Taijiang National ParkTaijiang National Park

The river flows behind Dazhong Temple. It is actually a canal built in the 19th century to transport salt and sugar and other daily essentials. Originally it linked Sicao Lake to Guosai Harbor in the north (today’s Cigu) . The canal was very shallow and bamboo rafts (zhu fa) were the only vessels that could sail on it, which is why it was named “Zhufa Harbor”. Today it is used as fish ponds.

The wetlands are of international importance. Over 300 years ago the wetlands of today were Beishanwei and Nanshan at the southern end of the Sicao Inland Sea. In the floods that followed a storm in 1823 Zengwen River changed course and the large amount of sediment washed down from upstream accumulated and created new land in Taijiang Inland Sea, also splitting the sea into three saltwater lagoons: Kunshen, Sicao and Cigu lagoons.

These wetlands are of national importance. The large amount of nutrient salts carried from upstream make it the habitat of living creatures at every level. The wetlands include the Council of Agriculture-announced Tainan County Zengwen River Estuary North Bank Black-faced Spoonbill Refuge and they are also an important habitat for many other animals.

Dingtoue Sandbank in Cigu Lagoon has the most westerly lighthouse of mainland Taiwan—Guosheng Lighthouse. The lighthouse was originally built in 1957 at Ganzaikliaoxian in Guosheng Harbor.

Located on the west side of Cigu Lagoon, here visitors can enjoy a pleasure trip on the lagoon on a bamboo raft. Dingtoue Sandbank has mainland Taiwan’s most westerly lighthouse, Guosheng Lighthouse. It was originally built at Gangzailuashan in Guosheng Harbor.

The mangrove forest covers about 300 hectares. Mangrove grows best in a wide tidal zone to grow and the mud flats of the coast of western Taiwan provide an ideal environment which is why most of the mangrove in Taiwan grow on the west coast. The mangrove in the Cigu area are mainly Verbenaceae family Avicennia marina and Combretaceae family.

This long and narrow sandbank near the ocean, is a natural barrier at the southern end of Cigu Inland Sea. It was formed from the accumulation of silt carried from the rivers of west Taiwan by the Taiwan Straits currents over many years, gradually emerging above the water.

This is a simple wharf used by leisure bamboo rafts that take visitors around the lagoon, getting its name because of the six drainage holes (liu kong).

Located in Cigu Township, the lagoon has an area of 1,350 hectares, making it the largest lagoon in Taiwan. The fine ecological environment nurtures a host of marine creatures. These, and the fish in the fish farming ponds, provide food for black-faced spoonbills and other migratory birds and provide an excellent habitat. The north bank sandbank is the best place to observe the spoonbills in autumn and winter.