Anping Tree House

This abandoned merchant warehouse complex in Tainan’s Anping District was originally built in the 19th century by the British Tait & Co trading company, which is evident in the Western colonial architecture that is still just barely visible at the front of the overgrown site. Nowadays, the place has taken on a new purpose altogether, thanks to the spectacle of the Anping Tree House that is tucked around the back.

For a few dollars, you can enter the grounds and find the remains of the warehouse buildings crumbling under an extraordinary web of banyan tree roots. In the years since the site was abandoned, the living banyan tree has forced its way through, over, and across the brickwork and concrete. Remarkably, the sprawling roots and branches have excellently preserved the shape of walls, doorways, and roofs that have long since fallen down and been removed.

An elevated walkway has been added to the grounds, which allows visitors to navigate the rooms of the Anping Tree House, as it has been dubbed, without too much interruption from the tangled tree roots that hang everywhere. Still, you may need to duck under a few invasive branches as you climb the stairs to explore this wonderfully unusual sight.