Beimen Dist.

Bromine is an important chemical widely used in fire retardants, extinguishing agents, refrigerants, medicine, pesticide, and chemical fertilizers. As a wartime supply during Japanese colonization, bromine was extracted from high-salinity seawater from the salt pan or refined from brine, bromine plants were built near salt plants. Nippon Soda, Nippon Salt, and Taiwan Development companies invested in the Anping Plant with branches in Beimen through joint-venturing in Anpign, Tainan City, in 1939. The Beimen Bromine Refinery was one of them.

Located on a hill near mileage 143 of the Provincial Highway 17 in Beimen District, it is said that it was the place where Xi ZHENG, the aunt of Cheng-kung ZHENG, was buried. Local residents call the mausoleum as the “Old Grandma’s Tomb”. It is said that to extinguish the lifeline of the Kingdom of Tungnin in Taiwan by means of fengshui (geomancy), the Qing government searched for the graves of the descendants of Cheng-kung ZHENG across Taiwan.

There is no way of missing the minimalist Crystal Church near Beimen Visitor Center. Its exterior combines the flowing curves of the Sydney Opera House and the pristine clarity of the wedding chapel on Guam. Sparkling crystals are set into the white steel ribs rising from the shallow waters of the salt field. The way they reflect the light of the sun and the ripples in the water form a fantastic shrine to love and the dream wedding chapel for countless couples.

Xinan Temple Arts Center(新安宮藝文中心) is located in Kunjiang Village in Beimen, not far from the busy Nankunshen Daitian Temple(南鯤鯓代天府), but has the slightly desolate air and quiet of a traditional Beimen fishing village. This is where Mr. Hong Tong(洪通先生), known as the “Picasso of the East (東方畢卡索),” created works that stunned the art world. Hong’s works have a marked fantastical character, his color use and brush strokes of a kind rare at the time; distinctive features of his paintings are the undecipherable hieroglyphics and people without ears.

Kunjiang Ward of Beimen District (北門區鯤江里) is a small village near the Nankunshen Dai Tian Temple (南鯤鯓代天府). Hong Tong (洪通), who started painting when he was 50 years old, was called "Uncle Red Bean" by local residents. In the 1970s, his name was well-known across Taiwan and he sparked a fashion for amateur painting, making this place famous for being the home of the "Picasso of the Orient".

Beimen Visitor Center (北門遊客中心) is housed in a refurbished warehouse on the southwest side of the old Beimen Salt Washing Factory(北門洗滌鹽工廠). The outer wall is decorated with paintings by local painter Hong Tong(洪通), and recently, in response to Beimen's rise as a wedding photo location, the wall has been adorned with wedding themed decorations and art installations of all kinds.

According to legend, when the ancestors crossed the sea and sailed to Taiwan in 1673, they brought a Li Fu Qian Sui (李府千歲)statue with them to help them cross safely. After they arrived safely and settled, they built three straw huts where the Li Fu Qiang Sui statue was enshrined. In 1945, Wen Fu Qian Sui was invited to enter the temple from Donglong Temple in Donggang, Pingtung(屏東東港) to help the common people. At this time it was renamed Donglong Temple(東隆宮), and the name is still used today. The King Boat Ceremony (王船祭典) is held once every three years.

Beimenyu Church(北門嶼教會) was established around 1959 and was built for local people who suffered from Blackfoot Disease(烏腳病); due to long-term drinking of ground water that contained arsenic, many locals contracted this disease, which often resulted in amputation, and suffered greatly. The church was founded to provide these people with spiritual comfort. In cooperation with Dr. Wang Jin-he, the church treated patients psychologically with faith and the doctor treated their disease with medicine. The church and doctor are respected and admired by locals to this day.

Luzhugou Fishing Harbor(蘆竹溝漁港) is a little-known attraction in Beimen District. Nearby Jiangjun River, it faces two sandbars, Qingshangangshan and Xinbeiganshan. The water is clear and waves small in the harbor, making it ideal for oyster farming. Line after line of oyster rafts are reflected on the calm water. The pure white oyster shells piled up on the shore look very much like a pure white beach. Without looking carefully, you might not notice the egrets that live there.

Jing Zhai Jiao Tile Paved Salt Fields(井仔腳瓦盤鹽田) were Beimen's first salt fields, and the oldest remains of tile paved salt fields in existence, and feature beautiful art made from salt tiles that resemble mosaics. 2002 saw the end of 338 years of thriving salt industry at Jing Zhai due to the rising costs of labor, and the salt fields which used to cover this whole place were abandoned for a while.