This past weekend, I participated in a group tour activity with my Chinese teacher to Nanliao Harbor (南寮 Nánliáo) and Xiangshan District (香山 Xiāngshān). These two areas are on the beach just west of Hsinchu.
These coastal areas, also part of Hsinchu County, have been important fishing and fish farming areas in Taiwan for decades. In recent times, tourism has also become a large part of the local economy.
We started the day at the Tourist Information Center in Nanliao with some great views of the ocean. On the beaches, there are some concrete traps that are old defenses against invasion from when military tensions between Taiwan and mainland China were higher. Behind the sand are some small harbors, which are the old docking areas for fishing vessels. In the 1900s, the Taiwanese economy relied much more on farming and fishing, and these old harbors used to be connected to the ocean. Every day, dozens of ships would leave in the morning, make the day’s catch, and return by early afternoon to bring their fresh fish to market.
Besides the harbors, the town of Nanliao used to support an entire fishing economy.
