Tainan City: A Layering of 261 Years as Capital, 400 Years of Antiquity, and 21st Century Chips on One Land

30-Second Overview: The Dutch East India Company began building Fort Zeelandia on the sand dunes in Dàyuán (Anping) in 1624, completing it in 1634. The walls were constructed using glutinous rice paste, sugar syrup, sand, and oyster shell powder¹. On the morning of April 30, 1661, Zheng Chenggong led 400 warships and 25,000 soldiers into Tainan Inner Sea through Lukaimen². On February 1, 1662, Coyett signed the Treaty of Peace between the Qing and Dutch in this fort; on February 9, 2,000 Dutchmen departed by sea from the beach³. The Dutch occupation lasted 38 years. In 1665, Chen Yonghua built the Kong Miao (Confucian Temple), which was called the "First School of All Taiwan" after the Qing period⁴. In 1684, the Qing court established Tainan Prefecture in present-day Tainan; from 1624 to 1885, Tainan served as the administrative center of Taiwan for 261 consecutive years. On noon, March 13, 1947, Lawyer Tang Dezhang was tied up and paraded through the streets before being shot in the MinSheng Green Park roundabout⁵. On December 25, 2010, Tainan County merged to become a municipality with 37 districts and approximately 1.86 million residents. In 2023, the annual revenue of Southern Science Park exceeded 1.5855 trillion NTD, surpassing Hsinchu by 142 billion NTD⁶. The investment of 700 billion NTD for TSMC's 3nm wafer fab is built upon this plain where the Dutch raised their flag 400 years ago.

The Day Coyett Handed Over the Keys on the Beach

On that day, 2,000 Dutchmen stood on the beach.

On February 9, 1662, Dutch settlers from various parts of Taiwan arrived in Dàyuán. They boarded 8 Dutch ships awaiting departure. The Chinese Wikipedia records: "Coyett handed over the keys to Fort Zeelandia to Zheng officials, and Zheng Chenggong entered Fort Zeelandia to receive the fortress and its assets."³

⚠️ There is a detail often confused in Chinese sources regarding the surrender date: February 1, 1662, Coyett signed the Koxinga–Dutch Treaty inside Fort Zeelandia; February 9 was the day the Dutch finally left. English Wikipedia and most European historical records use February 1 as the surrender date (signing date), while Chinese sources often use February 9 (departure date). This article reconstructs this process using both dates: "Signed on Feb 1, 1662, departed on Feb 9"³.

The fort stood for 38 years.

In 1624, the Dutch East India Company began constructing Fort Zeelandia (also known as Tainan Fortress) on the sand dunes in Dàyuán (present-day Anping). The Taiwan Guanghua magazine's verbatim record states: "The 'Fort Zeelandia,' built on the sand dunes, and 'Tainan Town' was constructed to the east of the fort."⁷ It was completed in 1634. The walls were made from glutinous rice paste, sugar syrup, sand, and oyster shell powder, with three layers inside and five cannons at each bastion in the four corners¹.

Anping Fort. Photo: Wikimedia Commons contributor, CC BY-SA 3.0.

In 1653, following the Guo Huaiyi Incident (an armed resistance by Han immigrants against heavy taxation by the Dutch) in 1652, the Dutch built Fort Provintia (the precursor to Chihkan Tower) on the east side of Dàyuán to consolidate their power, completing it in 1655⁷. From this time, Tainan's dual-fort structure was established: Fort Zeelandia by the sea and Fort Provintia on the shore.

The Dutch brought more than just castles. On May 26, 1636, they opened Taiwan's first school in Xinguang Village. Missionary Georgius Candidius used Roman script to transcribe the language of Xinguang Village (Xiraya), which is the earliest systematic written record in Taiwanese history⁸. Later generations called this the "Xinguang Documents" or "Fanzi Zi." This text was used until the Qing dynasty, with records extending to 1813 (Jiaqing 18), where the bilingual contract between the Xiraya and Han people was still in use⁸.

200 years. A script left by a Dutch missionary in 1636 survived longer than the Zheng dynasty or the early Qing period.

Lukaimen at Dawn: 400 Ships Enter Tainan Inner Sea

On the morning of April 30, 1661, 400 warships and 25,000 soldiers approached Tainan Inner Sea through Lukaimen².

The academic consensus is that according to Dutch Batavia documents, the precise time Zheng's army arrived at Lukaimen was 6:30 AM Batavia Time on April 30, 1661 (7:30 AM Taiwan Time), while Zheng's own records state the first day of the fourth month in Yongli 15². The vanguard landed on the north bank of Beishanwei and defeated a small contingent of Dutch troops stationed there. Zheng's army rested at Lukaimen until noon, during high tide, when He Bin navigated them through the Lukaimen waterway into Tainan Inner Sea.

From entering Tainan Inner Sea on April 30th to Coyett signing the surrender document in Fort Zeelandia on February 1st of the following year, it was 9 months.

📝 Curator's Note: History classes often portray Zheng Chenggong as a "national hero who recovered Taiwan" in a single sentence. But on April 30, 1661, "Taiwan" was Formosa belonging to the Dutch East India Company—an island where Xiraya and Han immigrants lived together for 38 years, completely different from later Qing-controlled Taiwan or modern ROC Taiwan. Zheng Chenggong came from Minnan; what he did was take this island from the Dutch East India Company and turn it into his anti-Qing base, not "recover" land that was originally part of China. The moment Coyett handed over the keys on February 9, 1662, Taiwan gained its first Han regime. For the preceding 38 years, it belonged to the Dutch; before that, it was inhabited by the four major Xiraya communities (Xinguang, Xiao, Mazu, Mujialuan) for thousands of years. The status of a "Han regime" and "returning to the motherland" are two different things; this was a dynastic change. Reducing this period to a single narrative of "Zheng Chenggong recovering Taiwan" is like compressing the multilingual, multi-ethnic, multi-imperial complexity of 17th-century Taiwan into a singular ethnic story. Tainan's multiple histories began with this nine-month siege.

Zheng only stayed in Tainan for 13 months.

On June 23, 1662 (the eighth day of the fifth month in Yongli 16), Zheng Chenggong died in Chengxian Prefecture (present-day Tainan), at the age of 38⁹. The cause of death is unclear, with no detailed medical records. From landing on April 30, 1661, to dying on June 23, 1662, his time in Taiwan was just over one year and two months.

Zheng Jing succeeded him, moving the Eastern Capital to Dongning (in 1664), appointing Chen Yonghua as an advisory general. Chen Yonghua accomplished two things that defined Tainan's shape for the next 350 years. First, in 1665 (Yongli 19), he proposed to Zheng Jing to "build a sacred temple and establish a school," selecting Guizai Village in Ningnan Ward of Chengxian Prefecture to build the Ancestral Temple (Kong Miao) and Minglun Hall⁴. The official description of Tainan Kong Miao states: "The Tainan Confucius Temple was established in Yongli 19 (1665), as a school founded on the suggestion of Chen Yonghua, an advisory general during Zheng Jing's reign."⁴ It was also noted that it "was the only school for local scholars in the early Qing period, hence called the 'First School of All Taiwan.'"⁴

Second, in the same year, he reformed the salt production method, changing from "boiling to drying" (from firewood boiling to sun-drying crystallization), marking the official start of Tainan's modernization of the salt industry¹⁰. This reform led to the 300-year history of Qixu and the Waban Salt Fields.

Tainan Kong Miao Main Hall. Photo: Wikimedia Commons contributor, CC BY-SA 4.0.

In July 1683, Shi Lang led the Qing army with over 200 warships and 20,000 soldiers to attack Taiwan. Zheng Kehai surrendered to the Qing. The Ming-Qing era ended after 21 years⁹.

The Plaque of the First School Still Hangs; The Red Bricks of Billion-Year Golden City are from Fort Zeelandia

In April 1684, the Qing court established Tainan Prefecture in Tainan, with its seat located in Dong'an Ward and belonging to Fujian Province¹¹. The Qing established a "One Prefecture, Three Counties" system: Tainan Prefecture (seat in Tainan), Tainan County (present-day Tainan), Fengshan County (present-day Kaohsiung/Pingtung), and Zhulu County (north of Chiayi).

In 1664, Zheng Jing welcomed King Ningjing Zhu Shugui to Taiwan, establishing the Ningjing Prince's Mansion (precursor to Dàtiānhòu Temple). After Shi Lang occupied Taiwan in 1683, the Ningjing Prince committed suicide as a loyal subject. Shi Lang petitioned the Qing court to convert the prince's mansion into a Mazu temple, and the Qing court elevated Mazu to "Queen Mother"¹¹. Dàtiānhòu Temple is the earliest official Mazu temple in Taiwan and the only one directly commissioned by the Qing court.

In the Qing dynasty, Tainan was the "Prefecture" of the "One Prefecture, Two Deer, Three Wancai." It ranked first among commercial cities in Taiwan¹¹. The three suburbs (North: Suwanli, South: Jin Yongshun, Sugar: Lishengxing, established around the 1720s) renovated the Five Routes Ports to control Tainan's trade power with mainland China.

Chihkan Tower. Photo: Wikimedia Commons contributor, CC BY-SA 4.0.

The Five Routes Ports (from North to South: Xinguangzaipo, Fotou Port, Nanxi Port, Nanhe Port, Anhai Port) were the busiest commercial waterways of the Prefecture during the Qianlong and Jiaqing reigns¹². Shennong Street (originally Beishi Street) was the commercial center of the Five Routes Ports for 300 years. However, a major storm in July 1823 (Qing Daoguang 3) caused Zeng Wenxi to change course, carrying large amounts of soil and rock, leading to large-scale land reclamation of Tainan Inner Sea within about seven days¹². The last remnant of the inner sea shrank into today's Qixu Lagoon. Anping Port became connected to the land; in the late 19th century, the port suffered severe siltation, forcing ships to anchor two nautical miles from the old harbor.

The port was lost, but the street pattern remained. The stone roads where suburban merchants hauled goods ashore from the port—which are photographed by young intellectuals in Tainan today at Shennong Street, Hai'an Road, and Five Routes Port Cultural Park—are a testament to this. Tainan is a city preserved by siltation.

In 1874, the Mudan Incident occurred when Japanese forces invaded Pingtung. The Qing court appointed Shen Baozhen of Fujian as the minister to handle the matter. Construction began in September 1874 (Tongzhi 13) and was completed in August 1876 (Guangxu 2), resulting in the construction of Eternal Golden City¹³. The Cultural Affairs Bureau of Tainan City government explicitly records: "Construction started in September 1874, completed in August 1876."⚠️ Some sources state "built in 1875" (counting from Guangxu Year 1), but the official record shows construction and completion in 1874 + 1876. This article uses this timeline.

Designed by French engineers Bordeaux and Ruff. The four-cornered bastion structure is Taiwan's only surviving bastion fort¹³. It was equipped with five British Armstrong 18-ton muzzle-loading cannons. The main gate bears the inscription "Eternal Golden City," and the back bears "Ten Thousand Streams Grinding Stone," both from Shen Baozhen's handwriting. Construction materials were taken from the dismantled red bricks of Fort Zeelandia. The Dutch castle was demolished and rebuilt as a cannon fort to defend against foreign forces during the Sino-French War. In 1884, when French forces blockaded Taiwan Strait and shelled Anping Sea, the defenders of Eternal Golden City fired back, driving away the French, who failed to land¹³.

Eternal Golden City. Photo: Wikimedia Commons contributor, CC BY-SA 4.0.

The Sino-French War ended in 1885. The Qing court declared Taiwan a province, appointing a Governor of Taiwan. The provincial capital was finally established in Taipei. The old Tainan Prefecture was renamed "Tainan Prefecture," and it lost its status as the administrative center of Taiwan for 261 years¹¹.

Counting from the Dutch establishment of Fort Zeelandia in 1624, from 1624 to 1885, Tainan was the administrative center of Taiwan for 261 years.⚠️ The calculation for 261 years: 38 years of the Dutch (1624-1662) + 21 years of Ming-Qing resistance (1662-1683) + 201 years of early Qing rule (1684-1885). From this year, the "capital" status was taken by Taipei. But what remained from those 261 years did not leave: the Kong Miao, Dàtiānhòu Temple, Chihkan Tower, Anping Fort, Eternal Golden City, and the street pattern of Five Routes Ports—Tainan became a city that "lost its capital status but kept its entire structure."

The Three Gunshots in MinSheng Green Park Roundabout

It was noon.

On March 13, 1947, Lawyer Tang Dezhang was tied up and paraded through the streets for public viewing. The location was the MinSheng Green Park roundabout in downtown Tainan, which was originally a square in front of the police station during the Japanese colonial period. Juzhen Taiwan's verbatim record states: "On March 13, 1947, Tang Dezhang was executed by Chinese troops in the center roundabout of Tainan City."⁵

After the outbreak of the 228 Incident, Tang Dezhang was appointed as the head of the Security Group of the Tainan branch of the 228 Incident Handling Committee to maintain order and protect citizens¹⁴. On March 11, the National Army's reorganized 21st Division entered Tainan for suppression, and two or three special police officers raided his home and arrested him. Juzhen Taiwan's verbatim account: "In order to protect related individuals, he refused to disclose any names even after various interrogations."⁵

The execution took place at noon on March 13. Juzhen Taiwan records: "At noon on March 13, Tang Dezhang was tied up and paraded through the streets for public viewing, walking toward the execution ground with a calm demeanor. He ended his life with a shocking cry of 'Long Live the Taiwanese!', followed by three gunshots."⁵

Tang Dezhang was born on January 6, 1907; his father was from Udu City, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, and his mother was from Nanhua, Tainan¹⁴. He audited law school at Tokyo Imperial University, passed the "Judicial Department High Civil Servant Examination" in September 1941, and opened a law office in Nanmen Town, Tainan, in 1943. He was only 40 years old when he died.

✦ "He ended his life with a shocking cry of 'Long Live the Taiwanese!', followed by three gunshots." (Juzhen Taiwan, Tang Dezhang Executed by Chinese Troops at MinSheng Green Park Roundabout on March 13, 1947⁵)

In 1998, the Tainan City government renamed MinSheng Green Park to "Tang Dezhang Memorial Park"¹⁴. In 2014, Lai Ching-te, then Mayor of Tainan, declared March 13 every year as "Tainan City Day of Justice and Courage."¹⁴

⚠️ This roundabout holds a timeline compressed by history: the Qing dynasty streets after Shen Baozhen renovated Tainan in 1875; the police square during the Japanese colonial period in the 1900s; the 228 execution site where Tang Dezhang was shot in 1947; the renaming in 1998; and the designation as a memorial day in 2014. A roundabout holding memories of five eras layered on the same asphalt.

Liu Yongfu's Inland Migration, Barclay Brings Japanese Troops into the City from Xiaonanmen

On April 17, 1895, the Treaty of Mastung was signed, ceding Taiwan to Japan. Local gentry in Tainan installed Liu Yongfu as the second President of the Black Flag Army and moved the capital to Tainan to continue resisting¹⁵. Liu Yongfu established "Duhu Post" and issued "Duhu Stamps" (July 31, 1895).

On October 20, 1895, seeing the tide turn, Liu Yongfu crossed over from Xiamen on a British merchant ship¹⁵. On October 21, local gentry Chen Xiufu and Wu Daoyuan requested intervention from the British missionary Thomas Barclay (1849-1935) and Pastor Song Zhongjian to negotiate with Nogi Kichiten of the Japanese Second Division. The Japanese army entered Tainan City through Xiaonanmen, marking the formal end of the Republic of Taiwan.

Barclay was a Scottish missionary who arrived in Taiwan on June 5, 1875. In 1877, he founded Tainan Seminary (precursor to the missionary training class). On July 12, 1885, he established the Taiwan Prefecture Church Gazette, the first church newspaper in East Asia¹⁵. Late on October 20, 1895, local gentry pleaded with him to help Tainan peacefully surrender, thereby avoiding a massacre. Tainan was one of the few cities not massacred during the 1895 campaign, thanks to a British pastor who had been preaching here for 20 years.

Tainan's position during the Japanese colonial period declined. In 1920 (Taisho 9), administrative reforms established Tainan Prefecture, with its capital in Tainan City. From the 1930s onward, while Tainan City remained Taiwan's second-largest city (after Taipei), it gradually faded after Kaohsiung Port rose¹⁶. After Kaohsiung merged surrounding towns in the 1940s, its population surpassed Tainan City, and Tainan fell to third place.

But the Japanese era left behind something that is still operating today: the Jianan Great Canal.

It was completed on April 10, 1930, led by the Japanese engineer Hatta Yoichi, over a period of 10 years (1920-1930)¹⁷. Juzhen Taiwan's record states: "On April 10, 1930, the Jianan Great Canal, which was the largest in Asia in terms of scale and technology at the time, was finally put into use."¹⁷ The total irrigation canal is 10,000 km long, with a drainage channel of 6,000 km. It irrigated 150,000 hectares of farmland in the Jianan plain, benefiting 600,000 farmers. Wushan Head Reservoir (Guantian District, Tainan): when completed, it had a dam height of 56 meters and a storage capacity of 150 million tons, making it the largest in Asia and the third largest in the world at the time¹⁷.

Qixu Salt Mountain. Photo: Wikimedia Commons contributor, CC BY-SA 4.0. The modernization started by Chen Yonghua in 1665; 337 years have passed until today.

From the "boiling to drying" reform by Chen Yonghua in 1665, through the relocation of the Saidong salt fields to Beimen Jingzai foot in 1818, the completion of the Jianan Great Canal in 1930, the start of Qixu salt fields in 1971, and the announcement of the last mechanized harvest in May 2002, Taiwan's 337-year history of salt production reached its conclusion in May 2002¹⁷. Today, Qixu Salt Mountain is a tourist attraction; visitors climb the salt mounds to take pictures, and this white mountain under their feet holds memories dating back to the 17th century.

Yanshui Firecrackers, Tainan Delicacies, and Five Routes Ports Young Intellectuals

In 1885 (Qing Guangxu Year 11), an epidemic swept through the Yanshui region.

The residents invited Guan Shengdi Jun from Wumiao to tour the area, and believers set off firecrackers along the way to drive away the plague gods. Tainan Travel Network's verbatim record states: "During the persistent epidemic in Yanshui, residents prayed for protection from Guan Shengdi Jun at Wumiao. They later decided to invite the divine sedan chair to tour from the 13th to the 15th day of the first lunar month, and believers set off firecrackers along the road to scare away the plague gods; after being purified by sulfur smoke, the epidemic was indeed removed."¹⁸

This tradition continues to this day (about 140 years). It was listed in the Ministry of Transportation's tourism calendar in 2015. "Northern Sky Lanterns and Southern Firecrackers" are among Taiwan's two major New Year festivals, alongside Pingxi lanterns, and have been selected as one of the "Top Ten Global Festivals."¹⁸⚠️ Dispute over origin year: some sources say "early Guangxu period" (from 1875), but Wikipedia and official travel networks use "Guangxu Year 11 (1885)," which this article adopts.

Yanshui also has another identity: Yuejin Port. It was the fourth commercial port in the early Qing era's "One Prefecture, Two Deer, Three Wancai, Four Yuejin." Located on the windward side of the inner sea, it got its name because the river channel resembled a crescent moon. Like Tainan Inner Sea, the windward inner sea later became the plains of Yanshui Township, Xijia Township, and Jiali Township due to river siltation and land reclamation. The fourth largest port in the Qing dynasty became one district of Tainan City after the 2010 merger.

The origin of Tainan's local delicacies is also tied to the late Qing period.

Du Xiaoyue Danzai Noodles originated in 1895 (Qing Guangxu Year 20). The fisherman Hong Yutou sold noodles on a shoulder pole in front of the Water仙 Palace during the fishing off-season ("Xiaoyue"), naming it "Du Xiaoyue" to mean getting through the lean season, and it is a family recipe involving seasoned meat¹⁹. 1895 was the same year as the Treaty of Mastung signing, Taiwan's cession to Japan, and Liu Yongfu moving the capital to Tainan to resist. It was also in this year that Hong Yutou sold noodles on his shoulder pole in Tainan Prefecture City. The original Du Xiaoyue shop is still in Zhongzheng Road, Tainan today.

Beef Soup represents Tainan's morning market culture: using tender beef from local cattle (now slaughtered) and pouring hot broth over it to maintain tenderness. Many beef soup shops around Guanhua Street and Yongle Market are busy from dawn until morning. Coffin Board was invented in the 1940s by Xu Liuyi near Chihkan Tower, Tainan. It is made by frying thick slices of white toast into a box shape, filled with cream white sauce and seafood, and named for its coffin-like appearance—Taiwan's only local delicacy with Western flavors¹⁹.

💡 Did You Know: The four places that young intellectuals in Tainan love to visit today—Yongle Market, Guanhua Street, Shennong Street, and Hai'an Road—are all located on the street pattern of the silted Five Routes Ports from the 18th and 19th centuries. After the Five Routes Ports were abandoned due to siltation in 1823, the port was lost, but the streets remained. Three centuries later, Tainan residents drink coffee and sell cultural products on the stone roads where suburban merchants once hauled goods from ships. The reason "Old House Revitalization" is particularly established in Tainan is that the old city's fabric has not been completely demolished by redevelopment. Siltation led to economic stagnation and population outflow in the late 19th century, but looking back at the 21st century, that siltation became a cultural asset for Tainan. Failure turned into preservation; this is the rhythm of Tainan's history.

From Three Birds in Blood to 6,988

On December 28, 2009, Tainan National Park was established. The official website of Tainan National Park states: "Established on December 28, 2009, it is the eighth national park in Taiwan and the first urban national park in Taiwan."²⁰

It covers 4,905 hectares of land and a total area of 39,310 hectares (land and sea). It includes 2 international wetlands (Zengwenxi Mouth, Sicao) + 2 national wetlands (Qixu Salt Fields, Yanshui Creek Mouth). It is Taiwan's only wetland national park²⁰.

But the true significance of this park lies not on the map, but in the gunshots at the end of 1992.

At the end of 1992, there were only about 200 global Black-faced Spoonbills. An illegal shooting incident occurred in Qixu. Three birds lay dead in a pool of blood; two were found deceased, and one died shortly after being sent to Taipei Zoo²¹. This became a front-page story in Taiwan and attracted international conservation attention.

In 2002, about 300 hectares on the north bank of Zengwenxi Mouth were officially designated as the "Black-faced Spoonbill Protection Area." On December 25, 2009, the Qixu Black-faced Spoonbill Protection Area was incorporated into Tainan National Park²¹. From those three black-faced spoonbills lying in blood to a global census total of 6,988 in January 2024. The global population increased by 30 times in 32 years. The Zengwenxi Mouth wetlands in Qixu are a core wintering ground for Black-faced Spoonbills globally, with the number visiting Taiwan each year exceeding half the global total²¹.

Milkfish is another Tainan symbol spanning 400 years. During the Dutch era (approx. 1624–1662), milkfish farming technology was introduced from Indonesia to Taiwan, with Lukaimen (Anping) being the first experimental site²². Lukaimen, where Zheng Chenggong landed, was also where the Dutch introduced milkfish. Today's scale: Tainan City has about 4,980 hectares of milkfish farming area and an annual production of about 24,000 tons, ranking first in Taiwan²². In the 1980s, fisherman Lin Lietang broke through breeding technology, allowing milkfish to reproduce naturally, earning him the title "Father of Milkfish."

37 Districts, 1.5 Trillion NTD: Southern Science Park Surpasses Hsinchu

On December 25, 2010, Tainan County merged and was upgraded to a municipality²³.

The Tainan City government states: "On December 25, 2010 (Year 99 of the Republic), Tainan County merged to become 'Tainan City,' covering 37 districts, with Lai Ching-te as the first mayor."²³ The original 6 districts of Tainan City (Zhongxi, Dong, Nan, Bei, Anping, Annan) + all 31 townships and towns of Tainan County were reformed into districts: Yongkang, Xinying, Yanshui, Baihe, Liuying, Houbi, Dongshan, Mazu, Xiaying, Liujia, Guantian, Danei, Jiali, Xijia, Xigang, Qixu, Jiangjun, Beimen, Xinhua, Shanhua, Xinshi, Anping, Shanshan, Yujing, Nanxi, Nanhua, Zuozhen, Rende, Guiren, Guanmiao, Longqi²³.

The 37 districts span a geographical range of about 50 kilometers, from the coastal wetlands (Qixu) to the residual mountains of Alishan (Nanhua). The area is 2,191.6531 square kilometers, and the population is approximately 1.85 million (about 1,849,762 in April 2026)²³.

After the merger, the gap between urban and rural areas widened. Yongkang District (235,000) + Annan District (205,000) vs. Longqi District with only over 3,000 residents²⁴. North of Zengwenxi Creek (Xibei): townships like Xinying, Yanshui, and Jiali have experienced long-term population outflow. South of Zengwenxi Creek (Xinai): about three-quarters of the population lives here, with districts like Yongkang growing every year. One merger packed three worlds—Yanshui, Jiali, and Yujing—into one ballot.

Then there is Southern Science Park.

Southern Science Industry Park was established in 1996 in Xinsi District, Tainan. TSMC's Fab 18 is TSMC's most advanced ultra-large wafer fab in Taiwan, producing 3nm processes, with a total investment of about 700 billion NTD⁶. In 2023, the annual revenue of Southern Science Park reached 1.5855 trillion NTD, surpassing Hsinchu's 1.42 trillion NTD by 165.5 billion NTD. Southern Science Park took over the title of top-revenue technology park in Taiwan from Hsinchu⁶.

📝 Curator's Note: From Chen Yonghua building the Kong Miao in 1665, to Hatta Yoichi completing the Jianan Great Canal in 1930, to TSMC Fab 18 producing 3nm chips in 2023, what Tainan has done has always been "the largest on Taiwan." The Kong Miao in 1665 was the only school for local scholars in the early Qing period; the Wushan Head Reservoir in 1930 was the largest in Asia and third in the world at the time; Southern Science Park in 2023 is the top-revenue technology park in Taiwan. This is not a coincidence. Tainan has the Jianan plain, one of Taiwan's largest plains (4,550 km²), the population and infrastructure base left by its 261 years as an old capital, and the multi-lingual trading city DNA cultivated during the 38 years of Dutch rule. When this land needed to transition from agriculture to industry, and from industry to technology, it had enough physical space and historical depth to accommodate each upgrade. Therefore, "the three layers: 261 Years as Capital, 400 Years of Antiquity, and 21st Century Chips" are the stories of three generations nurtured on the same land: the Dutch, the Qing suburban merchants, and the TSMC engineers—all doing vastly different things in the middle section of the Jianan plain, but using the same water (Jianan Great Canal), the same land (Tainan Plain), and the periphery of the same port (Anping Port).

National Sun Yat-sen University is also part of this timeline. On January 15, 1931, the "Tainan College of Technology" (established by the Taiwan Governor's Office) was founded, offering Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and Applied Chemistry²⁵. In 1956, it was reorganized into National Sun Yat-sen University of Taiwan Province, named after Zheng Chenggong to commemorate his contribution to opening Taiwan. It became National Sun Yat-sen University in 1971. Today, located in the East District of Tainan City, its College of Engineering, School of Architecture, and Medical School are top-tier in Taiwan. From the College of Technology in 1931 to the 1.5855 trillion NTD revenue of Southern Science Park in 2023, Sun Yat-sen University embodies this evolution from industry to technology.

Xiraya Reclaims Its Name After 389 Years

On October 17, 2025, the Legislative Yuan passed the Act on the Status of Indigenous Peoples of Taiwan²⁶.

Returning to the starting point in time. In 1636, Dutch missionary Candidius used Roman script to transcribe Xiraya language in Xinguang Village⁸, leaving the first written record in Taiwanese history. However, after the 17th century, the Xiraya people began Sinicization, and the inhabitants of the four major communities (Xinguang, Xiao, Mazu, Mujialuan) gradually became classified as "Pinhu" peoples, not among the 16 indigenous groups recognized by the Republic of China.

On October 28, 2022, the Constitutional Court of the ROC declared the current Indigenous Peoples Act unconstitutional in the case concerning the Xiraya name, requiring amendments within three years²⁶. On October 17, 2025, the Legislative Yuan passed the Act on the Status of Indigenous Peoples of Taiwan. On October 23, 2025, President Lai Ching-te officially promulgated it. The Xiraya people of Tainan City struggled to restore their indigenous status for 25 years, and after winning the constitutional review in 2022, they officially obtained the legal status of "Pinhu Indigenous Peoples" this October²⁶.From Candidius establishing a school in Xinguang in 1636 to the Legislative Yuan passing the name restoration law in 2025, the Xiraya spent 389 years reclaiming their name.

The year 2024 marks 400 years of Tainan's establishment.

The Tainan City government promotes "Tainan 400," with the core spirit: "Together Tainan - Global Exchange"²⁷. It seeks to host three national-level events—the Taiwan Lantern Festival (host), Taiwan Cultural Expo, and Taiwan Design Exhibition—in Tainan in the same year.

"Jiaopèi" (tsiâu-puê) is a Minnan word meaning interaction and mutual respect. In Tainan's 400-year history, the Dutch, Xiraya, Han, Japanese, Overseas Chinese, and New Immigrants—the "Global Exchange"—have always been part of Tainan's DNA²⁷.⚠️ Mayor Huang Weizhe explicitly stated in 2024 that framing "Tainan 400" is to avoid being constrained by historical nomenclature disputes ("Is 1624 the founding year of Tainan?"), offering an inclusive interpretation of 400 years of diverse history.

Returning to the beach on February 9, 1662.

2,000 Dutchmen stood on the sand in front of Fort Zeelandia, waiting for 8 ships to take them away. Coyett handed the keys to Zheng officials. The 38-year Dutch era ended; the 21-year Ming-Qing resistance began; the 201-year early Qing capital followed; 50 years of Japanese rule and 80 years of ROC, continuing to this day.

If you visit Tainan next time, don't just tour Chihkan Tower and eat beef soup. Try going to Anping Fort at 7 AM, standing before the red brick wall of the ruins of Fort Zeelandia. This wall was completed in 1634 using glutinous rice paste, sugar syrup, sand, and oyster shell powder. Then go to Eternal Golden City and look at the red bricks beneath the inscription "Eternal Golden City" on the main gate. Some of these were removed from this Fort Zeelandia and used by Shen Baozhen when building the cannon fort in 1875. Then go before the plaque "First School of All Taiwan" at the Kong Miao Main Hall, a school suggested by Chen Yonghua to Zheng Jing in 1665. At noon, visit Tang Dezhang Memorial Park; that roundabout is where Tang Dezhang was shot on March 13, 1947. In the afternoon, go to Shennong Street for a cup of coffee. The spot you sit on was once a stone road where suburban merchants hauled sugar and rice from ships. In the evening, head to Qixu Salt Fields or Tainan National Park to see Black-faced Spoonbills, from 200 birds to 6,988. Then return to Yongle Market at night to eat a bowl of Danzai Noodles and a bowl of Beef Soup.

That taste—from the bowl Hong Yutou sold in front of the Water仙 Palace in 1895, to the bowl queued for in Guanhua Street in 2026—has never changed its recipe.

Tainan is the location where Taiwan was first colonized, where the Han regime was established first, where a prefecture was set up first, where schooling began first, where salt production started first, where cannon forts were built first, where irrigation was completed first, and where local delicacies originated first; it is also home to the largest technology park today. The three layers—261 Years as Capital, 400 Years of Antiquity, and 21st Century Chips—are a microcosm of all of Taiwan's history on one piece of land.

Further Reading

• Zheng Chenggong — Landed at Lukaimen on April 30, 1661; died at age 38 in Chengxian Prefecture on June 23, 1662; founder of Taiwan's first Han regime.
• Ming-Qing Resistance Period — The complete 60-year history of Tainan from Fort Zeelandia to the Dongning Kingdom (1624–1683).
• 228 Incident — The national context of Tang Dezhang's death in 1947.
• Lai Ching-te — First mayor after the Tainan County merger in 2010; designated March 13 as Day of Justice and Courage in 2014; President since 2024.
• Sun Moon Lake — A central landmark alongside Tainan; both Wujie Dam (1934) and Jianan Great Canal (1930) belong to the golden age of Japanese water conservancy projects.
• Semiconductor Industry — The entire industry context of Southern Science Park's 1.5855 trillion NTD revenue surpassing Hsinchu in 2023.
• Keelung City — A pilot study in the 22 Counties Series: a port city like Tainan that was overlooked by the central narrative.
• Nantou County — A sibling county in the 22 Counties Series, sharing the history of indigenous name restoration with Tainan.

Image Sources

This article uses 5 images licensed under CC from Wikimedia Commons, hotlinked from the Wikimedia upload server:

• Hero (frontmatter): Anping Fort — Photo: Wikimedia Commons contributor, CC BY-SA 3.0. The precursor to Fort Zeelandia built by the Dutch East India Company in 1624.
• Scene §Chihkan Tower: Chihkan Tower in Tainan City — Photo: Wikimedia Commons contributor, CC BY-SA 4.0. The precursor to Fort Provintia, started in 1653, which has seen five regimes over 300 years.
• Scene §Kong Miao: Tainan Kong Miao Main Hall — Photo: Wikimedia Commons contributor, CC BY-SA 4.0. The First School of All Taiwan, established in 1665 on Chen Yonghua's suggestion to Zheng Jing.
• Scene §Eternal Golden City: Eternal Golden Castle — Photo: Wikimedia Commons contributor, CC BY-SA 4.0. A four-cornered bastion fort, the only surviving one in Taiwan, started in 1874 and completed in 1876.
• Scene §Qixu Salt Mountain: Cigu Salt Mountain — Photo: Wikimedia Commons contributor, CC BY-SA 4.0. The 337-year history of Tainan's salt industry initiated by Chen Yonghua in 1665; the last mechanized harvest in May 2002 marked the end.

Licensing terms: CC BY-SA 3.0 / CC BY-SA 4.0.

References

1. Fort Zeelandia — Wikipedia — The Chinese Wikipedia article on Fort Zeelandia. Provides complete architectural and functional data of the core political and trade center of the Dutch East India Company in Taiwan, including construction in 1624, completion in 1634, walls made of glutinous rice paste, sugar syrup, sand, and oyster shell powder; three layers inside and five cannons at each bastion.↩²
2. Zheng Chenggong's Attack on Taiwan — Wikipedia — The Chinese Wikipedia article. Details the complete landing process: 400 warships and 25,000 soldiers entering Tainan Inner Sea through Lukaimen on the morning of April 30, 1661; 6:30 AM Batavia Time (7:30 AM Taiwan Time); the first day of the fourth month in Yongli 15; navigation through the Lukaimen waterway by He Bin.↩²³
3. Siege of Fort Zeelandia — English Wikipedia — The English Wikipedia article, detailing the precise timeline of Coyett signing the Koxinga–Dutch Treaty on February 1, 1662, and 2,000 Dutchmen departing by sea from the beach on February 9. This article disambiguates the date difference between Chinese and English versions.↩²³
4. Tainan Confucius Temple — Official Website of Tainan Kong Miao — The official description: "The Tainan Confucius Temple was established in Yongli 19 (1665), as a school founded on the suggestion of Chen Yonghua, an advisory general during Zheng Jing's reign," plus "It was the only school for local scholars in the early Qing period, hence called the 'First School of All Taiwan.'" It includes the full background of Chen Yonghua's plan: "Ten years of growth, ten years of education, ten years of gathering to restore the country."↩²³⁴
5. Tang Dezhang Executed by Chinese Troops at MinSheng Green Park Roundabout on March 13, 1947 — Juzhen Taiwan — The Juzhen Taiwan historical column: "On March 13, 1947, Tang Dezhang was executed by Chinese troops in the center roundabout of Tainan City," plus "He refused to disclose any names even after various interrogations," plus "At noon on March 13, Tang Dezhang was tied up and paraded through the streets for public viewing, walking toward the execution ground with a calm demeanor. He ended his life with a shocking cry of 'Long Live the Taiwanese!', followed by three gunshots."↩²³⁴⁵
6. Southern Science Park's 2023 Output Exceeding Hsinchu — Economic Daily — The Economic Daily report on Southern Science Park's output: "In 2023, Southern Science Park's annual revenue reached 1.5855 trillion NTD, exceeding Hsinchu's 1.42 trillion NTD by 165.5 billion NTD." This includes complete contemporary industrial data on TSMC's 3nm wafer fab (Fab 18), 700 billion NTD investment, and the core of the Southern Taiwan semiconductor belt, with a projected annual output of 2 trillion NTD in 2024.↩²³
7. Tainan Dual Fort History: Fort Zeelandia and Fort Provintia — Taiwan Guanghua Magazine — The in-depth report from Taiwan Guanghua Magazine: "The 'Fort Zeelandia,' built on the sand dunes, and 'Tainan Town' was constructed to the east of the fort," plus "Chihkan City (Provintia City), developed in present-day Tainan, and Chihkan Tower (Fort Provintia) built north of the city were built because of the Guo Huaiyi Incident in 1652." Fort Provintia started construction in 1653 and was completed in 1655.↩²
8. Xinguang Documents and Roman Script Records of Xiraya Language — Story Studio — The historical deep dive from Story Studio: "The earliest written language among Taiwanese indigenous peoples is the Xiraya language, which lived on the Tainan plain; during the Dutch era, it was also called 'Formosaan taal,' and because it was written in Roman script, it was early called 'Fanzi Zi'." It includes the complete textual history of the Xinguang Documents, from the first school opened by the Dutch in 1636 to its use until 1813 (Jiaqing 18), where the bilingual contract between the Xiraya and Han people was still in use.↩²³
9. Zheng Chenggong — Wikipedia — The Chinese Wikipedia article on Zheng Chenggong. Provides the complete timeline of the Ming-Qing era: death on June 23, 1662 (the eighth day of the fifth month in Yongli 16) at age 38; only 13 months from conquest to death; unclear cause of death; Zheng Jing succeeding him; moving the Eastern Capital to Dongning in 1664; and Zheng Kehai surrendering to the Qing in 1683.↩²
10. Chen Yonghua's "Boiling to Drying" and Taiwan's Salt Industry — Academia Sinica — A study of Tainan's salt industry history from Academia Sinica. Details Chen Yonghua's reform of the salt production method, "boiling to drying," in 1665; building evaporation ponds by channeling water with broken tiles on the coast for sun-drying (tile-bed salting); establishing the modern foundation of Taiwan's salt industry, and the complete historical context of subsequent Qixu and Waban Salt Fields.↩
11. Official Historical Records of Tainan City Government — The official records: "In 1624, the Dutch entered Tainan and established a colonial regime to expand monopolistic trade, building Fort Zeelandia (precursor to Anping Fort) and Fort Provintia (precursor to Chihkan Tower)," plus "In April 1661, Zheng Chenggong (1624-1662) led 400 warships and 25,000 soldiers into Taiwan, besieging the fort and forcing the Dutch to sign a surrender document, establishing the Zheng Kingdom with Tainan as the Eastern Capital," plus "In 1683 (Kangxi 22 of the Qing)... in the following year, Taiwan was incorporated into the Qing Empire's map, and Tainan Prefecture was established in April, with its seat in Dong'an Ward, under Fujian Province's jurisdiction." This includes official records of the establishment of a province in 1885, the capital moving north, and the renaming of Tainan Prefecture to "Tainan Prefecture."↩²³⁴
12. Five Routes Ports Cultural Park and the Land Reclamation of Tainan Inner Sea in 1823 — Wikipedia — The Chinese Wikipedia article on Five Routes Ports. Details the most important commercial waterways of Tainan Prefecture during the Qianlong and Jiaqing reigns (from North to South: Xinguangzaipo, Fotou Port, Nanxi Port, Nanhe Port, Anhai Port), the 300-year history of Shennong Street (originally Beishi Street), the major storm in July 1823 (Qing Daoguang 3) causing Zeng Wenxi to change course and carrying large amounts of soil and rock, leading to large-scale land reclamation of Tainan Inner Sea within about seven days, Anping Port connecting to the land, and the complete geographical history where the street pattern is preserved to this day.↩²
13. Eternal Golden City (Er-Kun-Ci Battery) — Cultural Affairs Bureau of Tainan City Government — The official record from the Cultural Affairs Bureau: "Construction started in September 1874, completed in August 1876," stemming from the Mudan Incident in 1874. Shen Baozhen of Fujian came to handle it. Designed by French engineers Bordeaux and Ruff. The four-cornered bastion structure is Taiwan's only surviving bastion fort. It is equipped with five British Armstrong 18-ton muzzle-loading cannons. The inscriptions "Eternal Golden City" on the main gate and "Ten Thousand Streams Grinding Stone" on the back are both from Shen Baozhen's handwriting, and some construction materials were taken from the dismantled red bricks of Fort Zeelandia. It details the military history where French forces shelled Anping Sea in 1884 during the Sino-French War, and the defenders of Eternal Golden City fired back, driving away the French who failed to land.↩²³
14. Tang Dezhang — Wikipedia — The Chinese Wikipedia article on Tang Dezhang. Provides his complete biography: born on January 6, 1907; father from Udu City, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan; mother from Nanhua, Tainan; audited law school at Tokyo Imperial University; passed the "Judicial Department High Civil Servant Examination" in September 1941; registered as a lawyer by the Taiwan Governor's Office in September 1943; head of the Security Group of the Tainan branch of the 228 Incident Handling Committee; arrested on March 11, 1947, when the National Army's reorganized 21st Division entered Tainan for suppression; publicly executed at MinSheng Green Park on March 13; MinSheng Green Park renamed Tang Dezhang Memorial Park in 1998; Lai Ching-te declared March 13 as "Tainan City Day of Justice and Courage" in 2014.↩²³⁴
15. Pastor Barclay and the Peaceful Surrender of Tainan in 1895 — Presbyterian Church in Taiwan — The historical record from the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan. Thomas Barclay (Thomas Barclay, 1849-1935) arrived in Taiwan on June 5, 1875; founded Tainan Seminary (precursor to the missionary training class) in 1877; established the Taiwan Prefecture Church Gazette, the first church newspaper in East Asia, on July 12, 1885; during Liu Yongfu's crossing of Xiamen on October 20, 1895, local gentry pleaded with Barclay and Pastor Song Zhongjian to negotiate with Nogi Kichiten of the Japanese Second Division, leading to a peaceful surrender and avoiding a massacre.↩²³
16. Tainan Prefecture during Japanese Rule — Wikipedia — The Chinese Wikipedia article on Tainan Prefecture. Details the administrative transition: establishment of Tainan Prefecture in 1920 (Taisho 9), with its capital in Tainan City; Governor Kobayashi Seizo implementing the three policies of "Imperialization, Industrialization, and Southward Expansion"; Tainan City being Taiwan's second-largest city (after Taipei) in the 1930s, gradually surpassed after Kaohsiung Port rose; Tainan falling to third place after Kaohsiung merged surrounding towns in the 1940s.↩
17. The Jianan Great Canal Completion in 1930: Hatta Yoichi's Water Conservancy Revolution — Juzhen Taiwan — The Juzhen Taiwan historical column: "On April 10, 1930, the Jianan Great Canal, which was the largest in Asia in terms of scale and technology at the time, was finally put into use." This includes complete engineering data: led by Japanese engineer Hatta Yoichi; spanning 10 years (1920-1930); a total irrigation canal length of 10,000 km, with a drainage channel of 6,000 km; irrigating 150,000 hectares of farmland in the Jianan plain, benefiting about 600,000 farmers; Wushan Head Reservoir having a dam height of 56 meters and a storage capacity of 150 million tons, making it the largest in Asia and third in the world at the time.↩²³⁴
18. Origin of Yanshui Firecrackers — Tainan City Government Tourism Bureau — The record from the Tainan City government tourism website: "Yanshui Firecrackers originated in Guangxu Year 11 (1885), when an epidemic persisted in Yanshui. Residents prayed for protection from Guan Shengdi Jun at Wumiao, and later decided to invite the divine sedan chair to tour from the 13th to the 15th day of the first lunar month, with believers setting off firecrackers along the road to scare away the plague gods; after being purified by sulfur smoke, the epidemic was indeed removed." This includes the complete cultural background: listed in the Ministry of Transportation's tourism calendar in 2015, "Northern Sky Lanterns and Southern Firecrackers" are among Taiwan's two major New Year festivals alongside Pingxi lanterns, and have been selected as one of the "Top Ten Global Festivals."↩²
19. Du Xiaoyue Danzai Noodles and Tainan Delicacies — Original Du Xiaoyue Shop — The official history of the original shop. Founded in 1895 (Qing Guangxu Year 20), when fisherman Hong Yutou sold noodles on a shoulder pole in front of the Water仙 Palace during the fishing off-season ("Xiaoyue"), named "Du Xiaoyue" to mean getting through the lean season, and it is a family recipe involving seasoned meat. It includes the history of Tainan's beef soup culture (hot broth poured over tender local cattle at Guanhua Street and Yongle Market), and Coffin Board, invented in the 1940s by Xu Liuyi near Chihkan Tower, which is Taiwan's only local delicacy with Western flavors.↩²
20. Tainan National Park Official — The official website states: "Established on December 28, 2009, it is the eighth national park in Taiwan and the first urban national park in Taiwan." It provides complete official data: 4,905 hectares of land, a total area of 39,310 hectares (land and sea), 2 international wetlands (Zengwenxi Mouth, Sicao) + 2 national wetlands (Qixu Salt Fields, Yanshui Creek Mouth), making it Taiwan's only wetland national park.↩²
21. Black-faced Spoonbill Wintering and the Qixu Shooting Incident in 1992 — General Science — The deep report from General Science: "At the end of 1992, when there were only about 200 global Black-faced Spoonbills, an illegal shooting incident occurred in Qixu. Three black-faced spoonbills lay dead in a pool of blood; two were found deceased, and one died shortly after being sent to Taipei Zoo." This includes the complete conservation history: designation of about 300 hectares on the north bank of Zengwenxi Mouth as a "Black-faced Spoonbill Protection Area" in 2002, incorporation into Tainan National Park on December 25, 2009, the global census total of 6,988 in January 2024, and the fact that the wetlands are a core wintering ground where more than half the global population visits annually.↩²³
22. Milkfish: A 300-Year Fish History on Tainan's Coast — Fisheries Agency — The fisheries data from the Fisheries Agency. Details how milkfish farming technology was introduced from Indonesia to Taiwan during the Dutch era (approx. 1624–1662), with Lukaimen (Anping) as the first experimental site; Tainan City's area of about 4,980 hectares and annual production of about 24,000 tons, ranking first in Taiwan; distribution across Qixu, Annan, Beimen, Xijia, and Jiangjun; fisherman Lin Lietang achieving success with natural spawning in the 1980s and being called "Father of Milkfish."↩²
23. Tainan County Merger to Municipality in 2010 — Official Historical Records of Tainan City Government — Same as [^11]. The official record states: "On December 25, 2010 (Year 99 of the Republic), Tainan County merged to become 'Tainan City,' covering 37 districts, with Lai Ching-te as the first mayor." It lists all 37 districts and provides administrative data: area of 2,191.6531 square kilometers, population of about 1.85 million (about 1,849,762 in April 2026).↩²³⁴
24. Tainan County Merger: Widening Urban-Rural Gap by Ten Years — Central News Agency — The CNA review of the Tainan county merger. Notes the extreme population imbalance between Yongkang District (235,000) + Annan District (205,000) vs. Longqi District (over 3,000 residents); continuous outflow from townships north of Zengwenxi Creek (Xibei), while south of Zengwenxi Creek (Xinai) has about three-quarters of the population and districts like Yongkang continue to grow; this analysis shows the widening urban-rural gap after the merger.↩
25. School History of National Sun Yat-sen University — Official Website — The official school history: "On January 15, 1931, 'Tainan College of Technology' (established by the Taiwan Governor's Office) was founded, offering Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and Applied Chemistry; renamed to Taiwan Provincial Institute of Technology in March 1946; upgraded to Taiwan Provincial College of Technology in October; reorganized into National Sun Yat-sen University in 1956 to commemorate Zheng Chenggong; became National Sun Yat-sen University in 1971; located in the East District of Tainan City, with top-tier faculties including Engineering, Architecture, and Medicine."↩
26. The Unfinished Path of Xiraya People After Constitutional Court Declared Indigenous Peoples Act Unconstitutional — Reporter — The investigative report: "On October 28, 2022, the Constitutional Court of the ROC declared the current Indigenous Peoples Act unconstitutional in the case concerning the Xiraya name, requiring amendments within three years; on October 17, 2025, the Legislative Yuan passed the Act on the Status of Indigenous Peoples of Taiwan; President Lai Ching-te officially promulgated it on October 23, 2025; and the Xiraya people of Tainan City formally obtained the legal status of 'Pinhu Indigenous Peoples' after struggling for 25 years."↩²³
27. Tainan 400: Together Tainan - Global Exchange — Official Website of Tainan City Government — The official website of the "Tainan 400" campaign. Core spirit is "Together Tainan - Global Exchange"; main theme is "Cherishing Tradition, Creating Modernity, Looking to the Future"; it seeks to host three national-level events (Taiwan Lantern Festival [host], Taiwan Cultural Expo, and Taiwan Design Exhibition) in Tainan in the same year; "Jiaopèi" (tsiâu-puê), a Minnan word meaning interaction and mutual respect, is part of Tainan's DNA, as it encompasses the Dutch + Xiraya + Han + Japanese + Overseas Chinese + New Immigrants. Mayor Huang Weizhe uses an inclusive interpretation to avoid being constrained by historical nomenclature disputes.↩²