Guoye Gray Kiln Introduction
The gray-white building by the Gua Ye Coast, resembling a castle, is the Gua Ye Lime Kiln. Although it is located on national forest land, it was independently constructed by local residents as a lime-burning facility. When it was built in the 1960s, cement was not yet widespread, so the walls were made using local basalt from Penghu and mortar; later additions featured hollow brick walls and reinforced concrete floors and roofs. During the establishment of the Gua Ye Lime Kiln, construction was booming in Taiwan, with lime being the mainstream adhesive building material. A large quantity of Penghu lime was sold to Taiwan. Lime was also essential for shipbuilding, marking sports fields, and making plaster models, thus the business of the Gua Ye Lime Kiln flourished at that time. The owner invested significantly in the infrastructure of the lime kiln. However, the production of lime caused considerable air pollution, and after the mass production of cement, the lime production in Penghu rapidly declined, coming to an end around 1970, with Gua Ye Lime Kiln merely riding on the coattails of past prosperity. The Gua Ye Lime Kiln features two groups of buildings, east and west. The eastern group includes two lime kilns, both circular in shape, along with several gray storage rooms for screening lime and storage sheds. The western group contains only some storage sheds, a restroom, and a water tower.
