Chao Nan Salt Field Introduction
The fishery and salt industry thrived since the Qing Dynasty, with "full bags of fish and salt" representing a beautiful past. In 1824, the Zhounan Salt Field was established, ushering in the "golden age of salt fields" in Taiwan. Over time, the production of edible salt transitioned from domestic to imported sources, and in 2002, "sun-dried salt" in Taiwan came to an end. To revive the rich salt field culture of Budai, the Budai Mouth Culture Association envisions a "Happy Salt Field Heart Salt Village," using "environmental education/activity industry" as a sustainable management strategy, combining salt field production, life, and ecology. This revitalized the Zhounan Salt Field, which had been inactive for six years, allowing it to regain life and reestablish the salt fields as a site of culture, tourism, and education, enabling visitors to personally experience the old souls and new charm of the salt fields with their hands and feet. The "Zhounan Salt Field" is a "cultural salt field," while the nearby Xincuozi community (including Longjiang and Xincuo villages) represents a "cultural salt village," providing a rich perspective on the history, local context, and living situations of Budai's salt industry from a cultural and daily life angle. The "Salt Offering Festival" is an important annual event at the Zhounan Salt Field. In the past, salt workers prepared offerings to the salt fields during significant festivals to thank the heavens and deities for a bountiful harvest. Since 2008, the Zhounan Salt Field has held the Salt Offering Festival at the end of each year to express gratitude to the land, combining traditional industrial culture to form an important contemporary cultural festival.
