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Budaich Salt Works
Taiwan’s southwestern coast, with its flat shores and intense sunlight, has been an ideal salt production area since ancient times. Budai enjoys exceptional geographical conditions, and its salt-salting history dates back to the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty—over two centuries ago. Salt ponds began to be developed in Budai during the Qianlong reign, and in the third year of Daoguang, the wealthy salt merchant Wu Shangxin expanded the salt yard to a hundred “jia” (units), laying the foundation for Budai’s future salt-salting industry. During the Japanese colonial period, the salt works in Budai matured further, making the port of Budai an important salt shipping hub that exported salt to China and Japan.
The once white, “white‑gold” salt fields held an industrial status of unparalleled value, but like salt fields elsewhere, mechanized salt-salting has almost entirely replaced manual labor, leading to the decline of Budai’s salt industry. The vast salt yards no longer display salt‑saling or salt‑harvesting scenes, and the small trains that once traversed the yards have long since retired.
The Budai salt works extend beyond Budai Township itself, covering the coastal areas of Dongshi, Budai, and Yizhu in Chiayi County. Roughly delineated, it spans from the west of National Highway 17 to the coastline, from the northern Zhuangtan Post Office to the southern Xinwen Post Office, managing about ten production zones. The abandoned salt flats between National Highways 17 and 61, adjoining the Haomeiliao Ecological Reserve, form a crucial feeding ground for stork species and wintering waterfowl arriving in Taiwan, and are an excellent spot for birdwatching.
All salt fields in Budai Township belong to Taiwan Salt Corporation and were once the largest salt works in Taiwan. As one drives south along National Highway 17, the scenery of salt fields stretches on both sides: neat rows of white salt ponds glittering in the light, white salt mounds resembling miniature snow peaks rising from the plain, creating a unique industrial landscape.
The once white, “white‑gold” salt fields held an industrial status of unparalleled value, but like salt fields elsewhere, mechanized salt-salting has almost entirely replaced manual labor, leading to the decline of Budai’s salt industry. The vast salt yards no longer display salt‑saling or salt‑harvesting scenes, and the small trains that once traversed the yards have long since retired.
The Budai salt works extend beyond Budai Township itself, covering the coastal areas of Dongshi, Budai, and Yizhu in Chiayi County. Roughly delineated, it spans from the west of National Highway 17 to the coastline, from the northern Zhuangtan Post Office to the southern Xinwen Post Office, managing about ten production zones. The abandoned salt flats between National Highways 17 and 61, adjoining the Haomeiliao Ecological Reserve, form a crucial feeding ground for stork species and wintering waterfowl arriving in Taiwan, and are an excellent spot for birdwatching.
All salt fields in Budai Township belong to Taiwan Salt Corporation and were once the largest salt works in Taiwan. As one drives south along National Highway 17, the scenery of salt fields stretches on both sides: neat rows of white salt ponds glittering in the light, white salt mounds resembling miniature snow peaks rising from the plain, creating a unique industrial landscape.
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