To spark interest in the National Museum of Taiwan History's (國立臺灣歷史博物館) grand opening in Tainan next year, the museum's planning committee has prepared a variety of activities. Among these is Exploring the Formosa, a series of historical tours around Tainan City with an English-speaking guide. Such tours have become more common among communities around the island as people begin to take a more active interest in their immediate surroundings, but most excursions are generally targeted at Chinese-speaking people.
The full-day tour will include visits to the Anping Oyster Shell Cement Kiln Museum (安平蚵灰窯), the Old Tait & Co Merchant House (德記洋行), Anping Fort (安平古堡), Ssutsao Artillery Fort (四草砲台), Lin Mo-niang Park (林默娘公園), the Eternal Golden Castle (億載金城) and an ecological boat trip. For a registration fee of NT$500, which includes lunch and all admission tickets, this is a convenient and affordable way of getting the most out of a visit to Tainan, a city in which history is an integral part of the local identity.
This guided tour will start from the Tainan railway station, and there will be many activities to help participants understand the origins of Formosa in an interesting way.
PHOTO: COURTESY OF BRING SEVEN IN ONE CO
The idea for the National Museum of Taiwan History dates back to 1992. Former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), feeling the lack of a showcase for Taiwan's historical development, suggested the museum as a companion to the National Taiwan Museum (國立台灣博物館) in Taipei, the focus of which is natural history.
The massive, and trouble-prone project finally broke ground in 2003. The museum is currently under the direction of respected historian Wu Mi-chi (吳密察). Although the museum is still under construction, its ambitious digital e-museum project is up and running, in Chinese only, at www.thm.gov.tw/Emuseum.html. This offers a small taste of what the museum itself will offer.
Until the museum opens, you can sample a bit of Tainan's history through the tour. Registration ends this Friday. The first tour will take place Oct. 13, the second Oct. 20. Both are scheduled to start at 9:30am and end at 6pm. For full registration information in English, visit the event Web site at www.nmth.gov.tw/ef.
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