踏溯台南

踏溯台南

文學院 通識教育課程

Five-Canal Harbor Area: The Water Gods and Import-Export Tradesmen

Route Introduction

 

Shennong Street

Zhongxi District, Tainan City

 

  What we call Shennong Street today was the most prosperous Beishi Street in Five Canals Region in the past. Traditional street houses reflect the busy prosperous time of trading business in region.

  Beishi Street received the name from its location at the north of Nanshi Harbor, roughly the eastern part of Shennong Street today. The street houses are mostly two-story wood structure. The store-fronts near Fotou Harbor have a depth of 5 or 6 segments (each segment contains one house with a court yard), about 60- 70 meters. The goods, after shipped in from the canals, are stored by in the warehouses at the back or on the second floor.

   The width of the front for every house is the same because all building materials came from China and all came with the same specifications to fit into the vessels. However, each store front has its own decorative features with various forms and shapes of the railings on the second floor. These beautiful houses are the most important historical and cultural assets of Shennong Street.
 
  Enjoying a history of more than a century, modern Shennong Street is famous for its cultural creativity and has become one of the must-visits for tourists in Tainan. However, many residents still live in the street houses, so how to blend the needs of tourist development and local residents has become the most critical issue for community rejuvenation movement.
 
  Presently, carious activities designed by local people and visitors can be experienced in the “Beishi Street Cultural Hall” managed by Tainan Cultural Property Association, and the “Tainan Streets Work Station” established by The Five-Canal Harbor Development Association, and the “Five-Canal Harbor Store” run by Tainan Culture Association.
 
 
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