The Tainan City Government’s Cultural Affairs Bureau has released limited-edition water bottles to mark the opening of two museums in the city.
The 1661 Taiwan Warship Museum opened in Anping District (安平) on Feb. 28, while Waterworks Museum in Shanshang District (山上) is scheduled to open in October, the bureau said in a statement on Wednesday last week.
The design of the water bottle celebrating the launch of the Waterworks Museum was based on the nearly 100-year-old logo of the Old Tainan Watercourse, the subject of the museum collection.
Photo: Liu Wan-chun, Taipei Times
The wave pattern background of the bottle label represents yin shui si yuan (飲水思源) or “think of the source of the water being drunk,” referring to showing gratitude, it said.
The label also tells the history, in Chinese and English, of the watercourse’s construction, as well as its contribution to the city as a source of drinking water, it added.
The label of the bottle for the warship museum features an ancient drawing of merchant ships and warships, encouraging bottle owners to “take control of the helm and sail toward success,” the bureau said.
Photo: Liu Wan-chun, Taipei Times
Taiwanese ships have served as commercial and military vessels and are typically loaded with cargo, symbolizing fetching wealth, it said.
“In Anping District, there is a saying that drinking the district’s water will make you pretty even if the water doesn’t taste sweet,” the bureau said.
The water bottles are part of a collection of themed products designed to promote national monuments in the city.
They are part of a line of other products, such as Cheng Gong Potato Chips, which feature the image of Ming Dynasty loyalist Cheng Cheng-kung (鄭成功), also known as Koxinga.
The water bottles and other items in the collection are only available at shops at the city’s national monuments, including Chihkan Tower (赤崁樓), Anping Fort (安平古堡), Anping Treehouse (安平樹屋), Eternal Golden Castle (億載金城), the Warship Museum and the Waterworks Museum.
Collection sales surpassed NT$25 million (US$793,398) in the first half of this year, a more than NT$9 million increase over the same period last year, it said.
The bureau said that the shops have sold about 210,000 bags of Cheng Gong Potato Chips since their release in February last year, 220,000 cans of Koxinga Beer since August, 160,000 bags of Confucius Snack Noodles since September, and 36,000 bags of Grand Matsu Pea Crackers and 23,000 bags of mango-flavored potato chips, both since their release in April.
A new spicy version of the Confucius Snack Noodles was released last month and has been a hit with visitors, the bureau said.
Historic sites have always been highlights for Tainan visitors, it said.
The bureau said that it hopes the products it sells — including oolong tea, kaoliang liquor and heart-shaped locks — will draw more visitors and allow them to feel more connected to the city’s historic sites.
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