Wednesday, December 21, 2022

Historical Timeline of the Tainan Coastline, City Wall and The Five Channels





Historical Timeline of the Tainan Coastline, City Wall and The Five Channels



In 1625, the Dutch established a colony in an area known as Saccam to the native dwellers in what became Tainan. This is probably the origin of the Chinese name Chikan (as in Chikan Tower). The coastline at that time was probably between what are now Xinmei Street and Ximen Road (of course, the coast was not a straight line like Ximen Road, but was curved in places).


The Taijiang Inland Sea drawn by the Dutch in September 1629.


In 1652, after a Chinese man named Guo Huaiyi rebelled and tried to set himself up as ruler, the Dutch built Provintia, a European-style fortress, as the administrative center of their commercial street. The Chikan Tower we see today is built on the remains of this 17th- Century fortress.

The model of the Fort Provintia as it was in the Dutch era displayed in Chikan Tower.

In 1653 (the 7th year of Emperor Yongli of the Ming Dynasty), the waters of the Taijiang Inland Sea reached the edge of Fort Provintia. At that time, Provintia Street was the trading center of the whole colony. The rice, sugar, rattan, buckskin, preserved deer meat, and horns produced in Taiwan were all transported to Anping over the Taijiang Inland Sea, and then sent to Mainland China, Japan, and Europe. Provintia Street was therefore an important commercial port with warehouses for storing a large amount of valuable goods.



In 1752 (the 17th year in the reign of the Qing Dynasty Qianlong Emperor), "The County Chronicles of Reconstruction in Taiwan" listed the "Eight Scenes of Taiyi", meaning the eight scenic views that visitors to Taiwan should see. "Sunset over Chikan" was one of those eight must-see scenic spots during the Qianlong era.

The 19th-century Chikan Tower that we see today was built on top of the ruins of the Dutch Fort Provintia.


From 1661 to 1683, the family of the Ming Dynasty general Zheng Chenggong (Koxinga) governed Tainan, but they did not build a city wall. It is said that Zheng Chenggong landed in Heliao Port to fight the Dutch on mainland Taiwan. Heliao Port may be located in the area of what is now ​​Zhouziwei Village in Yongkang District. Another theory is that the lower reaches of the Deqing Stream, the area around the Yamuliao Vegetable Market, was formerly known as Heliao Port. It was a port in the early 17th century and was one of the main battlefields when Zheng Chenggong fought with the Dutch. The landing place of the Zheng army recorded in the Dutch literature is called "Shimei Village" in Chinese and Smeerdorp in Dutch. Some researchers believe that this refers to the area around Kaiyuan Buddhist Temple.




In addition, the area known as Sicao was the North Shanwei Island in the 17th century, and the ruins of the Dutch Sea Fort can still be seen. Sicao Dazhong Temple was built in the Qing Dynasty and has a history of more than 300 years. There are differing opinions about the true identity of the main god worshiped in this temple, Marshal Zhenhai. Some researchers believe that he was originally Zheng Chenggong's general Chen Ze 陳澤 (the former owner of the West Central District Commander's Mansion / Chen Family Hall and Shrine 陳德聚堂) who came to attack the Dutch, but the temple authorities assert that the god is Chen You 陳酉, a high-ranking military officer in Taiwan during the Qing Dynasty. Behind the Dazhong Temple is a unique tomb or "ossuary", where the remains of Dutch soldiers who died in fighting against the Ming Zheng army have been interred. It does appear that some of the bones were damaged by slicing and hacking weapons during the lifetimes of their ill-fated owners, so it is thought that they were killed in battle or drowned. The area to the rear of Dazhong Temple was likely one of the important battlefields where Zheng Chenggong (Koxinga) fought against the Dutch during his invasion of Taiwan.


I accidentally discovered the "Dutch Ossuary" more than 20 years ago. At that time, the Dazhong Temple had not yet become a popular tourist spot. Before going to work in the mornings, I sometimes climbed the small hill behind the temple to view the mangroves and enjoy the tranquility and the sound of the Chinese bulbul (Pulsatilla) singing its unique song. One day I noticed that the unadorned and unmarked concrete mound immediately behind the temple was not locked, so I quietly opened the door to see what was inside. I was surprised to find large urns filled with white leg bones and skulls! After that discovery, whenever foreign visitors came to the company where I worked, I would take them to see this curiosity. When my mother came to Taiwan in 1998, she was fascinated by these relics and their historical background. Later on, a sign appeared on the Ossuary explaining what it was, and around the same time the door had a padlock fitted. For a while, the temple personnel were willing to lend me the key to open it for tourists, but after a while said that I would have to ask the god for permission. In the end, the temple officials said that the god no longer wanted people to see the bones, and that they were off-limits to the public.


A sign eventually appeared on the concrete mound explaining the purpose of the construction.



These photographs of the interior were taken at the time when the Ossuary was not yet locked.


The "Dutch Ossuary" is now decorated but locked.



During the Zheng administration of Tainan, ships could still berth on the Taijiang Inner Coast when the tide was high. The "Taiwan Armament Map" of that era mentions that at that time, "thousands of boats could be moored in the Taijiang Inland Sea, but the boats would sway in the north wind, and at low tide there was a half a kilometer of shallow water before the Zheng Administrative Center (Fort Provintia). At high tide, however, there is deep water all the way up to the Administrative Center." In addition, the ferry crossings for mooring ships in Taijiang Inland Sea had not changed much since the Dutch first arrived, and people who arrived in Taiwan landed at Dajingtou (now at the intersection between Minquan Road and Yongfu Road).


1664 "Taiwan Armament Map" drawn in the Eighteenth Year of the Yongli Period


In 1683 (the 22nd year of Kangxi), General Shi Lang conquered Taiwan for the Qing Dynasty. The Qing government ordered that no city wall should ever be built in Taiwan, and also issued a ban on people crossing to Taiwan which stated that there shall be "no illegal crossing over to Taiwan, no bringing of family members to Taiwan, and no Cantonese people coming to Taiwan."

In 1696 (the 35th year of the Kangxi Emperor), "Taiwan Fuzhi" written by Gao Gongqian recorded: "Dajingtou Ferry is in Xidingfang. The ferry from Anping Town to Dajingtou is a distance of five kilometers...The water at Dajingtou is shallow, and people are carried from boats through the water on carts pulled by bullocks. The shallows in the bay of the town make it easy for small boats to go ashore." And Volume 3 of "The County Chronicles of Reconstruction in Taiwan " also noted that: "The foreigners and others came ashore at Dajingtou."


Tainan on the "Map of Taiwan" drawn some time before the 43rd year of Kangxi (1704). The Taiwan government offices and barracks are surrounded by wooden fences.



Tainan on the "Map of Taiwan" drawn some time before the 43rd year of Kangxi (1704). There is no fence between Fort Provintia (Chikan) and the business district. Bullock carts carrying people and goods can be seen wading through the shallows toward and away from the shore.



In 1715 (the 54th year of Kangxi), the "Overall Map of the Taiwan Administration" shows that, except for simple fences at important military sites, the entire city was completely unprotected by walls or palisades.


In 1715 (the 54th year of Kangxi), the Shuixian Temple was built to enshrine the five water gods, including Da Yu, the legendary emperor who tamed the waters of the Yellow River. Shuixian Temple (now at No. 1 Shennong Street) was jointly built by merchants from Zhangzhou and Quanzhou in Fujian Province. At that time, there was a dock in front of the temple, from which one could cross the Taijiang Inland Sea to Anping. However, as the inland sea gradually silted up, the merchants made use of natural channels which formed in order to ship their goods to and from the original ports. Later on, as these natural channels also began to become blocked with silt, they had to initiate dredging projects to keep the ports connected to the ever-smaller inland sea. Since 1720, the Sanjiao (three principal international trading houses, an organization of commercial guilds) were successively established and headquartered at Shuixian Temple. Shuixian Temple therefore became the commercial center of Tainan (and indeed the whole of Taiwan) at that time.


In 1721 (the 60th year of Kangxi), the Zhu Yigui incident (a rebellion against Qing Dynasty in support of the Ming Dynasty) occurred. The coastline progressively moved west toward what is now Haian Road.

The Kangxi Emperor died in 1722.


In 1723 or 1725 (the first or third year of the Yongzheng Emperor), the city began to erect a wooden palisade, and seven rudimentary mudbrick city gates were added. The west side of the city faced the sea (which was considered adequate protection), so in that direction there were gates but no connecting wooden fence.

"Map of Taiwan" drawn in the first year of the Yongzheng Emperor (1723)


In 1732 (the 10th year of Yongzheng), Wu Fusheng (Zhu Yigui's former subordinate) rebelled. After the insurrection was put down, dense thickets of thorny bamboo began to be planted outside the wooden palisade. At the same time, the Qing Court lifted the ban on crossing to Taiwan. Since that time, the ban was lifted and reinstated five or six times, but the number of people crossing to Taiwan steadily increased.

In 1735/6 (the First Year of the Qianlong Emperor), eight city gates made of stone were erected.

In 1741 (the 6th year of Qianlong), merchants raised funds to establish the "Sanyitang" as a meeting place. The name "Sanyitang" comes from the Analects of Confucius. Confucius said: "Three kinds of friends are beneficial, and three types are harmful. Friends who are upright, sincere, and knowledgeable are beneficial."

The contact between the individual traders was becoming more and more frequent. In order to reduce transportation costs and maintain navigation safety, the more wealthy firms were often entrusted with coordinating purchasing, transportation, and sales. Gradually, large firms formed trade groups that specialized in gathering goods and then dividing them for sale through various channels.

Most of the offices and warehouses of these groups were located in the Five Channels area outside the West Gate, and since the transactions they made were sufficiently large, these groups were international trading companies in every sense of the term. "Jiao 郊" became a special term for used for such trading groups all over Taiwan.

Due to the incompetence of the Qing administration and rampant piracy, the merchants and people had to unite to resist bandits and to protect themselves. The merchants engaged in import and export trade organized "Jiao 郊" in order to maintain good relations with their peers and promote the interests of everyone concerned.

The 7th year of Qianlong (1742) "Overall Map of the Taiwan Administration" in the "Records of the Reconstruction of Fujian and the Taiwan Administration". On this map, Tainan is clearly protected by wooden fences and thorny bamboo.

In 1749 (the 14th year of Qianlong), Xia Hu, the magistrate of Taiwan, planted pencil cactus (Euphorbia tirucalli Linn.), a shrub with poisonous juice, outside the bamboo for extra protection.

In 1750 (the 15th year of Qianlong) The coastline prior to the 15th year of Qianlong formed a bay in the locality of Jingfu Temple and Shuixian Temple, where ships converged. The original Dajingtou (the old ferry) was now about 450 meters away from the sea, since the coastline had shifted west to what is now Haian Road.




By 1752 (the 17th year of Qianlong reign), the "City Map" in "The County Chronicles of the Reconstruction of Taiwan " shows the Five Channels already beginning to take shape. The Shuixian Temple is within the West Gate.


The "Qianlong Taiwan Map " completed in the 24th year of that emperor (1759). It is worth noting that the wooden palisade on the west side of the city is not connected with the West Gate.

The three principal trading houses were founded in the following order, and collectively came to be known as the "Sanjiao" (三郊):

In 1765 (the 30th year of Qianlong), the Northern House was established: it was composed of more than 20 merchants, and led by the company called Su Wanli.

In 1772 (the 37th year of Qianlong), The Southern House was established: it comprised more than 30 merchants, and was led by the company named Jin Yongshun. Jin Yongshun was founded by a Cantonese man surnamed Zhong.

In 1780 (the 45th year of Qianlong), The Sugar House was set up: it consisted of about 50 merchants, represented by the trading company called Li Shengxing founded by Li Yuan.

The Northern House traded with ports north of Fuzhou, Fujian Province, and specialized in the import of medicinal materials, silk, and other goods from northern and southern China. The leader was the company known as Su Wanli .

The Southern House did business with ports south of Fuzhou, Fujian Province, and concentrated on the purchase of shredded tobacco, ceramics, and bricks and tiles. It was headed by the trading company Jin Yongshun .

The Sugar House was mainly engaged in the export of sugar, rice, beans, and hemp and their shipment between the various ports around Taiwan. The leader was the company called Li Shengxing .

In 1796 (the First Year of the Jiaqing Emperor), these three houses were further combined into the large collective, which we have already stated became known as the "Sanjiao" (三郊).

At that time, the system of business was made up of the following elements:

"Outlets" or "Shops" (鋪) were mainly retailers, specializing in sale to the public.

"Companies" (行) were the stores and guilds focusing on wholesale, mass production and purchase, and retail as a secondary business.

"Houses" (郊) specialized in large-scale production for export, or imports of goods in large quantities, followed by wholesale to the "Companies" (行).


The contemporary "Poem of the Sea" by Liu Jiamou mentions four major surnames associated with the trading ports: "Cai, Guo, Huang, and Lu are the principal surnames, but the powerful often abuse those in the suburbs. Who would think that merely by bringing out the halberds teams can be formed, and the five-colored banners shine along the seashore." The spheres of influence of the five major surnames in the Five Channels region were distributed as follows: Xingangqian Port (Huang), Fotou Port (Cai), Nanshi Port (Xu), Zhendutou (the City Ferry Point) (Guo), and Nanhe Port (Lu).

In 1775 (the 40th year of Qianlong), Jiang Yuanshu, the Prefect of Taiwan, added thorny Variegated Coralnean (Erythrina variegata Linn.) and Chinese screw pines (Pandanus odoratissimus), erected a small west gate, and renovated the fort and huts used by the soldiery. In addition, a new palisade was constructed within the old one with the original height increased by just over one meter. After the Little West Gate was added, Tainan had a total of eight gates.

In 1776 (the 41st year of Qianlong), the Qing government reaffirmed the sea crossing ban for the last time, but this prohibition gradually came to be ignored, and a large number of immigrants poured in to Taiwan, forming a wave of immigration.

"The Illustrated Reconstruction of Taiwan County and City" from the forty-second year of Qianlong (1777) organized by the Prefect (Magistrate) of Taiwan, Jiang Yuanshu. It can be seen that there was no wooden fence on the west side of Tainan at that time, but an additional length of palisade had been erected on the north and south flanks to strengthen the defenses.

In 1786 (the 51st year of Qianlong), the Lin Shuangwen Rebellion took place.

In 1788 (the 53rd year of Qianlong), Fu Kangan, the imperial envoy who put down the rebellion, advised Qianlong to build a new city wall using brick and stone materials. This plan was approved, and the locations of Great West Gate and Little West Gate were moved to add nine square kilometers of living space inside the city walls. Yang Tingli, the Prefect of Taiwan at the time, replaced the original wooden fence with an earth and stone wall, which had clay mixed with oyster shell ash, syrup, and glutinous rice juice plastered on the outside to make the structure more solid and durable. The Great West Gate was moved inward from Xiluo Temple to what is now Ximen Road, while the Little West Gate was moved outward.

However, since the city faces the sea on its west side, the city wall of those days still only protected the north, east, and south sides. It was therefore described as being like "a half moon sinking into the waters". (Volume 1 of "The County Chronicles of the Continuation of the Reconstruction of Taiwan" written by Xie Jinluan in 1807).

In 1796 (the First Year of the Jiaqing Emperor), the merchants formed themselves into the large organization which became the famous "Sanjiao 三郊", or "Three Great Houses of Commerce".

In 1805/1806 (the 10th year of Jiaqing), there was no city wall to serve as a protective barrier around the Five Channels commercial area. In order to protect property and ensure personal safety, merchants recruited volunteer soldiers to deal with pirates and brigands. The merchants realized that in future it would be difficult to preserve their businesses without the help of the entire community. Therefore, in order to benefit society and help themselves and others, they established the Three Houses "Head Office" on the left side of the Shuixian Temple. This headquarters was called the "Sanyitang", or The Hall of Three Benefits. As mentioned above, The name "Sanyitang" comes from the Analects of Confucius. Confucius said: "Three kinds of friends are beneficial, and three types are harmful. Friends who are upright, sincere, and knowledgeable are beneficial." The Shuixian Temple therefore became the commercial center of Tainan.

The "Sanyitang" not only coordinated the import and export business of the Five Channels, but also applied its robust financial resources to support various construction projects in Tainan, such as the building of temples and bridges, the paving of roads, and the dredging of the Five Channels. In addition, disaster relief, charitable works, mediation of civil disputes, and even assistance to the Imperial Officials in defense of the city. It thus became an important force for social stability at that time. Of course, at the same time, it also created a glorious prosperous period for the merchants of the Three Great Houses of Commerce.

The Sanjiao were afraid that Cai Qian (a bold and savage pirate who claimed the title of King of the Seas) might attack Tainan, so they spent 6,000 taels of silver out of their own pockets to erect a 3.48 kilometer-long palisade surrounding the Five-Channels area from the Little West Gate to the Little North Gate. The construction reportedly took a mere three days to complete. Unfortunately, no ancient maps showing this wooden fence seem to have survived to our day.

In 1807 (the 12th year of Jiaqing), according to the city map which appears in the "The County Chronicles of the Continuation of the Reconstruction of Taiwan", the west gates of Tainan were finally connected by walls, and a completely closed city came into being for the very first time! This may have become possible at that time due to the drying out and hardening of the relatively new land which had appeared in what used to be the Taijiang Inner Sea.


The city map which appears in the "The County Chronicles of the Continuation of the Reconstruction of Taiwan" from the 12th year of Jiaqing (1807)


In 1823 (the 3rd year of Daoguang), a powerful typhoon and storm in July diverted the course of the Zengwen River (formerly known as the Ouwang River) and directly deposited a large amount of sediment into the ​​Taijiang Inner Sea. It rained heavily and continuously for 7 days and 7 nights, and the rainwater from the upper reaches of the river came rushing downstream bringing earth and rocks which broke the banks and went straight into the Inner Sea near Sucuojia in Anding.

(圖取自李文良的清代臺灣的「港戶」及其水域權利 ── 以臺江內海新灣二港為例 - 台灣大學學術期刊資料庫)

The good news was that new land had formed in the west of Tainan that could be used for living and commercial activities.

The bad news was that the Five Channels were blocked off from the sea. The Sanjiao therefore had no choice but to spend a huge amount of money to dig a canal (now known as the Old Tainan Canal), so that the northernmost Xingangqian Channel could be reconnected through the Yanshui Creek to the sea at Sicao. The modern location of the ancient canal is between Lane 406 of Anping Road and Lane 100 of Anbei Road.




The location of the "Old Canal" dug in the 1820s.




The mural at the entrance to Xiejin Elementary School on Minsheng Road Section 2.





Xiejin Elementary School is built at the location where the Old Canal connected with the Five Channels.

The original main business artery of Nanshi Channel (also sometimes called Beishi Channel as it ran parallel to Beishi Street), had gradually silted up and narrowed, so commercial activities were transferred to Xingangqian Channel, the northernmost port.

In 1832 (the 12th year of Daoguang), Zhang Bing launched an anti-Qing rebellion in the hope of restoring the Ming Dynasty system with himself as leader. The people of the Five Channels area outside the city wall were exposed to danger and became extremely worried.

In 1835 (the 15th year of Daoguang), the Qing officials accepted the suggestion of the wealthy local merchants and approved the building of an outer city wall of earth and stone in order to reassure the people. This "Outer Wall" began at the Little West Gate, encircled the Five Channels area, and ended at the Little North Gate. Three gates were built in the Outer Wall, all named after the Eight Trigrams of the I-Ching. To the southwest was the "Dian" Kun Gate, to due west was the "Dui" Yue Gate, and to the northwest was the Gong "Qian" Gate. There was also a cannon range installed. Only the Dui Yue Gate survives today.



The Dui Yue Gate photographed in November 2022


In 1842 (the 22nd year of Daoguang), "the sea rose violently, and sandbanks emerged all the way to Anping Town. They reached the wall of the Great West Gate". The seven sandbars (known as The Seven Kunshen) in the Taijiang Inner Sea had all become connected in a line which reached the Tainan City area on mainland Taiwan. Kunshen (a whale or large fish from Chinese mythology ) is a metaphor for these sandbanks which looked like the humped backs of whales appearing just above the surface of the waters.

"Map of Taiwan" in the 29th year of Daoguang (1849). The Outer Wall encircling the Five Channels commercial area is clearly visible beyond the main city wall.


The gradual changes in the coastline can be easily understood by comparing maps from different periods of the Qing Dynasty.


"Illustration of Sea Frontiers" from the early years of the Yongzheng Emperor (1720s).


"Tainan City Map" from the 17th year of Qianlong (1752).



"Tainan City Map" from the 12th year of Jiaqing (1807) . By this time, the Five Channels business district had formed outside the Great West Gate, but it had not yet been protected by an outer wall. The above three pictures show that the Mazu Temple was situated ever farther away from the coastline as the years passed.

In 1862 (the First year of the Tongzhi Emperor), the city wall of Tainan was damaged by a powerful earthquake which affected the central and southern regions of Taiwan, and large-scale repairs were needed. The earthquake caused the already-damaged structure of Fort Provintia to collapse completely.

In 1867 (the 5th year of Tongzhi), the Sanjiao (the united organization of the Three Great Houses of Commerce) resorted to "dirty tricks". A Scottish trader named James Tait set up a branch of Tait & Co. in Anping, and the transportation capacity of its large ocean-going ships along abundant capital made it impossible for local merchants to compete. In terms of political influence, financial strength, and shipping tonnage, the Sanjiao were hopelessly outmatched by the newly-arrived foreign company. And if these factors were not dispiriting enough, there were also a group of Han Chinese in Anping who were acting as paid intermediaries or agents for the British merchants, enabling them to locate new sources of goods with the greatest possible efficiency.

The book "Storytelling in the Temple Courtyards" written by Wang Haoyi describes what happened next:

"The local merchants were quickly losing their business, so they employed a 'dirty trick' and secretly buried a 'stone arrow' beneath the Dui Yue Gate, which was an arrowhead made of stone. They planned to use the Chinese art of Fengshui (or geomancy) to ruin the business of the foreigners in Anping. The Old Stone Street running up to the Gate was seen as the shaft of the arrow, and the winding city walls on the left and right of the Dui Yue Gate were the bow. The arrow pointed directly at the Anping area. So one night, the merchants of the Sanjiao gathered under the Dui Yue Gate, an altar was set up to worship at, and everyone burned incense and prayed, hoping that their arcane ritual would adversely effect the Fengshui at Anping and bring the trade and prosperity back to the Five Channels."

"The Street as the Arrow Shaft and the Walls as the Bow."

However, the Han Chinese agents of the British traders already knew about the stone arrow, so they set up two "stone generals" in Anping to ward off evil and to block the 'arrows' shot from the Dui Yue Gate with two swords. These two stone generals are now enshrined in the Hall of the Generals on the left side of Tianhou (Mazu) Temple in Anping.

The Two Stone Generals at the Tianhou (Mazu) Temple in Anping.

In 1874 (the 13th year of Tongzhi), the city wall was newly restored using the earth pounding method and clay mixed with oyster shell ash, syrup, and glutinous rice juice. After years of work, city wall was given a new life. However, this work proved to be in vain, for in 1895 the era of the Japanese Occupation of Taiwan began. In order to expand the area of the city, the walls and gates had to be demolished.

In 1899 (Meiji Year 32), the "Tainan City Planning Commission" began to pull down the old city wall and embark upon the reconstruction of municipal Tainan.

In 1907 (Meiji Year 40), the city wall between the Great West Gate and the Little West Gate was demolished in order to open what is now Ximen Road Section 2.

In 1915 (Taisho Year 4), the section of wall from the Little West Gate to Tainan Prison (now Ximen Road Section 1), and the section from the Little North Gate to the Great West Gate (Ximen Road Section 3) met with the same fate.

In 1918 (Taisho Year 7), in order to lay out new roads and a railway line, more sections of the wall and its adjoining gates were pulled down.

Most of the fallen city walls were used as building materials, and only the Great East Gate, the Great South Gate, and the Little West Gate have survived to this day. In 1970, because Tainan City Government wished to widen the road, it was decided that the Little West Gate should be demolished. Fortunately, the President of National Cheng Kung University intervened, and the Little West Gate was relocated to the Guangfu Campus of the University and preserved for posterity.




In 1936, the Little West Gate was still at its original site (now the Little West Gate Traffic Circle).

"Jing Bo Gate"

"Little West Gate"



The remains of the Little West Gate (Jing Bo Gate) and the walls which adjoined the Little East Gate are preserved in the Guangfu Campus of National Cheng Kung University.


Other remaining city gates are the Nanning Gate (Great South Gate) and the Yingchun Gate (Great East Gate). Of course, the buildings we see today have been fairly extensively repaired and rebuilt.




Ningnan Gate (Great South Gate) in the early days of Japanese occupation.

The Great South Gate Barbican in Nanmen Park on Nanmen Road. It is the only gate with a barbican remaining in the whole of Taiwan.



The Great East Gate in 1936.


The Great East Gate from the other side in 1920.

The Great East Gate in the center of the traffic circle on Dongmen Road Section 1


The remains of the southern section of the city wall can still be seen opposite National Tainan University on Shulin Street Section 2.





A portion of the wall which in the past would have been situated between the Great South Gate and the Little South Gate. The Little South Gate was located at what is now the junction between Kaishan Road and Shulin Street Section 2.


A reconstruction of what how the Little South Gate might have appeared in the nineteenth century.


In the early 20th century, the Sanjiao operated by the Three Great Houses of Comerce was taken over by the Taiwan Governor-General of Japan and restructured into the Tainan Prefecture Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which was the forerunner of the Tainan City Chamber of Commerce, as well as the chambers of commerce in places like Jiayi and Yunlin.


Eventually, the Five Channels became unnavigable due to the silting up of the waterways. The Sanjiao was finally formally disbanded in 1941. In 1944, the U.S. Army surveyed Tainan City, and from their map it can be seen that by this time the Five Channels had disappeared altogether, leaving only the Old Canal still identifiable. Of course, the once prosperous Sanjiao, which had played such an important part in the history of Tainan in the 18th and 19th centuries, had long since been consigned to a page in history.