Anping Old Fort

In 1624, the Dutch built 'Fort Zeelandia' in Anping, which is now known as Anping Old Fort. It served as the central hub of Dutch rule and a key center for foreign trade. The original architectural layout was divided into a square inner fort and a rectangular outer fort. In 1661, after Koxinga (Zheng Chenggong) arrived in Taiwan and expelled the Dutch, he renamed the area Anping. Consequently, Fort Zeelandia was also called 'Wangcheng' (King's City) or 'Taiwancheng' (Taiwan City) and is commonly known as Anping Old Fort. It is the earliest existing fortress in Taiwan. During the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, Taiwan was officially incorporated into the empire, and the political center was relocated to the Prefectural City, causing the fort to gradually lose its significance. Later, some of the fort's red bricks were repurposed for the construction of the Eternal Golden Castle. During the Japanese colonial era, the Dutch-style buildings in the inner fort were completely destroyed. A square brick platform was built around the site, with Western-style bungalows erected on top to serve as customs dormitories, giving it its present appearance as a memorial museum. After World War II, it was renamed Anping Old Fort. Today, more than 70 meters of the outer fort's southern wall remnants still stand beside the memorial museum, covered in climbing old banyan trees and weathered red bricks. It is the sole surviving historical relic from over 300 years, silently narrating the profound changes it has witnessed.