Tainan Canal and Kyoto’s Lake Biwa Canal sign cooperation agreement

Water has become the link between Tainan and Kyoto as the two historic cities expand their cooperation. Tainan’s city government and Kyoto signed a memorandum on exchanges involving the Tainan Canal and Kyoto’s Lake Biwa Canal, as the Tainan waterway reaches its 100th anniversary.

The agreement covers canal maintenance and management, the preservation and practical use of cultural heritage, shipping operations and broader use of waterways. The signing took place at Tainan’s Yonghua Civic Center. Tainan Tourism and Travel Bureau Director Lin Kuo-hua and Masanori Yoshikawa, Kyoto’s public enterprise manager and head of its water and sewer bureau, signed on behalf of the two cities.

Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che, Kyoto City Council Speaker AKIRA Shimomura and Kyoto councilor Kazuhiro Terada, who has been named an honorary citizen of Tainan, witnessed the ceremony. Huang described Kyoto as an important historical and cultural city in Japan and around the world. He said Tainan, Taiwan’s first city, shares many historical and cultural links with Kyoto.

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This is a historic moment and symbolizes how the two cities are using water to further narrow the distance between them.

Huang called the memorandum a historic moment and said the two cities were using water to bring them closer. He expressed hope that more young students would visit each other’s waterways, learn about their urban histories and build friendships.

Lin said Tainan joined the League of Historical Cities, chaired by Kyoto, in 2012, and that the cities had continued to strengthen cultural, educational and municipal exchanges. The new canal partnership broadens that relationship to water management and the preservation and use of cultural heritage. Yoshikawa had visited Tainan with a delegation in May, inspecting the canal and related water facilities and attending centenary events. He said the exchanges could help more Kyoto residents and Japanese travelers discover Tainan.

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I hope more young students from both sides will visit each other’s waterways, learn about the history of the cities and strengthen their friendship through exchanges.