Visitors walking around Anping Fort can now use mobile phones to compare present-day streets with 17th-century scenes. The Tainan City Government Cultural Affairs Bureau has launched the “Zeelandia augmented reality guide system,” using augmented reality to recreate the appearance of Zeelandia town 400 years ago. The guide covers Anping Fort and 14 nearby locations, including historic sites, settlements, temples, and schools, for use by families, field trips, and guided tour groups.
Zeelandia town is regarded as the first town in Taiwan's history with an urban planning concept. It formed around today's Anping area in the 17th century. The system turns historical research into mobile images. Standing on modern streets, users can compare old street blocks, buildings, and the landscape of the Taijiang inland sea, and understand changes in early ports, towns, and settlements through location differences.
The system includes 3D scenes and character interaction. Users can view characters and situational explanations at different sites to learn about residents' lives, street use, and town activities at the time. Compared with flat information boards, augmented reality places vanished historic landscapes back into the site, helping first-time visitors grasp the local historical context more quickly.
The guide was developed with support from an interdisciplinary team at National Cheng Kung University. Based on historical verification, spatial analysis, and character-based scene design, it reconstructs 17th-century Zeelandia town and the Taijiang inland sea landscape. The system recently joined the first AI impact smart city and greater southern Taiwan results exhibition as an example of digital use in cultural heritage.
More Zeelandia-related augmented reality content will continue to be added. When visiting Anping, people can not only see the historic sites themselves, but also use mobile phones to compare old street scenes and understand the relationship between today's streets and early urban development.
