Great South Gate

The best-preserved of the surviving gates of the old walled city of Tainan, a Qing-dynasty fortification rebuilt in stone and brick in the early nineteenth century. It retains an unusual double structure, with an outer barbican enclosing a semicircular forecourt before the inner arch, designed to trap attackers. Set within a small park, its curved battlements and gateway house a collection of historic stone steles. As a rare fragment of Tainan's defensive walls, it recalls the city's role as the colonial-era capital.