Another bike ride to Tainan. This time, just into Tainan’s countryside. I left a little later than normal, and it was hotter and more humid than I really expected. I was going to take a different route into the city than on the last trip (revisit the last trip here), but I only got about two-thirds of the way.
The first half of the bike ride is the same as the previous trip. So I won’t share any of the same pictures, but here is what the rice fields look like after the rice has been harvested.
A new mascot in Ziguan梓官.
Entering Mituo 彌陀. It was hot out, but I wasn’t the only biker on the road.
Closed-down betel nut stands: healthier population or bad economy?
It was so hot out that I nearly biked into this cool sea for some relief.
After Mituo 彌陀區, I went through Hunei District 湖內區.
The first main stop was the grave of a Ming Dynasty prince.
Zhu Shugui (1617–1683), the Prince of Ningjing. A Ming royal descendant, he chose to hang himself rather than surrender to the invading Qing Dynasty. He was sent to Taiwan in 1663 to act as the royal representative and military supervisor for the Zheng family (Kingdom of Tungning) to rally anti-Qing forces.
In 1683, when the Qing forces defeated the Zheng regime and demanded surrender, Prince Ningjing resolved to die for the Ming Dynasty. His five concubines famously hanged themselves to accompany him in death. After burying them in Tainan, he committed suicide at the age of 66.
The people of Hunei admired the prince, so after he died, they were worried that the Qing forces would desecrate his grave; they built a tomb and 100 decoy tombs. The main tomb was rediscovered in 1937 by the Japanese, and his bones were no longer there. But the mausoleum is still there and a great rest stop.
Another stop was the old tomato cannery (蕃茄會社). I was lucky enough to ride out this way at the end of the phoenix tree blossom season. I wrote about this before; you can check out more here.
Another old factory that you can check out if you’re in the area.
Thomas Barclay, a Presbyterian clergyman, headed a group to discuss surrendering the city to the Japanese as the Japanese army advanced on Tainan. This is the house 太爺蘇家古厝 where the negotiations took place.
The façade of an old heater in Hunei. You can check out some more information here.
湖內陳氏洋樓 Chen Family Western House in Hunei. Built in the 1920s.
Crossing into Tainan.
After crossing into Tainan, it was hot and humid. I was dreading biking into the city and having to stop at so many lights. I thought it would be better to head over to the old Baoan Train Station and take the train back to Kaohsiung. If you want to learn more about this cool little train station, read this incredibly detailed blog post.
I took the train to Gangshan and got off. I then biked over to the beach to cool off before heading home.
Though I didn’t make it into Tainan City, it was still a great ride and a great day!.
Formosa>Ex 