Tainan, the ancient capital of Taiwan, is the island's oldest city. With its long history, Tainan is rich in historic sites and cultural heritage.

The city was settled in 1590. It was taken over by the Dutch and used as their headquarters from 1624 to 1662. In 1653, the present towers were built on the foundation of Fort Provintia, which was constructed by the Dutch to serve as an administrative centre. The towers now house a small museum containing artefacts from the Dutch days.

In 1661, Koxinga, a national hero, liberated Taiwan from Dutch colonialism and established his government in this city. Afterward, he endeavoured to develop it as a prosperous city. Since then, the City of Tainan became prosperous and finally rooted its appearance of a metropolitan city.

Up to 1684, the Chin Empire conquered Taiwan and established the "Taiwan Fu" as the first official local government in Taiwan. In 1885, "Taiwan Fu" was renamed as "Tainan Fu" in accordance with the establishment of Taiwan Province. Therefore, the name of "Tainan" is actually derived from such a history.

Until the transfer of government to Taipei in 1885, Tainan served as the political, cultural, and economic centre of  the island. A cultural centre, it has many temples, the shrine of Koxinga, and a modern college of engineering.

In recent years, with urbanization and an increase in population, Tainan has developed new districts and re-planned areas outside the downtown area. Special plans have been developed in the goal of preserving and rejuvenating local cultural heritage and historical monuments.

Nowadays, Tainan is the fourth largest city of Taiwan. It has industries producing metals, textiles, machinery, processed foods, and handicrafts. It is also a centre for the marketing and processing of sugarcane, rice, peanuts, and salt, and there is an important fishing industry.

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