Bailengzi Memorial Park Introduction
Bailing Channel was established in the 3rd year of the Showa era (1928) and was originally designed for irrigating the sugarcane propagation field of the Taiwan Governor-General's Office in Daan Village. After the retrocession, it was changed to a seedling station under the Forestry Bureau. The Japanese government began plans for irrigation facilities in the 2nd year of the Showa era (1927), which were approved by the parliament with a budget of over 1.45 million yen. Construction started in December of the 3rd year of the Showa era (1928) and was completed in May of the 7th year (1932) after 3 years and 6 months of work, with a total project cost of 1.04 million yen. A trial water flow test was completed in September, and the water flow ceremony was held on October 14. During the ceremony, Mr. Chikuda from the Bureau of Agricultural Affairs of the Taiwan Governor-General's Office named the water diversion channel of the Daan Village sugarcane propagation field as "Bailing Channel." The channel is 16.5 kilometers long, and the entire channel is situated on the slope of the mountain. Besides 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 and representing a significant water conservancy project. After the 921 earthquake, the channel was damaged, and the irrigation association built new pipes beside it (in a sky blue color), forming a juxtaposed situation of old and new. The inverted siphon, which is constructed in an inverted manner, has a pipe shape that is precisely opposite to that of traditional siphons, hence it is commonly referred to as an inverted siphon pipe. The inverted siphon pipe is designed based on the principle of connected pipes, made of green-painted steel cylinders that cling to the mountainside, with the engineering difficulty being immense. The beautiful and spectacular No. 2 inverted siphon pipe is the largest of its kind in the Far East, and in 2001 it was selected as the 26th of the top 100 scenic spots in the country.
