AN-P'ING

town, seaport, and district of T'ai-nan shih (municipality), southwestern Taiwan, the traditional outport for T'ai-nan. It is the oldest Chinese settlement in southern Taiwan, dating from the late 16th century. It is connected to T'ai-nan proper by canal and by light railway. Until the late 19th century, An-p'ing was a busy port, with strong commercial connections with Foochow and Amoy and other ports on the Chinese mainland. The harbour, however, was always shallow and subject to silting, and by the early 1970s it was largely reduced to use as a fishing harbour. The growth of nearby Kao-hsiung to the south and the construction of the railway system, giving T'ai-nan access both to Kao-hsiung and Chi-lung at the northern end of Taiwan, led to An-p'ing's rapid decline. Pop. (1989 est.) 19,434.