FermenteaWhere food goes to change
Equipment · Drying kilns and dryers
Traditional longan-drying kilns documented in Dongshan, Tainan, include distinct hillside earth-pit and built masonry forms. A roasting bed sits above the fire space; longan wood fuels a slow roast over several days.
Traditional longan drying in Dongshan, Tainan, uses more than one kiln construction. Taiwan’s Ministry of Agriculture describes an earth-pit form set into an orchard or hillside, with the roasting bed above the fire space, and a separate brick form built from earth blocks and bricks. A National Taiwan University local-history study documents locally represented earth-block, river-cobble and red-brick variants. These community-specific forms are not a universal sequence for every kiln.
In the earth-pit form, the slope and earth channel are part of the structure; the brick form has a built masonry body. Both place a roasting bed above a lower fire space, but the bed may be woven bamboo or wood slats. The sources do not establish one standard chamber size, capacity or plan.
The traditional method uses longan wood and careful fire tending over several days. The Ministry account describes a hotter initial fire followed by medium and low heat, with manual turning; its method takes at least four to five days. Tainan City’s 2025 account gives five to six days. PTS records a local worker’s account of six days and five nights. These are source-specific reports, not one guaranteed schedule for every kiln or batch.
The bed carries fruit above the fire space while heat moves through the structure. The HISP study describes a natural slope and earth channel for the early pit form; it does not establish mechanical airflow. Masonry variants remain distinct. These sources do not justify adding standard dimensions, a fan or an undocumented grate.
The sources locate these kilns in Dongshan District, Tainan, Taiwan. The Ministry’s Food and Agriculture Education page identifies Nanshi Li’s earth-kiln lane and reports 92 older kilns along its slope. A 2025 Tainan City release describes support to repair 173 longan-drying kilns and continuing traditional roasting. These accounts document local use and care for kiln infrastructure, without implying identical designs.
PTS reports a local association representative’s statement that the practice dates to the Qing period. This is attributed community testimony, not independently verified construction dating. The cited sources do not give standard capacity, dimensions or a universal layout, so this record keeps the earth-pit and brick forms separate.
Modern sources document continuing use and locally represented historical forms. PTS attributes a Qing-period origin to a local association representative; that is community testimony, not independently dated evidence.
The hillside earth-pit and built brick kilns are separate forms, not one standardized structure.
Source →Reported roast duration varies: the Ministry account gives at least four to five days, Tainan City reports five to six days, and PTS records a local account of six days and five nights.
Source →The sources document kilns in Dongshan, without implying identical construction across the district.
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Taiwan Ministry of Agriculture, Longan Theme HallConstruction · Fuel · Process
龍眼乾之製作Describes earth-pit and brick forms, a bed above the fire space, longan wood fuel and a four-to-five-day method.
Cited in: Two different kiln forms; A slow roast using longan wood
National Taiwan University HISPConstruction · Local history
東山嶺南社區龍眼窯博物館的誕生Documents local earth-block, river-cobble and red-brick variants, and an early hillside earth-pit form.
Cited in: Two different kiln forms; A slow roast using longan wood
Taiwan Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agriculture EducationGeography · Local use
東山龍眼Locates traditional kilns in Nanshi Li, Dongshan, and describes local fuel and use.
Cited in: A practice tied to Dongshan
Tainan City Government Agriculture DepartmentContinuing use · Process
支持農民、傳承古法，邀您品味東山土窯龍眼乾Reports repair support and a five-to-six-day roast.
Cited in: A slow roast using longan wood; A practice tied to Dongshan
Public Television ServiceHistorical testimony · Process
東山龍眼窯的古法與傳承Describes active kilns and records an attributed local Qing-period origin account.
Cited in: A slow roast using longan wood; A practice tied to Dongshan