It is believed that ba-wan were first prepared in the Beidou township of Taiwan by a student by the name of Fàn Wànjū (范萬居) as food for disaster relief during the late Qing dynasty (1644–1912), when the Beidou region was struck by heavy floods.
Beidou, Changhua (北斗鎮), urban township in Changhua County, Taiwan, Republic of China