Tainan——

theheartofTaiwanDiscoverTaiwan’cultureandhistoryintheisland’soldestcityLocalssaythattovisitTainanistofeeltheheartofTaiwan.Astheisland’soldestcity,youcanrelivethepastasyouwalkthroughDutch-builtfortsandotherhistoricstructuresbuiltcenturiesago.Getatasteofthefamouslocalcuisine,anddon’tbesurprisedifvenders(小販；攤販)

tellyouthatrecipesareoverahundredyearsold.“Everythingisoldhere,exceptus,”saysalocalshopowner.“Ilovethewarmheartsofthepeoplehere.Thatneverchanges.”BeginyourtourattheAnping(安平)TreeHouse.Builtinthe19thcenturyasawarehouse(倉庫；貨倉)forBritishtradingcompanyTait&Co.,thebuildingwasabandonedin1935.Sincethen,agiantbanyantreehasmadeitshomethere.HistoricalrootsUponenteringtheTreeHouse,you’llfindyourselfinawildjungle.Rootsofallsizescreepalongtheceilings,leavingyouinaweoftheirimmense(巨大的;廣大的)reach.NexttotheTreeHousestandstheTait&Co.MerchantHouse,whichincludeslife-sizedwaxdisplaysofthecity’sbeginningsandcolonialinfluences.LearnhowTainanbeganasasleepyfishingvillageandevolved(逐步發(fā)展；逐步演變)intoamajorport.Wetlands(濕地)ofwonder

TwentyminutesfromthecitycenterisTaijiang(臺江)NationalPark.Thisparkincludesriverestuaries(河口；海口灣),

mangrove(紅樹林)forestsandswampsthatarehometo200speciesofbirdsincludingegretsandherons.Lookfortheendangered(瀕臨絕種的)black-facedspoonbill,thepark’srarestvisitor.Withbeaksinthedelightfulshapeofaspoon,thisbirdscoopsupsomefood,tossesitintheairandcatchesitinitsmouth.Exploringforts

Afteryoureturntothecity,strollthroughthemanyfortsthatoncestoodguardoverOldTainan.AnpingOldFortwasoncetheDutchmilitaryandcommercialbaseinTaiwan.Thecannonsremindoneofitsformermilitaryprowess(英勇；無畏).Evenmoreinterestingarethefortresswalls–constructedfromcrushedoyster(牡蠣)

shellsmixedwithsugarwaterandstickyrice.Thebest-preservedfortisChihkanTower(赤崁樓).Surroundedbyacourtyard(天井；庭院)

thatresemblesanoutdoormuseum,thebuildingfeaturesninestoneturtlescarryingsteles(石柱；石碑)ontheirbackswithpoemsbyEmperorQianlong(乾隆帝)oftheQingDynasty.CompleteyourtourbycatchingthesunsetovertheLuerhmen(鹿耳門溪)River.Timeslowsdownwhenyougazeuponfishermenreturningtoport,bambooraftsandfloatingoysterracks.Takethispicture-perfectscenewithyou,andyou’llalwaysrememberthewarmthyoufeltintheheartofTaiwan.TainaninaBowl

Tainannativestakegreatprideintheirtraditionalfoods.Fromseafoodtodesserts,youwillneverrunoutofgoodthingstoeat.TanTsainoodles

TuHsiaoYuehisconsideredtheoldestrestaurantinTainanandisespeciallyknownforitsTanTsainoodles.Thismust-eatdishcombinesashrimp-basedbrothwiththinnoodlestoppedwithmincedporksauce.Keepinmindthisisn’tjustanyregularmeatsauce–ithasbeenstewedforninehoursinapanthathasbeenpasseddownthroughgenerations!ShrimprollsAnotherTainandelicacy,crispyshrimprolls（蝦卷）

dippedinalittlewasabiwillhaveyouaskingforseconds.Therollsarefilledwithafreshshrimppastethenbreadedandfried.Anpingmilkfishporridge

Freshfromlocalfisheries,milkfishsimmeredtogetherwithriceinafishbroth（虱目魚）

isalocalcomfortfood.Coffinbread

ThisdishwasaJapaneseinventionthatremainspopulartothisday.TheTaiwanesegaveitthenickname“coffinbread”（棺材板）

becausewedgesofthicktoastarefilledwithcreamymeatfilling.BeanJelly

Tong-jiAnPingBeanJelly（豆花）

isafamily-runbusinessthatspansseveralgenerations.Thistofupuddingordouhuacanbeorderedhotorcoldandismadeonpremiseswiththefreshestingredients.Itisagreatsnackanytimeofday.WordBankvendor(n)

[‘v?nd?]小販；攤販warehouse(n)[‘w??haus]倉庫；貨倉；貨棧immense(adj)[i‘mens]巨大的;廣大的;無邊無際的;無限的evolve(v)[i‘v?lv]逐步發(fā)展；逐步演變endangered(adj)[in‘deind??d]瀕臨絕種的oyster(n)[‘?ist?]牡蠣