An industry rises… and dries up
Taiwan’s sea-salt industry dates back to the days of Dutch and Spanish rule. It was in 1648, in what is now the Tainan area, that the Dutch East India Company opened the first salt evaporation pools: the Laikou Salt Pans.
In 1661, after Ming Dynasty loyalist Zheng Chenggong took Taiwan from the Dutch, the new regime opened up two additional salt producing sites: Zhouzaiwei (in modern Tainan’s Yongkang District) and Dagou (in Kaohsiung’s Yancheng District).
After many Han Chinese pioneers came across to Taiwan, the “Six Major Salt Pans” of Qing-era Taiwan came to the fore: Laibei, Lainan, Laidong, Laixi, Zhoubei, and Zhounan.
But due to destructive ocean tides and rivers changing course, some salt operations had to be relocated. The “Zhounan” operation, originally in modern Tainan’s Yongkang District, moved to what is now Qigu District, and finally, in 1824, resettled in today’s Budai Township, Chiayi County.
After World War II and the ensuing end of Japanese colonial rule, the ROC government redefined the six major salt producing areas as Lukang, Budai, Beimen, Qigu, Tainan, and Kaohsiung. Of these, the Budai Salt Pans (including the former Zhounan Salt Pans) covered 1800 hectares, making them the largest site in the country.
Making salt from seawater by evaporation is a labor-intensive endeavor, and starting in the 1970s, one by one the salt-making areas went out of business. In May 2002, the Qigu Salt Pans halted operations, and Taiwan’s 355-year-old sun-dried sea-salt industry passed into history.
The Budai Salt Pans closed down in 2001. But seven years later, the Budai Cultural Association (BCA) relaunched the Zhounan evaporation ponds, giving new life to sun-dried sea salt.
Egrets are frequent visitors to the salt evaporation ponds.