Budai Salt Field (Budai Salt Mountain) Introduction
In the Qing Dynasty during the reign of Emperor Qianlong, Budai began to develop salt fields. By the third year of the reign of Emperor Daoguang, the wealthy salt merchant Wu Shangxin further expanded the salt fields in Baijia, laying the foundation for Budai's salt production industry. During the Japanese occupation, Budai's salt fields matured, and at that time, Budai Harbor became an important port for salt transportation, shipping Budai's salt to China and Japan. The bright white salt fields once held a "platinum" level of industrial status. Like other regions’ salt fields, salt production has almost entirely been replaced by mechanized methods, which led to a decline in Budai's salt industry. The vast salt fields are now devoid of the sights of salt harvesting and drying, and the small trains that used to run through the salt fields have long since retired. The entrance to the Budai Salt Mountain is marked by the monument "Millennium Budai," designed by the internationally renowned sculptor Li Liangren, who spent two months on the design and repeatedly returned to his home in Budai to incorporate creativity inspired by history and memory. The nearly seven-meter-tall work, with a base width of five meters, is composed of copper plates arranged in wave-like lines, a sail-shaped hand, and streamlined wing shapes, symbolizing the ocean, sunlight, passion, and life. The copper sculpture also features abstract representations of local specialties such as fish, salt, oysters, and crabs; as well as the sun that crystallizes seawater into salt. Through the light and shadow changes produced by the sculpture's hollow spaces, the viewer's imagination and perspective are infinitely extended. (Source: Newidea 190, Written by Wu Deliang) Taiwan Salt Biotech Third Plant
