Koxinga Shrine > Tainan City > Tourism Administration, Republic of China (Taiwan)

The Koxinga Shrine (Yanping Junwang Temple), located by Kaishan Road surrounded by trees, is the only Fujianese style shrine in Taiwan. This is the shrine built in memory of the work and achievement of Cheng Cheng Kung, the pioneer of Taiwan. Cheng Cheng Kung was originally called Cheng Sun, a native in County Fujian. His father, Cheng Chi Lung, was a wanderer in his early days. He has been a merchant as well as a pirate. His mother was a Japanese lady called Tagawa. Cheng was born with great intelligence. Not only was he diligent in his studies, he also has a huge ambitious to achieve something big, i.e. to become someone who are good in both academic work and in the military field. By the time he was 21 years old, Wu San Kuei led the Qing army into China and the Ming dynasty thus came to an end. As a result of his father surrendered to the Qing Dynasty and his mother committed suicide, Cheng Cheng Kung suffered a lot of pain and decided that he should turn against the Qing Dynasty to rejuvenate the Ming Dynasty in order to get rid of the shame caused by his father's traitor behavior. In April 1661, which is the 15th year of Emperor Yung Li's reign, he led his army crossing the Taiwan Strait and after 9 months' battle, had finally retrieved Taiwan from the hands of the Dutch. Taiwan thus was no more a colony of the Netherlands. After gaining access to Taiwan, Cheng quickly built up the whole place by setting up governing offices, regulations, education system as well as developing more farm lands to improve the living standards of the local people. He also actively trained people in military tactics, preparing them to fight the Qing army. However, just half year after he had retrieved Taiwan, Cheng died of illness on May 8, 1662. His aim of rejuvenating the Ming Dynasty was unfulfilled which was the biggest regret of his whole life. In 1874, which is the 13th year of Emperor Tongzhi of the Qing Dynasty's reign, emperor's special envoy Shen Bao Chen requested for the enlargement of the then existing Kai Shan Wang' shrine which was in memory of the work of Cheng Cheng Kung. It was approved by the regime and the new shrine was officially called "Koxinga Shrine" and for people to pay tribute to this folk hero.

Inside the Koxinga Shrine, there is the Koxinga Museum where exhibits various historical culture of Tainan. The first floor is for pre-historic preserves and dig-ups. Apart from illustrating the geographic connection between Taiwan and the Mainland, these things also describe the evolution of life from the past to the present. Most of the exhibits in the second floor are the historical materials of Tainan. These include the materials and things related to the concerned ancestors, such as the portraits of Cheng Cheng Kung and Shen Bao Chen, and also their works. In addition, daily items of Tainan city of the old like the street signs, bedding equipment, land deeds, money bills are on exhibition so that the public can understand the daily life of the past generations. It is a cultural spot very worth visiting.

Travel Information

（Traffic information is subject to change. Please check with the transportation station before departure.）

Transportation：

Nat'l Fwy 1 → Exit at the Tainan Interchange → City Hwy 182 → Kaishan Rd.

Public：

Take TRA to Tainan Station, transfer Anping Taijiang Route 99(Only available during weekends and national holidays) to Koxinga Shrine (Fuqian Rd.) stop.
Take TRA to Tainan Station, transfer Tainan City Bus No.6 to Koxinga Shrine (Fuqian Rd.) stop.

Bus stops