Bailengzhen Memorial Park Introduction
Bailing Canal was established in the third year of the Showa era (1928) primarily for irrigating the cane nursery of the Daan Township of the Taiwan Governor-General's Office. After the end of Japanese rule, it was repurposed as a seedling station by the Agriculture and Forestry Department. The Japanese government began considering irrigation facilities in the second year of the Showa era (1927), securing a budget of over 1.45 million yen approved by the then parliament. Construction started in December of the third year of the Showa era (1928) and was completed in May of the seventh year (1932), taking 3 years and 6 months with a total project cost of 1.04 million yen. Water test operations were completed in September, and the water inauguration ceremony was held on October 14. During the ceremony, Mr. Keizō Shida, the Director of the Colonization Bureau of the Taiwan Governor-General's Office, named the water diversion route for the Daan Township cane nursery "Bailing Canal". The waterway is 16.5 kilometers long, with its entire canal situated on the hillside. In addition to open channels, the main structures include 22 tunnels, 14 aqueducts, and 3 inverted siphons, one of which is 346 meters long with a diameter of 1.2 meters, crossing a valley, representing a significant hydraulic project. After the 921 earthquake, damage to the canal led the Irrigation Association to construct new water pipes alongside (in blue), creating a juxtaposition of old and new. The inverted siphon pipe is colloquially referred to as a "倒虹吸管" (inverted siphon pipe) because it is designed using the principle of communicating vessels, with green-painted steel pipes clinging to the hillside, making the engineering challenge immense. The beautiful and spectacular No. 2 inverted siphon pipe is the largest of its kind in the Far East and was selected as the 26th of the National Top 100 Scenic Spots in 2001.
