5 Yuan Chikan Tower

Chikan Tower (Red Cliff Tower) in Tainan was built by the Dutch East India Company in 1653 as Provintia, a administrative stronghold to counter growing tensions with the Spanish-held north. When Koxinga expelled the Dutch from Taiwan in 1662, the fort passed into Chinese hands and was substantially altered over subsequent centuries — the distinctive multi-tiered pavilions visible today are Qing-dynasty additions, not Dutch originals. This coin was part of China's broader early-2000s commemorative brass series celebrating historical sites with cross-strait cultural significance, a politically loaded choice given Taiwan's contested status.