Chestnut Harvest at Guantian

Guantian township of Tainan County is famous as the hometown of Mr Chen Sui-bian, Taiwan's former president who came from an ordinary family. The name "Guan Tian" originated from the name "Guan Dian" (literally means "tenanted farm") during the period when Taiwan was under Zheng Chenggong's rule in Ming Dynasty. Guantian was located at the center of Tainan County to the west of Alishan and at the foot of Wushan Mountain. Consisting mainly of flat lands and well irrigated with Wushantou Reservoir as its water source, the township is abundant in a wide variety of produce, namely rice, sugar cane, orange (a species pronounced as "Liouding" in Chinese), and water chestnuts. This typical and traditional rural village community tops the island with its yield of water chestnuts, and is famed as Home to Water Chestnuts. Sichuang Village of Guantian Township, where president Chen Sui-bian was born and brought up, has also become a hot tourist spot that attracts crowds of visitors.

Guantian Township is linked by rail and roads that extend in all directions, with No.1 Provincial Highway, Lungtian Station of the North-South Railway, Chongshan Highway all going through it, making the traffic very smooth in this area. There are the famous scenic areas of Wushantou Reservoir, Tainan National University of the Arts, Black Pottery Cultural Ruins, and Lungtian Wine Factory, Hulupi, and Tartar Pheasant Sanctuary. The boats on water chestnut farms in Tongchuang and Sichuang are among the Sinnan scenic spots and a must-see.

The annual yield of water chestnuts in Guantian averages four thousand tons, making the township Taiwan's number one place of production of water chestnuts. The water chestnuts are grown on lands that amount to over 500 hectares and harvested from July to September and October in autumn, the season of abundant production. The township mainly produces two types of water chestnuts -- shallow-water chestnuts and deep-water chestnuts. While the latter is lighter in color and tastes sweet and delicate, the shell color of the former is darker and will stain your hands after you touch it.