Qieding Jhuhu Saltworks Watchtower (茄萣竹滬鹽灘鹽警槍樓) - Spectral Codex
Spectral Codex
Qieding Jhuhu Saltworks Watchtower
茄萣竹滬鹽灘鹽警槍樓

Locations

Taiwan once produced substantial amounts of salt through solar evaporation ponds scattered along the western coast from Lukang to Kaohsiung. At the southernmost extent of the range the former Kaohsiung Saltworks (高雄鹽場) operated out of two areas in the northwest: Wushulin Saltworks (烏樹林鹽灘) in Yong’an and Jhuhu Saltworks (竹滬鹽灘) in Qieding.

The saltworks watchtower in context. Wetlands (and the former salt production area) is off to the right.
The saltworks watchtower in context. Wetlands (and the former salt production area) is off to the right.

Jhuhu Saltworks was established between 1938 and 1942 after a chemical company purchased a number of fish farms and began flattening the land for use in salt production. Although production seemingly never began due to the war effort the area was still brought under the control of the state-owned salt company in the late 1940s.

Looking up at the old watchtower.
Looking up at the old watchtower.
The north-facing side of the old watchtower.
The north-facing side of the old watchtower.
This side of the old watchtower would have faced the salt fields.
This side of the old watchtower would have faced the salt fields.

Salt banditry became an issue in the 1950s as the government relied on revenue from their monopoly on its production and sale. Consequently, the salt police built and manned a number of watchtowers along the margins of the major salt producing areas, including this one at Jhuhu Saltworks.

Another look at the old watchtower.
Another look at the old watchtower.
The watchtower at ground level.
The watchtower at ground level.
A closer look at one of the portholes.
A closer look at one of the portholes.
The old watchtower in black and white.
The old watchtower in black and white.
The view from the old watchtower looking south.
The view from the old watchtower looking south.
Gazing south across the wetlands from the site of the watchtower, Xingda Power Station on the horizon.
Gazing south across the wetlands from the site of the watchtower, Xingda Power Station on the horizon.
The landscape east of the old watchtower is entirely consumed by aquaculture ponds.
The landscape east of the old watchtower is entirely consumed by aquaculture ponds.

The salt monopoly ended in the late 1970s and this particular salt field went out of production in the 1980s. While most other watchtowers fell into disrepair and were either left to collapse or destroyed outright this one survived to the new millennium—the last of its kind in Kaohsiung. It was finally recognized for its heritage value and restored in the late 2010s.

Map

Heritage Status

  • Historic Building (歷史建築)

Recorded On

Links

Themes

Series: Taiwan Summer Road Trip 2017

In the summer of 2017 I borrowed a scooter to ride to a music festival in Nantou and only returned it several months later. It wasn’t a continuous road trip—I’d leave the scooter parked at various HSR stations as I slowly made my way around central and southern Taiwan—but each leg of the trip usually involved 3 or 4 days of riding. In the end I gathered enough material for 60 or 70 posts, only some of which have been published.

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Author

Profile photo of Alexander Synaptic, founder of Spectral Codex
Alexander Synaptic
Curator, Spectral Codex

I am a web application developer, photojournalist, urban explorer, and history enthusiast passionate about the open web and documenting my experiences on this planet. This project was founded in the early 2010s and has evolved into a sort of personal Wikipedia of places that interest me (and often the photographs I’ve taken there). I’m originally from Toronto, Canada, but spend most of my time residing in Taiwan.