Exploring the Historic Beimen Salt Fields in Tainan

Travel Date: 2024/10/26

On October 16, Tainan’s Beimen Visitor Center launched the Glory Taiwan: Sustainable Tourism Connecting the World exhibition as part of Taiwan’s Tourism Bureau’s anniversary celebrations. The 2024 Kunshen Wang Peace Salt Festival will was held on October 26-27, featuring events like the Pah-Peng Challenge with cash prizes, a Peace Salt Bag exchange, and a concert. 

The Yunlin-Chiayi-Tainan (Yunchianan) Coastal Scenic Area Management Office has also organized the Beimen Temple Culture Tour in collaboration with local schools. This tour includes visits to temples where participants can collect stamps, redeemable for a limited-edition golden postcard on October 26. 

Beimen District (北門)

Located in northwest Tainan, Beimen District, once a sandbar at the Jishui River mouth, has rich mangroves, a tropical climate, and an economy based on agriculture and aquaculture. 

During the Daoguang period, salt production expanded in Beimen, experiencing a revival in 1899 after the Japanese colonial government reinstated salt monopolies. Beimen was once part of Tainan County but became Beimen District in 2010 after administrative restructuring that incorporated Tainan County into Tainan City.

Historically, Beimen’s population peaked in 1966 with 19,502 residents. Since the 1960s, industrial changes and the high labor demands of salt harvesting led many young adults to seek employment elsewhere, particularly in northern cities like Taipei and Kaohsiung. Recently, as employment opportunities have grown locally due to nearby science parks, the trend of outward migration has decreased. By 2023, Beimen had approximately 10,000 residents, facing similar aging and low birth rates to other areas in Taiwan.

Xing’an Temple (興安宮)

Around 200 years ago, ancestors of today’s residents migrated from Oulei Village to Yonghua Village, where they established Yingling Temple to honor Ji Fu Qiansui, seeking his blessings for protection, favorable weather, and peace. Over time, a unique spiritual exchange took place: Ji Fu Qiansui from Yingling Temple and Chi Fu Qiansui from Bao’an Temple were ceremonially “swapped” based on divine guidance, resulting in Ji Fu Qiansui’s permanent enshrinement in Oulei Village.

By 1976, the temple had fallen into disrepair, prompting the community to establish a reconstruction committee. With blessings from significant temples like Nankunshen and Bao’an, and support from dedicated patrons, rebuilding began. The newly completed temple opened in 1980, officially named Xing’an Temple in 1981, preserving the village’s rich cultural and spiritual heritage.

Jingzijiao Wapan Salt Fields (井仔腳瓦盤鹽田)

The Jingzijiao Wapan Salt Fields, Taiwan's oldest traditional salt production site with over 200 years of history, are celebrated for their scenic views and popularity among photographers, especially at sunset. Open year-round with free entry, visitors can observe salt production, often seeing workers tending to the fields in the early hours.

Salt-making along Taiwan's coast began centuries ago, initially by boiling seawater or trading with mainland China. In 1648, the Dutch East India Company attempted salt mining, but poor results led Taiwan to rely on imports until only small-scale production remained after the Dutch era. Under Japanese rule in 1895, the industry transformed as the Taiwan Salt Co., Ltd. was founded in 1919 to meet growing salt demands.

Relocated to northern Tainan in 1818, these fields became known as Yongdong Field. In 1952, they were redesigned with “tiled-paved” ponds lined with pottery and tile shards, producing clearer salt and speeding evaporation.

Today, the Yunjianan National Scenic Area has revived Jingzijiao as a cultural site. Visitors can enjoy a viewing tower, local salt products, and an enchanting, mirror-like view at dusk, where salt mounds reflect the sky. Designated play areas let children enjoy salt like snow, making Jingzijiao a magical experience for all.

Beimen Visitor Center (北門遊客中心)

Housed in the historic warehouses of the former Beimen Salt Washing Factory, the Beimen Visitor Center has become a lively attraction. With its theme, "Beimen Wedding Photography Paradise," the center features colorful artworks by local artist Hong Tong and vibrant murals ideal for wedding photos, drawing many visitors.

Inside, guests are welcomed by interactive floor projections that mimic Beimen’s coastal ecosystem, complete with playful bird footprints. A striking centerpiece is the preserved skeleton of a sperm whale, returned after international exhibitions, alongside a floor map of the Southwest Coast National Scenic Area that showcases key attractions.

The center also offers interactive multimedia games, making it a hit with children and an ideal first stop for discovering Beimen’s charm.

Beimen Salt Refinery (北門洗滌鹽廠)

The Beimen Salt Refinery in Tainan City, Taiwan, is a historic salt processing plant owned by the Taiwan Salt Industrial Corporation. Built in 1936 by the Monopoly Bureau of the Taiwan Governor’s Office during Japanese rule, the refinery aimed to produce 18,000 metric tons of salt annually. Its production reached impressive levels, with 17,096 and 18,386 metric tons in 1940 and 1941, respectively, establishing it as a key salt supplier for Taiwan.

After World War II, the Taiwan Provincial Administrative Office took over the refinery in 1946. Following extensive repairs, the plant resumed full-scale operations in 1955. In 1964, it began producing iodized salt with support from the United Nations, fulfilling Taiwan’s growing demand for iodine-enriched salt. A major facility upgrade in 1978 boosted its annual output to 30,000 metric tons. However, due to shifts in industry demand, the refinery ceased operations in 1998.

In 2003, Tainan County Government designated the refinery as a historical site, preserving this unique wooden structure—the only remaining Japanese-era salt refinery of the original four constructed by the Monopoly Bureau. The Beimen Salt Refinery, now a cultural landmark, offers visitors a window into Taiwan’s rich salt production history and its role in introducing iodized salt to the region.

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Tainan Travel: Beimen Crystal Church and Salt Fields

Travel Date: 2021/05/08

We had originally planned to spend the weekend at home because my husband would be staying in Taipei for a week. It turned out to be a good decision to go out during that time because Covid-19 cases started to rise shortly after he returned (around May 15th). We're not sure when we'll be able to go out again, but there are still some places we visited in the past that I haven't had a chance to post about yet.

Lately, the sky has mostly been grey, with air pollution and cloudy weather (no rain...), so it was refreshing to see a beautiful blue sky. We went for lunch at a steak house in Jiali District. Afterwards, we drove around Qigu District. Due to the recent drought, many places have turned into salt fields. We also visited the Beimen Crystal Church and Jingzijiao Wapan Salt Fields.

The Beimen Crystal Church (水晶教堂) opened in October 2014 and is occasionally used as a chapel for weddings. It's easy to find parking there, and the entrance fee is 20NT.

Jingzijiao Wapan Salt Fields (井仔腳瓦盤鹽田) is the oldest manually operated salt production site in Taiwan with a 200-year tradition. Originally located in Fengshan, it was relocated twice due to flooding. It has been established in the north of Tainan since 1818 by salt farmers and used to be called Yongdong Field. The site was once a desert until 1952 when the area was redesigned and transformed into a central-style tiled-paved salt field. Another famous place to visit there is the salt mountain.

More about salt fields: HERE

Address:

1. Beimen Crystal Church: 727台南市北門區200號水晶教堂

2. Salt Fields: 727台南市北門區西南郊復育鹽田

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Tainan Travel: Taijiang National Park and Luerhmen Mazu Temple

Again, we traveled with my Polish friend and her family, and this time they wanted to visit Tainan. Initially, I wanted to go to Anping, but they chose to visit Taijiang National Park. We planned to take a boat trip, but there were too many people, and we would have had to wait for at least 1-2 hours. So, I decided to bring them to the Salt Fields instead. They had never been there before and really liked it. It's also a nice place for kids to play, as there are six fields that visitors are allowed to enter.

This wasn't our first time in the national park. Some time ago, we drove around the area. Without taking a boat trip, the view is not particularly special—just water with trees and some birds. We had also previously visited Sicao Fort and Luerhmen Mazu Temple, so I finally put it all together in one blog post.

Taijiang National Park (台江國家公園)

Taijiang National Park (台江國家公園) was officially established on December 28, 2009. It includes the Annan District of Tainan City and the coastal area of Qiqi District, including Sicao, Luermen, the former Anshun Yantian, the seven-share lagoon, and the sea to Dongji Island in Penghu County.

Unlike other national parks, which are primarily governed by the central government, Taijiang National Park was initiated by the local government, specifically the Tainan City Government. On June 29, 2009, the Ministry of the Interior approved a plan to establish the name "Taijiang River" to facilitate international marketing. Taijiang National Park covers an area of 39,310 hectares (118,912,754 ping).

Originally, the area was an inland sea and lagoon in southwest Taiwan until the 18th century when the lagoon gradually became land. The sandbar on the outer side of the lagoon integrated with the land. Additionally, the Taijiang River has played a significant role in history, with events such as Zheng Chenggong's entry into the Inner Sea through the Luermen Waterway and the unexpected attack on the earlier Dutch colonizers, establishing Taiwan as a dominant society for the Han people.

In 1624, the Dutch East India Company decided to relocate their destroyed Wuhu City to Taiwan and build a city on Daegu Island. After 8 years and 4 months, it was finally completed at the end of 1632. The city, serving as a trade and administrative center, was named Zeelandia, now known as "Anping Fort." In the opposite corner of the northern line (汕) tail island, the Dutch chose to build a walled city known as "Zeeburg." The structure was a three-story tower with the lower two floors measuring 6 meters wide and the upper floor 9 meters wide. It featured six cannons, and the wall was 2.5 meters thick. However, this town was damaged by a strong typhoon in 1656 and was never rebuilt, allowing Zheng Chenggong to take advantage of the situation. In 1661, Zheng Chenggong's army entered the Taijiang River through the Luermen Waterway, landing on the northern line.

Over time, due to siltation in the Luermen River and the development of land on both sides of the saltwater creek, the river channel narrowed, leading to a significant decrease in drifting sand. The construction of Wushantou Reservoir and Zengwen Reservoir further impacted the area. In recent years, the construction of the offshore fishing port and the multi-purpose port Anping Shanggang, as well as the burial of the Tainan Science and Technology Industrial Zone wastewater discharge pipe at the north side of the saltwater creek outlet, created a "jetty effect."

With changes in the environment and increasing labor costs, the aquaculture and salt industries faced challenges in the 1970s, leading Taiwan Salt to plan to stop salt production in the 1990s. The younger generation perceived farming as hard, risky, and unstable, resulting in a gradual abandonment of farming and the deterioration of fish farms. However, this decline in traditional coastal industries allowed the natural environment to recover, leading to a gradual diversification of biological ecology.

See also: Salt Fields and Salt Museum

Sicao Fort (四草砲臺)

Sicao Fort (四草砲臺) is located in the Annan District of Tainan City and is a second-class monument since August 1985. The building is one of the 17 turrets built by Yao Ying of the Taiwan Armed Forces during the Qing dynasty. The remaining part has become the small wall of Zhenhai.

To strengthen Taiwan's coastal defense during the first Opium War, Yao Ying of the Taiwan Armed Forces built Zhenhai City, commonly known as Sicao Fort, in 1840, alongside the construction of Anping Small Fort in Anping.

Due to the urgency of the defense at that time, the fortification was initially made of bamboo rafts and sacks, with a 30-foot (about 96-meter) long retaining wall and ten gun piers. The trench surrounding the fort was filled with 20,000 hidden bamboo sticks, 800 nail barrels, 800 nail boards, and two iron shovels.

However, after the garrison was transferred and the port of Sicao was abandoned, the fort fell into disrepair and was damaged. After World War II, in 1951, Zhenhai Elementary School was built on the west side of the remaining wall. The remaining section of the fort's wall became part of the school's outer wall. In 1969, a section of the wall collapsed due to a typhoon but was later restored in 1977.

The fort is constructed with pebbles, triple soil, and long slabs. The figure-shaped blastholes on the wall were designed to change the angle.

Opposite the fort is Sicao Temple, and behind the temple lies "Hailing Jiacheng," the remains of Dutch soldiers killed by Zheng Jun under the leadership of Chen Ze during the Dutch rule in Taiwan.

See also: Anping Fort

Salt Fields 

I have been to the salt fields a few times, and it's always a wonderful experience. The sunset view here is truly beautiful. It's also a lot of fun for kids to play here. During this visit, there was even a parrot show, so we could see plenty of beautiful colorful birds flying above the fields. If you want to learn more about the salt history and salt fields, you can visit my other blog posts.

See also: Salt Fields and Museum of Salt 

See also: Sio House - History of Salt

Luerhmen Mazu Temple (正統鹿耳門聖母廟)

Luerhmen Mazu Temple (正統鹿耳門聖母廟) is an Orthodox Temple in the Annan District of Tainan. It's a temple dedicated to the Virgin Mary. According to the book "Taiwan Tucheng Orthodox Luermen Temple," there was already a Mazu Temple in the area as early as Zheng Chenggong's arrival in Taiwan. At that time, there were three temples—one dedicated to Dianxian Zunwang in the front hall, one for the worship of Mazu in the Zheng Hall, and one for Buddha in the apse. Another story suggests that after Zheng Chenggong came to Taiwan, he rebuilt the temple to express his gratitude to God and added two side rooms to worship the three Mazu statues that came with the ship. After World War II, Xiangong built the temple's gate in 1947 and promoted the opening of the temple. In 1975, the temple was rebuilt at its current location.

Address:

1. Taijiang National Park: 709台南市安南區四草大道118號台江國家公園
2. Sicao Fort: 709台南市安南區顯草街一段381號四草砲臺
3. Salt Fields: 727台南市北門區西南郊復育鹽田
4. Luerhmen Mazu Temple: 70958台南市安南區城安路160號正統鹿耳門聖母廟

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Tainan Travel: History of Salt Fields and Salt Museum

Since we are living in Tainan, we are also revisiting places we saw two years ago. This time, we came to the salt fields in Beimen. These salt fields are the oldest manual salt production sites in Taiwan with a 200-year tradition. It's a famous spot for photographers, especially those trying to capture the sunset. The place is open to visitors for free. If you don't go too late, you can also see about three workers there. Although we visited after rainy weather this time, the salt hills were covered, and no one was working there. Also, not many people visited this place this time. It still offered a nice view, but I would highly recommend seeing this place during sunset.

There are also other places dedicated to salt that you can visit in Taiwan: Sio House, Remains of Taiwan Salt Co. in Anping, the Salt Mountain with sculptures, and the Salt Museum in Qigu.

Jingzijiao Wapan Salt Fields (井仔腳瓦盤鹽田)

The first salt fields were built during the Dutch era. In 1648, the Dutch East India Company imported 20 pieces of crushed stone from China and built crystallized pools. They also opened up salt mines, although the salt produced in Taiwan was bitter and couldn't be sold.

In June 1895, Japan began to rule Taiwan. During World War I, with the development of Japanese industry, the demand for industrial salt increased. The Taiwan Governor’s Monopoly Bureau decided to establish a new salt industry in Taiwan in 1919. "Taiwan Salt Co., Ltd." was responsible for salt production, while Dainippon Salt Co., Ltd. was responsible for exporting salt to Japan.

In 1938, the company established the South Japan Salt Industry Co. and was approved to open a total of 6,000 industrial salt fields in Chiayi, Tainan, and Kaohsiung in the same year.

In 1980, the low-capacity salt fields were closed, but the overall trend of salt field area and production in Taiwan was rising. In 1980, it reached the historical peak of the area and output of salt fields in Taiwan, although it could only supply 30% of Taiwan's industrial salt demand. At this time, Taiwan's salt was subject to high prices.

Taiwan's plan to reduce production costs and increase competitiveness was ultimately a failure. The production of salt was limited by Taiwan's climate. In 2002, all salt fields were closed or abandoned. In November of the same year, the official shares were withdrawn from the Taiwan Salt Company, and Taiwan Salt was transformed into a private company.

Originally, the salt fields were established in Fengshan but moved twice due to flooding. It hasn't been relocated since the establishment by salt farmers in the north of Tainan (Beimen) in 1818. It used to be called Yongdong Field. The site was a desert until 1952 when the area was redesigned and became a central-style tiled-paved salt field.

The management office of Yunjianan Binhai National Scenic Area made a lot of effort to attract tourists to this area. They wanted people to experience the tradition of salt making and salt picking.

Salt is made by drawing seawater into salt pans and evaporating it in the sun for 3-5 days. These salt fields are made by manually laying broken debris of pottery and tiles onto the crystallizing pond. This method results in purer and clearer salt being mined. The tiles absorb heat quickly, making salt production quicker in tile-paved salt fields. The process of making salt in sand-paved salt fields is slower but can produce more salt at a lower cost.

While staying there, you can also see a few people working and learn more about this culture. Additionally, you can visit the gift shop, which sells salt in 366 colors and some food items as well.

See also: Sunset View at Salt Fields

See also: Sio House Salt Museum

 

 

Hong Guo Residence (井仔學堂)

Hong Guo Residence was built in the traditional three-sided courtyard style during the Japanese occupation period. It has wall foundations made of coral stone, with an open space embellished by the front lane and back screen. Sword lion decorations can still be seen on the gable wall. Later on, the house was bought for 300 NTD by Hong Hui and Hong Chao-bing. Hong Hui got the eastern half and the main hall, while Hong Chao-bing was left with the western half and the land beside the house, where he added another hall. The third-generation owner, Hong Zong-zhi, renovated the entire house in 2008 to serve as his residence in his old age. Part of it was converted into a B&B. An observation platform has been built on the eastern side of the house, perfect for watching the "Sunrise over Mt. Guanzai" and viewing the birds returning to roost in the evening.

Xing'an Temple (興安宮)

Keliaozai was settled by a man named Hong from Keliao around 1818. Most of the villagers are surnamed Hong. Initially, the villagers worshipped at Xingfu Temple, together with the people of Jingzaijiao. Later, in memory of their mother village, they built their own Yingling Temple in 1880. To serve as the host deity of this new temple, they brought in King Chi from Bao'an Temple in Keliao village. Later on, King Ji prompted his worshippers to exchange his place with the host deity of Bao'an Temple, an ancestor brought from China in 1678. In 1981, the temple was rebuilt in the southern style and renamed Xing'an Temple, and its current appearance is the result of a renovation carried out in 2013.

Salt Museum (臺灣鹽博物館)

On the way home, we also stopped by the Salt Museum in Qigu District. After more than ten years of planning, the museum opened in January 2005.

The first-floor exhibition room displays how salt workers worked in the salt fields in Taiwan in the 1960s. The second-floor exhibition room showcases the 30-year history of Taiwan's salt industries. The third-floor exhibition provides information about salt from around the world.

In the building, you can also find a gift shop with salt-themed products, as well as beverages, ice creams, and more.

Address:

1. Jingzijiao Wapan Salt Fields: 727台南市北門區西南郊復育鹽田
2. Hong Guo Residence: 727台南市北門區井仔學堂
3. Xing'an Temple: 727台南市北門區64號北門井仔腳興安宮
4. Salt Museum: 724台南市七股區鹽埕里66號七股鹽山

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