Tainan Yanshui: A Little Town That Charms

TEXT | STEVEN CROOK

PHOTOS | VISION

A rural district in the far north of Tainan City, the town of Yanshui is mainly known for the Yanshui Beehive Fireworks Festival. For the local faithful this is an important religious ritual; for the young and daring, however, it is more of a crazy thrill. Except for this event, Yanshui is quiet and peaceful for most of the year, which is good news if you come to explore the town’s old streets and alleys.

For a good chunk of Taiwan’s modern history, i.e. since Han Chinese started migrating across the Taiwan Strait in numbers in the early 1600s, Yanshui ranked as one of the island’s four most important settlements. Before the 20 th century, trade between one part of Taiwan and another depended on boats. Unfortunately for Yanshui’s merchants, throughout the 19 th century accumulating sediment pushed the Taiwan Strait ever further away, at the same time blocking the channels cargo vessels had to navigate to reach the port. The town ceased to be an entrepot of importance, and in the early 20 th century was overtaken by other places on the main north-south railroad, completed in 1908.

Because the town has never sprawled, it’s possible to walk from the northernmost attraction, the Wu Temple, through the old downtown to Yuejingang Riverside Park in less than 20 minutes. But it’s unlikely you’ll want to move so quickly during a visit. Yanshui’s backstreets reward those willing to explore every nook and cranny.

The Wu Temple, founded in the late 17 th century, is dedicated to Guan Gong, a leading light in Taiwan’s folk pantheon. Said to have been a general who lived and died in China more than 1,800 years ago he’s now worshiped by businesspeople and police officers, among others.

Almost every depiction of Guan Gong shows him with a crimson complexion and a halberd-like weapon in his hand. The larger-than-life statue of the god that stands in the grounds of the Wu Temple follows these conventions, and it’ll likely catch your eye before you notice the Yanshui Cultural Museum, a rather humdrum building located between the statue and the temple.

Much of the museum is devoted to the Yanshui Beehive Fireworks Festival, which celebrates the godly intervention that defeated a cholera outbreak in the town in the 1880s. As the epidemic worsened, townsfolk urged Guan Gong to intercede. They carried effigies of the deity through the streets, burned joss paper, and hurled firecrackers in every direction to drive off the evil forces haunting them. This shock and awe campaign did the trick. The disease quickly receded, but this deafening-yet-thrilling ritual has been repeated each year ever since.

The night of the “beehives” is the only time each year when outsiders inundate Yanshui, but the town is worth visiting any day of the year. The unique building known as the Octagon Pavilion, for instance, is best appreciated when there are no crowds. This two-floor structure was built in 1847 for a salt-and-sugar magnate. Many of the materials used in its construction, such as China fir and blocks of limestone, came from China as ballast on ships returning near-empty after shipping Taiwanese commodities to the mainland. If you’re hungry, now is a good time to make a sustenance stop. A stone’s throw from the Octagon Pavilion, the Yinfeng Ice Shop serves a wide range of fresh juices and shaved-ice dishes to take out or enjoy on-site.

Stomachs craving hot food should seek out the unpretentious dish that’s come to be associated with Yanshui. Yimian consists of wheat noodles usually served with some pork gravy and bean sprouts, flavored with a little crushed garlic. Portions tend to be quite small, so order a soup to go with your noodles.

Having refueled, the obvious direction to go is south, to the Yongcheng Theater. This elegant and carefully restored building was originally a rice mill, but was later transformed into a place where locals could watch movies and enjoy the occasional live-theater performance.

From the theater, it’s less than 100m to the Yuejingang Riverside Park. You’d never guess it from the site’s green and pleasant appearance, but this is where the merchant junks of old used to tie up and unload. Some of that era’s atmosphere is preserved south of the park, along the Qiaonan Old Street, said to be Yanshui’s oldest thoroughfare. At least a dozen of the single-story houses here, mainly built of wood, predate the official closure of the port in 1900.

Yanshui also boasts what’s probably Taiwan’s most remarkable Christian place of worship, the Holy Trinity Catholic Church. The interior is as dazzlingly colorful as the most ornate Buddhist or Daoist temple. Zoom in on the mural of The Last Supper: The men have Asian faces and hairstyles, wear traditional Chinese clothes, and eat steamed buns with chopsticks.

0925-137-596 No. 87, Wumiao Rd., Yanshui District, Tainan City ( 台南市鹽水區武廟路 87 號 )

(06) 652-2202 No. 1, Zhongshan Rd., Yanshui District, Tainan City ( 台南市鹽水區中山路 1 號 )

(06) 652-5078 No. 2-8, Zhongshan Rd., Yanshui District, Tainan City ( 台南市鹽水區中山路 2-8 號 )

(06) 652-1174 No. 19, Ximen Rd., Yanshui District, Tainan City ( 台南市鹽水區西門路 19 號 ) (closed Monday and Tuesday)

If you don't have your own means of transport, you'll find getting to Yanshui by public transportation is a piece of cake. Take a train to Xinying Railway Station, walk to the bus station not far from the train station, and board one of the 50-plus Brown Line services each day for the 20-minute journey to Yanshui.

Guan Gong 關公

Octagon Pavilion 八角樓

Qiaonan Old Street 橋南老街

Yanshui 鹽水

Yanshui Beehive Fireworks Festival 鹽水蜂炮

Yanshui Cultural Museum 鹽水文物陳列室

yimian 意麵

Yongcheng Theater 永成戲院

Yuejingang Riverside Park 月津港親水公園