Source: Guang-Jhan Li, feature correspondent, Want Daily

March 17, 2014, 04:10

More and more Chinese tourists explore Tainan by bicycle. (Photo by Guang-Jhan Li)
 

Tainan City provides excellent facilities for cycling. (Photo by Guang-Jhan Li)
 

Only by bike can one experience the beauty of Tainan.
Luermen Matsu Temple in Annan District of Tainan City.
(Photo by Guang-Jhan Li)

For Mainland visitors to the cultural and historic capital, Tainan, the best way to tune into the slow-paced lifestyle of the citizens of Tainan is to range freely on a bicycle. More and more independent Mainland visitors to Tainan City will hire a bike and shuttle about the urban area, little alleys around the Anping Old Street, or ride along the Tainan Canal, to experience a bike trip that combines historic monuments, seaside leisure and beautiful park trails.

With a rich cultural heritage, the streets and alleys of the ancient capital, Tainan, have numerous histories and stories to tell. Local people will tell visitors from out of town that the best way to travel in Tainan is to slow down. Whenever friends from Mainland China come to visit, Taiwanese businessman Cin-Dun Yang, who has ridden around the island by bicycle several times, will hire several bicycles from the bike rental shops and lead his friends to tour around Tainan by bike.

‘My friends from Mainland China are all presidents or general managers. They all have private drivers to drive them around. As soon as they get to Tainan, their pace slows right down,’ says Cin-Dun Yang. He claims that some Mainland visitors describe the enjoyment of the laid-back lifestyle on the bicycle as ‘it’s so relaxing you can fall asleep!’ and they all praise the Tainan City bike tour highly.

Pay-per-hire and All-you-can-ride

Which route is the favorite for Mainland tourists to Tainan City? Most people recommend the canal ring route. According to some Mainland tourists, although many Mainland cities have rivers, the 13.6 km bike route that circles along the Tainan Canal provides peaceful river views. What’s more, all along the route there are many historic sites of Anping, such as Anping Fort and Tait & Co., which bring back the old times; Anping Harbor with its leisurely seaside atmosphere; as well as Lin Mo Niang Park and the Eternal Golden Castle. The route is surrounded by ‘attractive landscape and steeped in history’.

The bike rental shops in Anping Old Street provide bicycles, electric bikes, tandems, family bikes, centipede bikes, and tricycles. There is no time limit for same-day rental; fees are from NT$100-300 per rental. According to the shop owners, there are plenty of independent tourists from Mainland China visiting Anping, and quite often some will hire the bikes using their passports as deposit. The shops will provide them bike route maps for their tours, which are published by Anping District Office. There is no time limit for the day, so the visitors can ride around Anping as long as they like.

Hire With a Credit Card

The tourist bike system planned by the Tainan City Government Tourism Bureau started its trial operation in Anping District in late February. Public car park in Gubao Ancient Street and temporary public car park in Anping Minor Artillery Fort both provide bike rental services for free, attracting plenty of visitors to experience cycling during weekends, with rental rate as high as 80 percent. Their opening hours are from 0900 to 1800. Both iPass card and credit card are accepted for the rental, and rented bikes can be returned to different locations.

Keyword：Tainan City