Anping Old Street (安平老街) @ Tainan City [Taiwan]

To be totally honest, I assumed the above was the anping old street, said to be the oldest in the entire island of Taiwan, since it was marked accordingly on Google Maps! 

It was much narrower and the fact was that it's known as Yanping Street, although Anping sticks purely because of the historical district it was named after, back in 1661, before the establishment of the Qing dynasty.

Well, it didn't quite give the feel of an old street as the buildings didn't look like they were century-old (decade-old at most). Nevertheless, Tainan was said to be a food paradise and I guess we can find traditional edibles on this journey.

One of them would definitely be the candied fruits, or preserved fruits, where Tainan is said to make the best in Taiwan! Our local friend from Chiayi even asked us to buy some for his family and we got ours from 正合興蜜餞行.

Leather products; so many I would love to buy! 

Another must buy from Tainan would be their shrimp crackers! They were not bad tasting but took up too much luggage space; in addition, with a high risk of damage! 

How the shrimp crackers were made. 

Like a cannon shooting its ball.

Interestingly, the street wasn't as crowded as I thought it would be. The main adjacent street, known as Gubao Street, had a lot more people even though it could be because of the proximity to the historical structures like the fortress where most visitors would visit.

Another preserved fruits stall; just wondering how sustainable would this industry be in the future as most youngsters nowadays don't find such "snacks" appealing?

Traditional pastries similar to what we can find in Singapore.

I have never seen the above before though; I took a sample and while they looked like buns with a thin shell, the airy inside contained an appetising sugary paste. 

Bak kwa is not uncommon in Singapore too; however, the ones here in Taiwan were so thick! I thought it would result in a satisfying bite, and turned out to be like eating a sweet version of thick cut luncheon meat. I still like my bak kwa to have that lil bit of charred edges.

Vibrantly colored small bags which felt more like a Japanese design. As Taiwan was colonized by Japan for quite a long period of time, there were often elements of Japanese culture found in Taiwan. 

Wood was also heavily featured in many of the souvenirs. In case some of you aren't aware, Japan actually had a thriving wood industry here in Taiwan, and plantations of Japanese cedar can still be found in areas like Alishan! 

Don't understand the recent fascination with stickers.

Wooden clogs! Even though I belonged to an era where my grandparents and parents were comfortable in wearing clogs, I have never learnt and understood how they work! 

One of the traditional shops along the street; in Chinese, the shop's name was translated to leather case. What's more interesting would be the bronze artifact hung up in the middle. A lion holding a sword with its month; this is literally the mascot of Tainan. 

Yet another preserved fruits store. 

I love piggy banks and this drew my immediate attention! Would I get another piggy bank to add to my collection, which now stands at over 50? Click here to find out more about 豬飼料柑仔店! 

Damn, I really can't resist these beautiful souvenirs! I have bought a lot though; and there's only so many bags I have, and my house has only one fridge! 

Glove puppets from Taiwan Puppetry! 

Another heritage that's losing appeal. 

Chanced upon this archeological pit said to showcase the street foundations back when the Dutch colonized the island; from 1624 to 1662 and from 1664 to 1668.

A temple that honoured the City God.

I thought Fu De is the God of Wealth.

Anping Handmade Egg Roll (安平手工蛋捲).

Again, can't buy for home as they break easily! 

Random photographs taken before we end the post. How long do you think this Anping Old Street is? It may only be about 262 meters long but I bet some of you can spend hours here! I didn't even explore it in its full entirety! 

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Address

Yanping St, Anping District, 

Tainan City, Taiwan 

Map

As above.

Click HERE for 11 Days, 10 Nights Taiwan Trip: Summarised Itinerary for Chiayi Alishan (嘉义阿里山) - Kaohsiung (高雄) - Tainan (台南) - Taichung (臺中)