Beimen Salt Mountain Lighthouse Introduction
Beimen Bromine Tower, a wartime munitions manufacturing facility, produced bromine, an important chemical raw material widely used in flame retardants, fire extinguishers, refrigerants, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and chemical fertilizers. During the war, the Japanese colonial empire extracted bromine from concentrated seawater or brine due to the demand for explosives in military aviation fuel. The production facilities were typically built near salt fields, as the raw materials came from brine produced at salt farms. In 1939, three companies—Nippon Soda, Japan Salt Industry, and Taiwan Development Corporation—formed the "South Japan Chemical Industry Co., Ltd." in Kaohsiung City, establishing an Anping factory in Tainan City along with branch factories in Budai and Beimen, one of which is the Beimen Bromine Tower. The tower is primarily constructed of cement, wood, and brick, covered with iron sheets. After the war, locals dismantled the iron sheets and wood, leaving only the red brick high tower, which still bears the inscription "Three in One, Plus One." According to local elders, the brine source was near Beimen Zhongzhou and Jingzai Kiao (at that time, Beimen Salt Field included five areas: Keliou, Wangyegang, Jingzai Kiao, Beimen, and Zhongzhou), using bamboo pipes made from square Moso bamboo to transport brine for bromine production. Currently located next to Taiwan Provincial Highway 17, the Beimen Bromine Tower occupies an area of about several tens of square meters. From a distance, its appearance is gradually peeling, but it still retains the significant legacy of its past responsibilities.
