Beimen Tiangong Temple Introduction
Beimen Bromine Tower, a wartime munitions manufacturing facility for bromine, which is an important chemical raw material widely used in flame retardants, extinguishing agents, refrigerants, medicine, pesticides, and chemical fertilizers. During the war, the Japanese colonial empire extracted bromine from concentrated seawater or brine due to the need for explosives in military aviation fuel. Since the production raw materials came from brine produced in salt fields, similar munitions raw material manufacturing factories were built near salt fields. In 1939, three companies, namely the Japan Soda Company, the Japan Salt Industry, and Taiwan Development Company, together formed the "South Japan Chemical Industry Co., Ltd." in Kaohsiung City, establishing the Anping Factory in Tainan City and branch factories in Budai and Beimen, including the Beimen Bromine Tower. The Beimen Bromine Tower is primarily constructed of cement, wood, and brick, covered with iron sheets. After the war, the iron sheets and wood were dismantled by locals, leaving only the visible "three in one, plus one" red brick tower today. According to local elders, the brine source was transported through bamboo pipes made from square Moso bamboo from the vicinity of Zhongzhou and Jingzijiao (at that time, the Beimen Salt Field included five areas: Keliou, Wangyagang, Jingzijiao, Beimen, and Zhongzhou) to manufacture bromine. Currently located alongside Provincial Highway 17, the Beimen Bromine Tower occupies an area of about a dozen pings. Its exterior appears to be gradually peeling, yet it does not diminish the historical significance it once bore.
