Lantan Lake Introduction
Chiayi City’s Night Highlight – "Lan Tan Moonlight" The moonlight at Lan Tan is particularly enchanting, known as "Lan Tan Moonlight," and it is one of the Eight Sights of Chiayi. At Sanxin Pavilion, a gentle breeze accompanies the elegant moonlight, where visitors wander, engage in romance, gather with family, or meet for tea and casual chats, enhancing the warm beauty of Lan Tan. The waters of Lan Tan are clear and translucent, surrounded by rolling hills. When the moonlight shrouds the lake, it becomes picturesque and poetic, hence "Lan Tan Moonlight" is listed as one of the Eight Sights of Chiayi. The lakeside highway provides a scenic tour around the lake, with viewing towers offering a panoramic view atop. There are several mountain trails leading to the back of Lan Tan, flanked by tall trees that continuously release phytoncides. The flat areas naturally form spaces for badminton or traditional dance, while some trails are steep, attracting sports enthusiasts looking for challenges, making it a great venue for exercise, leisure, and recreation. The natural resources are abundant, with the Chiayi Wilderness Conservation Association setting up observation teams in the back mountains of Lan Tan, Tree Garden, Tao Hua Yuan, and Yuan Lanzi Cold Spring area, leading many nature-loving visitors over the years to explore the beautiful and diverse natural world. The goal is to foster a lifestyle that embraces nature through deep observation and experience, rather than just an ideal. We hope that everyone can make friends with various birds, insects, plants, and large trees, appreciating the beauty of ecology and understanding the essence of biodiversity throughout the learning process. Historical Trivia Lan Tan is located near the eastern outskirts of Chiayi City, three kilometers from downtown. It was formerly known as "Hongmao Pizi," said to be dug by the Dutch three hundred years ago, thus named "Lan Tan." During the Dutch period, the water from the Bajiang River was diverted here to create a dam for irrigation in the Wang Tian area, which was directly managed by the Dutch East India Company. It remained during the Cheng regime but gradually declined after the Qing Dynasty, although the name persisted. During the Japanese occupation, the planning engineer for the "Great Wall of Water" - the Chiayi-Nantou Irrigation System, Kagawa Hitoshi, constructed the dam at Lan Tan to serve as a reservoir for the largest water works in Asia. To this day, it remains the primary water supply source for the Chiayi area.
