Tainan's Eternal Golden Castle

 What makes this castle so golden, anyway? Cross the bridge and walk through the tunnel to find out.

 Once you've passed through and entered the grounds, you notice that it's quite large. But quite empty.

 The fort was built relatively recently (1874) and is in a western style, but was neglected and abandoned so almost all that remains is the outer walls.

 Take a walk around the fort, though, and you'll see a few hidden sites worth checking out.

 The wall itself, in some areas, is well-landscaped. It's essentially an earthen wall.

 Each of the corners has a protuding area with views of the surrounding area. Over time, trees have grown in and just outside of the corners obstructing some of the views. This is a french Bastion-style fort and it represents the first attempt at modern western fort building by Chinese.

 Along one wall, you can see that the wall wasn't fully made of only earth. Rooms were built for storage and other purposes. The remaining supports can be seen in a glass-protected area.

 The wall was originally lined with cannons. You can see several examples put back in place. These are usually found in the corners designed to hold the long-range cannons for defense.

 This  The trees that have grown since the fort was abandoned can make parts of the fort feel isolated from the rest of the world.

 Some of the trees themselves are quite beautiful!

 I went on a rainy day, but sitting under this tree could be pleasant when the sun is out and the ground is dry. The banyan tree has ruined some of the foundations for mounting the cannons.

 More cannons (of a different style) can be seen on the back wall.

 Looking back towards the entrance. The large field in the front could be used for marching exercises or other purposes when there wasn't a battle going on.

 Along the right side wall (if looking in from the entrance) you can find even more cannons. Look inside one.

 Have you ever looked down the barrel of a cannon? It turns out this one is open at both ends. Good luck launching a cannon ball here.

There isn't much to do at this fort, but it's an important historical location in Taiwan and a nice place to get away from the crowds; despite the large number of tourists at many of the other locations I visited on the same day, the Eternal Golden Castle was largely ignored.

You can get to the Eternal Golden Castle via city buses 2 and 14, and one of the tourist buses. I walked (about 30 minutes) from the Anping Street locations, but given the heat and the lack of ... anything to see on that route, I suggest sticking with the buses or a taxi. Admission is NT$50, and it's open daily 8:30-5:30.