Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che recently announced the latest results of the Tainan 400 City Light Environment Redesigning Project launched by the Tainan Municipal Administration of Culture Heritage. The three-year project will progressively connect eleven major historic sites in the city. So far, lighting improvement projects have been completed at eight sites: the Former Tainan Prefectural Government Building, the Former Tainan He Tong Building, the Japanese Patriotic Women’s Association, the Sacrificial Rites Martial Temple, Grand Mazu Temple, Kaiji Martial Temple, Kaiji Ling You Temple, and Guang’an Temple. Lighting projects at the Confucius Temple Cultural Park, Xingji Temple-Da Guanyin Temple, and the National Museum of Taiwan Literature are expected to be completed by the end of this year. Through new lighting designs, these historic buildings are being transformed into stages where Tainan can showcase its nighttime cultural charm through light and shadow.
Mayor Huang mentioned that many world-famous attractions, such as the Louvre, the Lincoln Memorial, and Kumamoto Castle, are monuments of history and architecture. With carefully designed lighting, these sites take on a different appearance at night. Similarly, Tainan’s cultural monuments, temples, and historic buildings can tell new stories after dark through professionally designed lighting. He said the city will continue to expand the project to other important cultural sites, allowing people to enjoy Tainan’s historic buildings and monuments at night while experiencing new interpretations of the city through light and shadow.
Taking Anping Old Street as an example, the Mayor said that in the past, shops in the business district would close as visitors gradually left at nightfall, creating a negative cycle of “the shops closed because there were no customers, while customers did not stay because there was nothing to do”. Developing a city’s nighttime environment is therefore not only about giving historic buildings a new appearance, but also about encouraging visitors to stay longer, increasing nighttime foot traffic, and supporting local businesses. Huang thanked the Ministry of Culture as well as Tainan’s Cultural Affairs Bureau, the Bureau of Cultural Heritage, and the professional team involved for their joint investment and efforts. He invited everyone to experience Tainan at night and appreciate the city’s beauty through its new lighting designs.
The Tainan Municipal Administration of Culture Heritage explained that the project is more than an initiative to improve the city’s lighting environment. It is a long-term cultural program that combines cultural conservation, aesthetic education, tourism development, and city branding. Tainan is gradually completing its lighting improvement work at more historic sites and kicking off a range of cultural experience programs. The ultimate goal is to link together the nighttime cultural route through the city, increase nighttime foot traffic, and promote cultural tourism. Residents and visitors are encouraged to explore Tainan at night and experience the timeless charm of the historic city through light and shadow.