Tropical storm Talim went by Tamsui 3 days ago. It brought clouds and rain, leaving, fortunately, no lasting damages. Christina took these photos, looking towards Guan-du (top), at Guan-yin Mountain (middle), and at the mouth of Tamsui River:
Another piece of good news: the newly reclaimed land from the River, near the MRT Station, has remained intact:
The concern for its survival stems from the past disappearance of the delta [known as the 浮線]. The delta was severely eroded by a tidal wave from upstream when the Guan-du gorge was blasted open in 1964. And to make matters worse, full-scale harvesting of sands from the River was officially sanctioned on July 1, 1982. It was not until April 30, 1989, that the practice was finally banned. By then, however, the delta was totally gone, and with it, part of Tamsui-ren's memory.
Another piece of good news: the newly reclaimed land from the River, near the MRT Station, has remained intact:
The concern for its survival stems from the past disappearance of the delta [known as the 浮線]. The delta was severely eroded by a tidal wave from upstream when the Guan-du gorge was blasted open in 1964. And to make matters worse, full-scale harvesting of sands from the River was officially sanctioned on July 1, 1982. It was not until April 30, 1989, that the practice was finally banned. By then, however, the delta was totally gone, and with it, part of Tamsui-ren's memory.
"when the Guan-du gorge was blasted open in 1964"
回覆刪除Hate to admit it but I did not even know the gorge was blast opened; no wonder it is wide open looking from the Guan-Dao bridge (designed by T.Y. Lin 林同棪教授) toward Tamsui. Is the blast also takes away the Guan-Dao tunnel關頭隧道?
Do you remember riding the train pulled by the coal fired steam locomotive? (we have to close windows before entering the tunnel and open them again after the tunnel to let the smoke out manually.)
It was a sweet old memory, isn't it?
ChoSan
Hi ChoSan,
回覆刪除Yes, it was opened up to relieve the typhoon-related flooding problems in the Taipei Basin. Unforeseen was the high tides that brought in sea water and changed the eco-system of Tamsui River forever. Prof Lin's cross-river bridge is very nice; unfortunately it is also where the traffic congests the most. From this bridge going on the highway on Bali side takes you to the back of Guan-yin Mountain, passing the always empty New Taipei Port, all the way down to Taoyuan Airport. A good alternative to National Highway No 1.
I do remember the most dangerous stretch of the Tamsui Line. Going towards Tamsui, sometimes the train had to back up a mile or so and then rushed uphill to get into the tunnel. The 關渡[江頭]隧道 is still part of the Metro Line; although it has been shortened and reduced to something more like the 涵洞 under a bridge, no resemblance to the original tunnel at all.
Thanks for update, EyeDoc. Sometimes, I wonder if I were still allowed to claim as a Taiwanese.(LOL)
回覆刪除BTW, the bridge design has nothing to do with the traffic congestion; it is the problem of the planner who has no future view and also the public who rush to fill in the space as soon as a new lane is added. It is a catch-22.
ChoSan
Your Taiwanese credential is impeccable, ChoSan.
回覆刪除That is also what I meant, a beautiful bridge placed in the wrong spot - at the junction of two very busy highways. It is not a simple crossroad, either; the highway from the bridge loops into the one going from Taipei to Tamsui. Most tourists have wised up, they now take the Taipei Metro instead.
I might add that the documentary on Pacific War and Tamsui will start filming soon. This war period also will be amended into the Township history [淡水鎮誌]. At a meeting on 6/5, Mayor Tsai has expressed his gratitude for your help.