Follow the romantic words of Taiwanese rural poet Wu Sheng into the world of the "water stewards." In southern Taiwan, there is a canal called the Chiayi-Tainan irrigation system, which was established during the Japanese colonial period. Like a spider's web, the densely woven water channels spread across the vast Yunlin, Chiayi, and Tainan plains. How to flexibly distribute water resources to these 150,000 hectares of farmland depends on a group of little-known professionals called water stewards. In this documentary, we follow in their footsteps and record the stories of these people who have walked along the canals their entire lives. Regardless of the wind and rain, scorching sun, or downpours, they steadfastly guard the smooth flow of these channels, with the sole purpose of successfully delivering water to every field. Before the Chiayi-Tainan irrigation system was built, southern Taiwan faced greater risk of droughts and water shortages. This made farming more difficult on the southern plains. Rainwater harvesting, collection, and redistribution are the keys that have enabled Yunlin, Chiayi, and Tainan to become the nation’s breadbaskets. The water stewards play a key role in distributing water to local farmlands. In fact, many of them are also farmers themselves. In recent years, global warming has brought a new set of challenges requiring new solutions. As water resources become increasingly scarce, the water stewards have begun to use technological monitoring and cloud-based control. These emerging technologies assist the water stewards, allowing them to complete their work more easily.

• Archaeology
• River
• Water