[Suggested Itinerary]
Day1 Black-faced Spoonbill Ecology Exhibition Hall -> Qigu Lagoon -> Qigu Salt Mountains -> Taiwan Salt Museum -> Cultural Gallery of Wangye at Donglong Temple -> Beimen Jingzaijiao Pottery Shard Salt Fields -> Nankunshen Daitian Temple 
Day2 Taiwan Black-foot Disease Socio-Medical Service Memorial House 
 
Two-day Coastal Ecology Tour, Qigu District & Beimen District, Tainan City

Day2 Taiwan Black-foot Disease Socio-Medical Service Memorial House
Opened in 2005, the Black-faced Spoonbill Conservation, Management and Research Center is designed with exhibition, video presentation and viewing areas that introduce visitors to the black-faced spoonbills and the precious wetland ecology of Qigu.

Qigu Lagoon is the biggest lagoon in Taiwan. In addition to its flood control and coastal preservation functions, the lagoon is an ecological treasure chest. Broad-leafed mangroves and black-faced spoonbills find a habitat here. Visitors can take a raft tour of the lagoon for an up-close look at the mangroves and scenic oyster racks, and the fishermen casting their nets. The sandbars here are home to fiddler crabs, mudskippers, and other denizens.

Among the biggest landmarks in Qigu are the towering "Salt Mountains," enormous piles of salt that resemble snow-covered peaks under the hot sun. At the nearby Taiwan Salt Museum, built in the shape of a salt crystal, visitors can trace back across the 338-year history of Taiwan's salt industry. The museum exhibits also introduce the salt industries of other countries around the world.

The Cultural Gallery of Wangye at Donglong Temple is the only museum of its type in Taiwan. The gallery presents videos and photograph exhibits introducing the origins of Wangye (plague gods) in Taiwan and the process of the gods' arrival on the island. Local history also comes alive at the nearby Beimen Jingzaijiao Pottery Shard Salt Fields. Planned by the Southwest Coast National Scenic Area Administration, this salt field continues to produce salt with traditional techniques. Visitors can even roll up their pants for a bit of salt-raking fun.

Daitian Temple in Nankunshen is the oldest temple in Taiwan dedicated to the Wangye gods. This grade two historic site hosts the island's main Wangye ceremony and attracts four million worshippers every year.

The Beimen Visitor Center is situated in a remodeled warehouses on the southwest side of the Beimen Salt Washing Factory, with a gabled pitched roof preserved from the original design. The building has two major spectacle features: the gallery wall with exhibitions of the artworks of an amateur artist, Hong Tong, and the "Beimen whale," specimen of a sperm whale. In addition, brief introductions of local tourism resources, including the history of the salt business, wetlands ecology, religion and culture, local industry, and literature and art, are available in the interactive multimedia area.


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Last Update:2012-04-19 09:35:52