Taiwan’s first walled city, then and now

via Taipei Times, 14 May 2021: A travel piece on an 18th century walled city in Taiwan.

After a rebellion decimated the Fongshan County (鳳山縣) capital in 1721, the Kangxi Emperor finally decided to allow the construction of walled cities in Taiwan. The following year, with the completion of an earthen wall surrounding it, Old Fongshan City (鳳山舊城) became Taiwan’s first walled city. Over a century later, the wall was replaced with a stone one, much of which remains standing today. To walk the length of this wall is to walk through centuries of history in just one afternoon, as modern-day amenities intermingle with traces of Taiwan’s past.

Any visit here should begin at the Center of Old Fongshan City History (見城館). It is a modern facility featuring a VR introduction to the area (included in the ticket price of NT$49 for adults, NT$29 for Kaohsiung residents), handheld AR devices to further enrich exhibits and a scale model of the old city. What really makes a visit to the center worthwhile is the multimedia presentation incorporating this model that is played twice an hour. As the history of the region is presented in video format (with English subtitles) on a large screen, different components of the model appear and disappear from the model floor, accompanied by lighting and visual effects, allowing visitors to see 300 years of history played out in front of their eyes. Incredible care went into the preparation of this show and it alone is worth the price of admission.

Source: Taiwan’s first walled city, then and now – Taipei Times