The roots of Taiwan run deep in Tainan, the oldest city on the island. Tainan was founded by the Dutch in 1622 after the Dutch East India Company lost out on Macau, and its lucrative trading opportunities, to the Portuguese. Fort Zeelandia (now Anping Fort on the west side of the city) and Dutch Formosa didn’t last long before being displaced by Koxinga, a half Chinese, half Japanese pirate loyal to the fading Ming Dynasty. Tainan stayed the capital of Taiwan until the 1880s, when administration was moved north to Taichung and then eventually Taipei.

Tainan remembers the peoples and kingdoms that have ruled this region, and the vine encrusted red brick walls of the restored Dutch fortifications at Anping Fort is our first stop when heading out to explore.

But Tainan isn’t all military history and geopolitics. Right next to the walls of the fort, you'll find Anping Old Street, the oldest street in Taiwan and a great destination for street food snacks and souvenir trinkets. While it only takes about ten minutes to walk end to end if you aren’t stopping, that would be missing all the fun. Bags of shrimp crackers get snapped up us a popular souvenir to take home, but we’re more about the candied fruits and traditional peanut candies. You’ll also see traditional Taiwanese crafts, like fans (good for a warm day) and puppets on sale.