Budai Salt Field Introduction
The southwestern coast of Taiwan has long been an excellent salt production area due to its flat sandy beaches and strong sunlight. Budai has unique geographical conditions, and its history of salt production dates back to the Qing Dynasty's Qianlong period, lasting over two hundred years to date. Salt fields were established in Budai during the Qianlong reign, and by the third year of the Daoguang reign, the wealthy salt merchant Wu Shangxin further developed the salt collection area, laying the foundation for the future salt industry in Budai. During the Japanese colonial period, Budai's salt production became more mature, making Budai Port an important port for salt transportation, exporting salt to China and Japan. The white salt fields once had a "platinum" level industrial status, but like other regions, the manual salt production has almost entirely been replaced by mechanized methods, resulting in the decline of Budai's salt industry. The once vast salt fields no longer exhibit scenes of salt harvesting, and the small trains that used to shuttle through the salt fields have long since retired. The Budai salt fields are not limited to Budai Township; in fact, the entire salt production area spans across three townships along the coast of Chiayi County: Dongshi Township, Budai Township, and Yizhu Township. Roughly, the area is divided from west of Provincial Highway 17 to the coastline, from the northernmost Zhangtan Office to the southernmost Xinyuan Office, managing about ten production zones. The idle salt flats existing between Provincial Highways 17 and 61 connect to the Haomeiliao Ecological Conservation Area, becoming a crucial feeding ground for herons and migratory birds that visit Taiwan in winter, making it an excellent spot for birdwatching. All the salt fields in Budai Township are owned by Taiwan Salt Corporation, which was once the largest salt field in Taiwan. In the past, traveling south along Provincial Highway 17, one would see salt fields flanking both sides, with neatly arranged white salt pools shimmering with reflections, and snow-white salt mountains rising like small snow-capped hills, creating a unique industrial landscape.
