Paolang River Memorial Park Introduction
Baileng Canal was established in the 3rd year of the Showa era (1928) primarily for irrigating the sugarcane breeding station of the Dahan Village under the Taiwan Governor-General's Office. After the end of World War II, it was changed to a seedling farm under the Council of Agriculture. The Japanese government began to plan irrigation facilities in the 2nd year of the Showa era (1927) and obtained the approval of the legislature to spend over 1.45 million yen for the budget. Construction began in December of the 3rd year of the Showa era (1928) and was completed in May of the 7th year (1932), taking 3 years and 6 months, with a total construction cost of 1.04 million yen. Water trials were completed in September, and the water ceremony was held on October 14. During the ceremony, Mr. Yoshihara, the director of the Agricultural Bureau of the Taiwan Governor-General's Office, named the water diversion route of the Dahan Village sugarcane breeding station "Baileng Canal." The diversion route is 16.5 kilometers long, located along the hillside, featuring not only open channels but also major structures including 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, making it a significant hydraulic engineering project. After the 921 Earthquake, the canal was damaged, and the agricultural water conservancy association constructed a new water pipe beside it (in blue), forming a juxtaposition of old and new. The inverted siphon pipe is designed based on the principle of communicating vessels and is a green painted steel round pipe that climbs along the hillside, of which the engineering difficulty is inexpressible. The magnificent No. 2 inverted siphon is the largest of its kind in the Far East and was selected as the 26th of the top 100 national scenic spots in 2001.