North of the city, about an hour's drive, Tainan turns into salt, water, and big open sky. This is the old salt country around Qigu (七股), and a day out here strings together a snow-white mountain of salt, mirror-flat salt fields that catch the sunset, oyster boats heading out to the sandbars, and a mangrove channel locals call the Little Amazon. It is the strange, beautiful, working edge of the coast, and almost no foreign visitors make it out here. You'll want your own wheels: a car, a scooter, or a hired driver for the day. Buses exist but they are sparse and slow.
Plan it right
- Distance: about an hour from the old town by car.
- Get there: car, scooter, or a chartered driver. Public buses are infrequent; the Taiwan Tourist Shuttle 98 (Fucheng to Taijiang line) stops at the Salt Mountain.
- Time it: aim to finish at the Jingzaijiao salt fields for sunset, the payoff shot of the day.
- Bring: cash, sun protection, water. There is little shade out on the flats.
Qigu Salt Mountain (七股鹽山)
The anchor of the trip. The Qigu salt field was once Taiwan's largest, until salt drying ended here in 2002, and the mountain is its old salt pile, set hard over the years: white peaks about six storeys high that you can climb for a view over the flats, looking for all the world like snow under a tropical sun. Try the salty ice pops, which come with coffee too, and are better than they sound. The Taiwan Salt Museum next door has been closed for renovation since January 2022 and is due to reopen, under a new name, around the end of 2027.
- Where: No. 66, Yancheng Village, Qigu District.
- Hours: 09:00 to 18:00 daily.
- Entry: a cleaning fee of NT$50 per person on foot, or per scooter or bicycle; NT$100 per car.
- Good for: an easy hour, families, the view from the top.
Oyster boats to the sandbars
Qigu's lagoon is oyster country, and small operators run boats out across the water to the Wangziliao sandbar, past the oyster racks, often with a fresh-grilled oyster or two on board. It is our favorite thing to do out here, and we've written it up in full.
In short: boats leave from two main piers, with a roughly hour-and-a-half cruise plus time on the sandbar. Come hungry, because they don't export these.
→ The full Qigu oyster boat guide
Jingzaijiao Tile-paved Salt Fields (井仔腳瓦盤鹽田)
Save these for last, for the sunset. Just north in the Beimen district, the Jingzaijiao fields are Taiwan's oldest tile-paved salt fields still on their original site, here since 1818, more than two centuries. They are laid out in a grid of shallow tile-paved pans, and near closing time, as the sun drops, the water turns to mirror and the whole field glows pink and gold. It is a well-known sunset spot on this coast, and it is free.
- Where: beside Xing'an Temple, Beimen District, a short drive north of Qigu.
- Hours: the national scenic area lists 09:00 to 19:30 from April to September and 09:00 to 18:30 from October to March; the city's listing says 09:00 to 18:00. Free to enter.
- Note: the pans are at their best in the half hour before sunset.
Sicao Green Tunnel (四草綠色隧道)
On the way back toward the city, in the Sicao wetlands of Taijiang National Park, a raft takes you down a narrow channel roofed over by mangroves. It's known as the Little Amazon. It is short and gentle, but genuinely lovely, and a cool, shaded break from the open glare of the flats. This one sits closer to Anping than to Qigu proper, so it slots naturally into the homeward leg.
- Where: beside Sicao Dazhong Temple, Dazhong Rd, Annan District (between Qigu and Anping).
- Hours: 08:00 to 16:00. Green Tunnel ride NT$200, concessions NT$100.
- Good for: a 30-minute boat ride, shade, birdlife.
Black-faced spoonbills (winter only)
The black-faced spoonbill, a rare wading bird, flies south each autumn to winter on the tidal flats north of the Zengwen River mouth in Qigu, now the Black-faced Spoonbill Reserve (黑面琵鷺保護區). The city's birdwatching season runs from October to March, when the viewing shelters have telescopes and volunteer guides. Bring binoculars. Out of season, it's just you and the salt.
How we'd run the day
Late morning out to the Salt Mountain, an oyster-boat cruise around midday, the Sicao tunnel in the heat of the afternoon for shade, then north to Jingzaijiao to land the sunset. Drive home in the dark with salt on your skin. It is a full, unhurried day, and the kind of Tainan most people never see.
This is a natural third day on a longer trip. → The 3-day plan
Want help planning the drive?
The salt coast rewards good timing, mostly getting the sunset right, and it's easy to misjudge without local knowledge of the tides and the light. If you'd like a hand sequencing it, or a driver for the day, that's something we can help with. → Work with us
Sources
Salt Mountain hours, fees and bus from Travel Tainan's Qigu Salt Mountain page; its history from the Taiwan Tourism Administration and the Southwest Coast National Scenic Area. The salt museum's renovation from Travel Tainan and Liberty Times (May 2026). Jingzaijiao from the Southwest Coast National Scenic Area and Travel Tainan. Sicao Green Tunnel from Travel Tainan and ETtoday (July 2025). Black-faced spoonbills from the Taiwan Tourism Administration and the Tainan City Government. Checked October 2026.