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You're here：Home >Regions & local info > Cigu Township
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 What you must know
 Environment
Cigu Township lies in the southwestern corner of Tainan County, at 120.88° E, 23.66° N., next to Jiali Township and Sigang Township in the east, Jiangjyun Township in the north, across Zengwun River from An’nan District in Tainan City in the south, and ends at the Taiwan Strait in the west. The generally flat area is 12km long north to south, 11km wide east to west, narrow in the north and slightly wider in the south, forming a trapezoid. Zengwun River and Cigu River are its main rivers.
The township is in a coastal region with many fish farms, tidal flats and sandbanks, and has rather diverse ecosystems.
Flora – mangroves (Avicennia marina) thrive along Cigu River and Daliao Ditch, and beefwood trees are commonly planted on the coastal dikes and sandbanks as protection and windbreak, forming beautiful forests.
Fauna – migrant birds flock here in large numbers, especially from September and October each year to the following April or June, many of which are protected species, including the endangered black-faced spoonbill, the rare and valuable oriental pratincole and little tern, and those deserving conservation such as the brown shrike.
History
According to some tales, the name “Cigu” was used because 360 years ago, seven settlers arrived here from Fujian Province and built a fish farm (wen) to work on it together, which was called “Ciguwen” and later shortened to Cigu. The local administrative division during the Japanese Occupation was “village” and later “township” after the Retrocession. The administration of Cigu Township originally encompassed Tuchengzai and Cingcaolun on the southern bank of Zengwun River, which were reassigned to today’s An’nan District in Tainan City in 1946.
Three centuries ago, the township was mostly uninhabited, the few early settlers had come over from Jhangjhou or Cyuanjhou in Fujian Province with Jheng Cheng-gong when he reclaimed Taiwan, making their homes first in Siaolong Village (close to Jintang Temple in present-day Jiali Township), and gradually spreading to the northern areas of the township over the next 80 years. At the time, there was only one port in the township, known as “Hougang,” and most people resided back of this port, making a living on offshore fishing. As the settlers’ population increased, they began to cultivate the lands near the coast, growing grains and making salt. The history of settlers in the central and southern areas is different to that of their northern counterparts. 380 years ago, they came over from Cyuanjhou and made their homes in Puding, Hanliao, Daliao, Yangchengdi, Gangcian and Gangnan (i.e., today’s Hanliao Village in Jiali Township, and the villages of Daliao and Dacheng in Cigu Township), living off fish farming and working the salt fields. 230 years ago, Caitou River overflowed and destroyed the salt fields, causing the people to disperse to around the central and southern areas of Cigu Township, where their descendants still live today.
After the Retrocession, the township included 25 villages, but in 1988, Gangdong Village and Gangsi Village were consolidated into Hougang Village, Dingtan Village and Taitan Village into Datan Village, changing the number to the present 23. The township is divided into three districts: North Cigu, Central Cigu and South Cigu. There are nine villages in South Cigu: Sangu, Shihfen, Yongji, Yihe, Jhuciao, Jhugang, Shulin, Kanping and Kanglang; eight in Central Cigu: Dacheng, Yucheng, Longshan, Jhongliao, Yancheng, Daliao, Si’nan and Cigu; six in North Cigu: Siliao, Dingshan, Datan, Dujia, Hougang and Chengnei.
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 Where you must go
Scenic spots
 Black-Faced Spoonbill Conservation Area:
 located at the mouth of Zengwun River. The rich source of plankton and warm climate attracts black-faced spoonbills to fly south from Siberia each year beginning in October to spend the winter here. At present, there are only about 800 black-faced spoonbills left in the world, and about 500 can be seen at Cigu, enhancing its reputation in the international bird-watching community.
Cigu Salt Fields:
Stretching from Beimen Township at the northwestern tip of Tainan all the way along the coast to Cigu Township in the southwestern corner are the vast, magnificent salt fields dotted around like constellations -- this is the home of salt. The two major salt fields of Beimen and Cigu have long been the most important salt production sites in Taiwan, covering an area of 2,100 hectares and turning out 110,000 tonnes of salt annually, or 60% of the province’s total production. Each year during the dry period from October to the following March, people here channel seawater inland to make salt. They toil daily exposed to seawater, salty winds under the fiery sun, as the women rake the salt and the men carry the loads, piling basketfuls of salt high like hills.
 In its unprocessed form, the salt made in this region is good for agricultural, fishing and industrial use, but requires further washing and crystallization to become edible. In recent years, local producers have developed low-sodium salt, iodine-free salt and bath salts to meet market demands. However, with consideration to the high costs of manual salt-making, unstable weather conditions and land resource utilization, Taiwan has begun importing salt and developing other sources with foreign partners. Perhaps in a few years time, the salt field scenes will become nothing more than a memory.
 Ocean View Pavilion:
Built in the center of the lagoon, the pavilion offers panoramic views of the lagoon from high up, with the numerous shelves of oyster racks. The unique landscape of aquaculture in shallow seawater is made lyrical in the rays of the setting sun, and a sight from which people find hard to turn away.
 Cigu Yanshan:
Found at No. 66, Yancheng Village, the mountain of salt piled high was part of Taiwan Salt Corp.’s Cigu Salt Fields, covering an area of 2 hectares. It is a sight to behold the white peak looming large on the shore of the lagoon, and the commonly-called Yanshan is now a landmark tourist attraction in Cigu.
Taiwan Salt Museum:
 Located next to the Cigu Yanshan. As salt-making in Taiwan was to enter the history books in 2002, in order to preserve the salt industry culture, Taiwan Salt Corp. drew plans to build the Taiwan Salt Museum in 1998. The company privatized in 2004, and Tainan County Government took temporary charge of the museum’s operations. However, with consideration to the need for professional management, an “operation and transfer” project was created for Yanguang Foundation to manage the museum for two years, and on January 30, 2005, the museum officially opened to visitors.
 Cigu Lagoon:
The remnant of Taijiang. The old lagoon (Taijiang Inland Sea) partly disappeared in mountain torrents to form the landscape seen today. The lagoon is framed by sandbanks (Dingtou’ershan and Wangzailiaoshan) to the west, and is the largest in Taiwan, stretching across 1600 hectares. Windbreak trees on the sandbanks and the unique sand ripple formations contribute to the beauty of the scenery.
Mangroves:
 The calm waters at the mouth of Cigu River are perfect for plants that grow in a saline coastal habitat. The mangrove forest here covers an area of 2 hectares, like a green oasis in the sea, and is home to many birds, therefore a great place for bird-watching. Most of the plants seen are black mangroves (Avicennia marina), with some sandy mangroves (Lumnitzera racemosa Willd), but stilt mangroves and kandelias (Kandelia obovata) are rare.
Ancestor Worship Ceremony at Dujia:
 Dujia is a fishing village in the northwestern outskirt of Cigu Township, where almost all the residents have the surname, Ciou, a typical single-surname community. On the morning of every Winter Solstice, an ancestor worship ceremony is held at Longtian Ancestral Shrine overseen by the village chief, in which all newborns and newly-weds of the year come pay their respects, acknowledge their lineage and carry on the family torch.
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 What you can’t miss eating
Special snacks
Cigu Seafood Street:
The Seafood Street along Route 176 is the most famous food district in the township. Notable restaurants that offer fresh seafood at cheap prices include The Fishing Village, Shangpin, Brother An (the original restaurant on the street), Red Windmill, Tongyi, Tongda, Yanshan 100, Longmen, and others nearby, such as Ciaotou, Sianyi, Si Nan Chun Resort, etc. Every day, gourmets come especially from other counties and cities to sample the delicacies.
Excerpts from Nanying Snacks by Syu Sian-ping (Tainan County Cultural Affairs Bureau)
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