Tainan Wu Garden Audio Guide

Wu's Garden: what does the audio guide cover?

1. 01

   Welcome to Wu's Garden

   Welcome to Wu's Garden, known locally as 吳園, in the old city of Tainan, Taiwan. I should be upfront with you: the detailed story of this particular garden, its builders, its dates and its layout, is not something I can tell you here. What I can offer is the story of the historic ground around it, and I will always say when I am talking about the neighborhood rather than the garden itself. Tainan is the oldest city on Taiwan's western plain, and its center holds layer upon layer of history: Dutch traders, the Kingdom of Tungning, and the Qing dynasty all left marks here. As you stand in this district, you are walking through the setting of that long story. Over the next few stops, we will follow that story through the area's best-known historic landmark, Chihkan Tower. Think of it as the backdrop against which any garden in old Tainan sits.

2. 02

   Wu's Garden and the Dutch Beginnings of Old Tainan

   Here is the story of the surrounding area, not of the garden itself. In 1624 the Dutch built Fort Zeelandia in Anping. Soon afterward they decided to create a political and economic center on the opposite side of the Taijiang waters, in a place the local plain indigenous peoples called Chihkan. That center was Provintia, which today is known as Chihkan Tower. The Dutch also laid out a commercial street, Rua Provintia, which began the busy trading history of Tainan. Fort Provintia was built in the early 1650s, and the later temple buildings stand over its foundations. The geography was different then. Xinmei Street, which you can still find on a map, marked the coastline of Tainan in the seventeenth century. Imagine the sea lapping where the city now stands.

3. 03

   Wu's Garden Neighborhood: From Dutch Fort to Island Capital

   Again, this is the story of the wider area. When Koxinga, Zheng Chenggong, took control of Taiwan, he renamed Fort Provintia Dongdu Chengtian Prefecture and made it the highest administrative office on the island. It faced Anping across the Taijiang Inner Sea, so two centers of power looked at each other over the water. That is how Chihkan Tower became a miniature of Tainan's history. Its structures have lived through the Dutch period, the Kingdom of Tungning and the Qing dynasty. The wider Chihkan Culture Park, which stretches from the east of Xinmei Street and south of Chengkung Road down to Minquan Road, holds several monuments from these eras. Three of them are national historical monuments. Among them stand Chihkan Tower, the Sidian Da Tianhou Temple, and the Sidian Wumiao, a temple to General Guan.

4. 04

   Wu's Garden Area: Temples Built on a Fortress Base

   One of the most striking things about this neighborhood is how East Asian architecture grew from a European foundation. After the Dutch era, Chinese-style pavilions appeared on the old fort grounds, including the Sea God Temple and Wenchang Pavilion, dedicated to the God of Literature. Wuzi Shrine and Dashi Temple were also added to the complex. The fort had fallen into disrepair through civil unrest and poor management. Afterward, Chinese buildings were added to the original Dutch structure, and Guanyin Bodhisattva and other deities were once worshiped here. An academy was also moved to the site and renamed Penghu Academy. A legend adds some color. Locals tell of a stone horse whose legs were broken because, in the story, it turned into a monster at night and harassed the people. When you see the tortoise-shaped steles and stone monuments nearby, remember that they sit on what was once a Dutch stronghold.

5. 05

   Before You Head Off from Wu's Garden

   You now have the larger story around Wu's Garden: a coastline that has since moved, a Dutch fortress, a seat of power under Koxinga, and temples rising from old foundations. As you wander through this part of Tainan, notice how the streets, stone steles and rooflines each belong to a different century. Look closely at the garden itself, too, because its own story is yours to discover on the spot. Then let the neighborhood's layers show you how it fits into old Tainan.