Qigu Salt Mountain

Salt was made by evaporation along this coast for over three hundred years and the industry closed in 2002, leaving behind pans, a museum and a heap of unsold salt some six storeys high that has weathered into a hard white mountain. Steps run up it and the view from the top takes in the pans, the lagoon and the sea. The surrounding Qigu wetlands hold black-faced spoonbills through the winter.

What you actually see

• The salt mountain - a hard white heap several storeys high, climbed on steps.
• The salt pans - the evaporation fields the industry worked until 2002.
• The museum - displays on three centuries of salt making on this coast.
• The wetlands - the lagoon and pans holding spoonbills in winter.

When to go

October to April is the comfortable season and also the spoonbill window. Summer on the exposed salt is severely hot and glaring. Sunset from the top is the best light.

Honest expectations

The salt is hard, sharp underfoot and reflects the sun brutally; sunglasses and covered feet matter. The site is small and takes an hour. It is a commercialised stop with stalls at the base.

Nearby

The Qigu lagoon is alongside, and Tainan is southeast.