early years of Japanese rule over Taiwan. Administrative titles shifted a lot in those years. In November 1901 the local administrative system was reorganized and the senior official moved to a nearby residence, so this house passed to other uses. In 1920 the system changed again. The governor's residence returned to this building, which then took the name of the Tainan Prefecture magistrate's residence. That is why the same house carries so many names in the records.

3. 03

   A House Fit for Royal Guests

   Here is what sets this house apart from almost every other historic building in southern Taiwan. It was also used as a residence for the Japanese imperial family when they came to visit, and it is the only building in the south designed for that purpose. The visits were frequent. By 1941, about 20 members of the Japanese imperial family had visited and stayed here. That is more than stayed at the Taipei Guest House, the residence of the Governor-General during the colonial period. The most famous guest was Crown Prince Hirohito, who came to Taiwan in 1923 and stayed in this house. He later became Emperor Hirohito. His stay added a legendary color to the building's reputation. Tennis courts were also built on the grounds for the imperial visit. No trace of them remains, but their construction shows how much importance and effort were invested in welcoming such guests. Today there is even a cultural tourism idea built around the Crown Prince's visiting route in Tainan.

4. 04

   From Air Raid Shelter to Living Center

   The twentieth century did not leave this house untouched. In 1936 an underground air raid shelter was built on the southeast side of the building, as the Second Sino-Japanese War cast its shadow. During the Second World War itself, the mansion was fortunate: it was neither bombed nor damaged. After the war, the Nationalist government moved to Taiwan, and various agencies and units were stationed here in turn. It also served as a dormitory for the staff of National Tainan First Senior High School. In the 1970s it housed the East District Office and the Civil Defense Headquarters. In 1988 it was designated a municipal historical site, and from 2000 the Cultural Bureau of Tainan Municipal Government began a restoration project lasting 10 years. In 2015 the house reopened as the Magistrate Residence, with the 1900 Café, a knowledge salon and exhibitions. Since October 2020 it has been run as the Magistrate Residence Living Center, with exhibitions, lectures, household items, afternoon tea, meals and drinks. Inside, a Children's Study invites young readers into the historic house, while the first floor offers cultural and design products.

5. 05

   Before You Head Off

   Before you move on, circle back to the gable and find the clock relief once more. Then picture a crown prince arriving in 1923, staff preparing the rooms, and tennis courts laid out where you may now be standing. The building has been a governor's home, a royal guest house, a government office and a gathering place for readers and tea drinkers, and each chapter left its mark. If you go inside, notice how a historic house can host a children's reading corner, an exhibition and a café table in the same walls. And Tainan has many more historic buildings from the same era scattered around the city. Let this house be your starting point, and see which one invites you in next.