Taixi

Taixi (台西) is a rural coastal township in western Yunlin County, at roughly the midpoint of Taiwan's west coast — bordered by Mailiao to the north and Sihu to the south, with a stretch of Taiwan Strait coastline. It was originally called Haikou ("river mouth"), reflecting its position where the Huwei River meets the sea. Han settlers from Zhangzhou and Quanzhou developed the area into a prosperous port during the Qing dynasty, but a major storm in 1898 silted up the harbour with flood debris, and the town never regained its earlier prosperity. It was renamed Taixi ("Taiwan West") in 1941. Today it is known for oyster and clam aquaculture and for the wetlands that have grown up around its harbour.

The climate is subtropical, with hot, humid, typhoon-prone summers and mild, dry winters typical of Taiwan's west coast.

By Car / Road

Taixi is accessible via Freeway 61.

A car is needed.

• Taixi Fishing Harbour — A commercial oyster harbour, its wharves lined with piles of oyster shells and strings of cultivated oysters, distinguishing it from Taiwan's more conventional fishing ports.
• Taixi Seaside Park (Taixi Wetlands) — A roughly 121-hectare wetland park built by the county government in 1992 around the harbour, home to fiddler crabs, mudskippers, egrets, herons, and migratory birds, along with mangroves and other coastal flora.

Taixi's aquaculture — oysters, clams, and milkfish — supplies much of the seafood served locally as well as tables elsewhere in Taiwan; oyster dishes in particular are associated with the town.

• Day trip from Douliu.

• Kouhu — 5 km south.
• Mailiao — 8 km north.
• Douliu — 25 km east.