Qingshui Dayang Oil Depot Introduction
In the 1950s, Taiwan and the United States signed a Mutual Defense Treaty, which led to the expansion of the original Gongguan Airport. It was named "Ching Chuan Kang" Airport in honor of the anti-Japanese hero General Qiu Qingquan, becoming the largest air force base in the Far East at the time. When the Vietnam War broke out in 1962, U.S. military forces stationed C-130 Hercules transport aircraft in Taiwan to support operations in North Vietnam, utilizing Ching Chuan Kang Airport as a logistics base. In 1966, seven fuel depots were built in Yangcuo Village, Qingshui District near the base to supply fuel to U.S. fighter jets and B-52 bombers. As the Vietnam War ended and diplomatic relations were severed, this site gradually lost its strategic military importance, with the Dayang fuel depot being the only remaining historical structure, witnessing the cultural background of the Vietnam War, standing like a giant on the Dadu Plateau. The seven large fuel depots cover an area of about 16 hectares, with each depot surrounded by a spill containment berm approximately 78 meters long and 1.5 meters high; the main body of each depot has a diameter of about 28.4 meters and a height of about 16 meters, with 66 steps forming an outer staircase and a steel plate thickness of 0.9-1.5 cm. However, in 2000, the military contracted a company to dismantle the tanks as scrap metal. Fortunately, through the efforts of private organizations and local government coordination, the last depot was salvaged from the winning contractor, preserving the historical and cultural heritage of the Vietnam War. The fuel was transported by tankers docked in the Gaomei Sea through underground pipelines following the Dajia River to a pumping station in Gaobei Li, which then sent the fuel eastward to the seven depots in Yangcuo Village. In 2014, Dayang Oil Depot Rest Park was completed north of Dayang Elementary School, with the Dayang Oil Depot being the most unique feature of the park. The depots are generally not open for internal visits, but access is restricted by firewalls, gates, and surrounding woods. Starting from April 1, 2022, the depot will be open for free visits every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. During open hours, please contact Mr. Zeng Wenjun from the Yangcuo Community Development Association for assistance in entering for a visit. Contact number: 0921-787803.
