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Tainan is a city that preserves a wonderful blend of the old and the new. Considered as one of the oldest cities of Taiwan, Tainan preserves a history that stretches back to the Dutch settlement in the 16th century. The Dutch domination was subsequently ousted by the Ming ruler Koxinga under whom the waning Chinese culture received a fresh lease of life. The city still preserves its cultural heritage and stands as a one of the major cities of Taiwan. It is today the fourth largest city of Taiwan with a population of over one million people. Tainan is blessed with a fertile landscape that had drawn in the aboriginal tribes to settle here ten thousand years ago. Agriculture continues to be a major industry of the city and it has now emerged as one of the largest exporters of rice and sugar in the world. Major attractions of Tainan: As Tainan had been the capital of Taiwan fro nearly 200 years, the remnants of the imperial rule are scattered across the city. A camphorwood shrine of Matsu is a major attraction for the tourists in Tainan. The shrine had been brought by Koxinga himself, and still stands in Luerhmen, or Deer Ear Gate which had witnessed the entry of the Ming ruler. Tainan hosts a variety of festivals all round the year. For the past two years, the city had been holding the Taiwan Lantern Festivals. The city houses innumerable historical monuments of which some of the major are Koxinga’s Shrine and the 1665 Confucius Temple which stands as one of the finest remnants of ancient architecture.
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