Land Bank

Tainan


The neoclassical-style Land Bank dates from 1928. Japanese architects were heavily influenced by western ideas at the time and neoclassical revival was a dominant style for public monuments in the USA and Europe. The bank was built with features of a Grecian temple, yet not without taking local practices into consideration. Land Bank lies at a busy intersection; instead of having the pedestrian pathway run in front of it, it runs through it, behind the Doric columns, as footpaths do through Taiwanese shophouses.

Interestingly too, the entrance to the colonnade is on the corner of the building where it connects with the intersection, rather than at the bank's proper entrance. Land Bank and the art deco–style Hayashi Department Store across from it mark efforts by the Japanese colonial government to fashion the Zhongzheng Rd area into the 'Ginza of Tainan'.

Transportation

  • bus: 1, 19, 7, R2

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Tainan attractions

1. Hayashi Department Store

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2. National Museum of Taiwan Literature

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3. Old Japanese Martial Arts Academy

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4. Confucius Temple

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5. Tainan Art Museum

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6. Altar of Heaven

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7. Stone Arch

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8. Chuan Mei Theatre

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