North-link line trip 北迴之旅

The last time I took my parents to Taroko Gorge, it was before my accident... the summer of 2006... Yours not-driving-too-well even in times of better motor-coordination drove us all the way from Taipei to Hualien via that mighty dangerous scenic Su-hua Highway (蘇花公路), which runs between Suao township of Yilan and Hualien... built along the cliffs at points... such as the 清水斷崖 (Chingshui Cliff).

Personally, what makes Su-hua Highway dangerous for me to drive on is that, since Hualien is rich in marble, limestone, sand and gravel, there are a lot of huge gravel trucks (砂石車) racing on this winding road... with what seemed to be a scarily dangerous route to me... nothing but the backyard for them truckers...

In addition, closed to where the Philippine Sea Plate subducts under the Eurasian plate, Hualien has a lot of earthquakes.  The earthquakes, heavy rainfalls or typhoons all have resulted in rockfalls in the past... not only blocking the traffic, breaking the road but also pose great dangers to people in the vehicles (death and injuries).  

Given the unpredictable road condition of the Suhua Highway nowadays, in our recent trip to Hualien, instead of renting a tour bus to take us directly from Taipei to Hualien, we actually took the train "Taroko express" to Hualien first before boarding the bus.

I suspect this might be the first take I took the North-Link Line Railway (北迴鐵路)--one of the 10 Major Construction Projects (十大建設).  (The 10 Major Construction Projects were initiated to boost up the economy through the construction of public infrastructures during the 60s and 70s and administered by the late president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國), who was then the premier of Executive Yuan.)    

The North-link Line segment of the railway runs between the Suao Township and Hualian.  At some point during the trip on the train, I saw the sign of Suao (蘇澳)... and I said out loud... "Suao (蘇澳)."  My dad told me... "No... the North-link Line doesn't go through Suao  (蘇澳)."  Not much later... I saw them gigantic signs  of "Suao xin (蘇澳新)" by a station the train didn't stop at...

So, was it Suao (蘇澳) or not that we were at?  Yes, we surely were in Suao when the conversation took place.  Yet, there is a reason for my dad's comment of Suao is not Suao (蘇澳非蘇澳) as well.  

Original, the plan was for the North-link Line to run between the Suao Station and Hualien Station.  However, due to the protests of Suao residents, the starting point of the North-link line was changed to be the "Suao xin (蘇澳新)" station (also in Suao but at a site different from the "Suao Station").  In addition, the name of the station was changed to "Suao xin (蘇澳新)" on January 1st, 1982 from 南聖湖車站 (Nanshenghu, 6/1/1975-12/31/1981), which was formerly known as the 南新城站 (Nanxingcheng, 4/15/1968-5/31/1975). (Don't worry... I bet the majority of Taiwanese got no inkling about the history of the name change for the Suao Xin station.  8-O lol) 

The construction of the North-link line started on the Christmas Day of 1973 and started its transporting career on Feb. 1st of 1980.  This initial version of the North-link line was 31,029 meters long.  The single-track railway went through 91 big and small bridges and 16 tunnels... with the longest tunnel as the 7757-meter Guanyin tunnel (觀音隧道)--the longest tunnel in Taiwan at that point.

Given the high demand, there were new construction efforts put forth to modernize the North-link line since 1992.  The railroad was electrified in 2003 and expanded to double track in 2005.  Given the railroad was built in the mountains, the expansion project actually involved the construction of new routes and tunnels in various segments of the railroad.  For instance, the 10,307.1-meter New Guanyin tunnel (新觀音隧道) replaced the 7757-meter Guanyin tunnel (觀音隧道)... and it is now the longest railway mountain tunnel in Taiwan.

A little something for your to know on your next Hualien trip... the unmentioned...

Following is a clip of what it be like to going through one of them North-link tunnels... Just as you could not tell when the tunnel was to end.. neither did I... 

Which tunnel is it? Not sure... one of the tunnels about 20 minutes away from Hualien station and between the Heren (和仁) and Hualien station.



3/23/2013-3/24/2013

From Hell's Angel at Swallow Grotto (燕子口) to London to Brighton Vintage Car Rally

The same day I walked down about 2/3 of the way and up from 清水斷崖 (Chingshui Cliff) in the afternoon, I also walked along Swallow Grotto (燕子口) in Taroko Gorge (太魯閣) .

Other than the beautiful scenery and grand rock formation, as I was walking from one tunnel to the other, a group of bikers rode past me and that was just way too cool!



It reminded me of how haphazardly I bumped into the London to Brighton vintage car rally in 2006... one of the last trips I took before yours truly became a handicapped in the body, too.  8-X

The one and only reason why I caught this vintage car rally was because I was crashing at the hotel room of my boss Dawn's niece during my trip to London.  Since she checked out early to leave town, I also had to get out earlier... When I first so these interesting looking cars running around on the street, so I thought to myself... "The Brits are surely classic... look at the cars running around on the street?!  Wow..." lol



The wonderfully haphazard nature of surprises in life... regardless of bodily condition... except you've just gotta be there to live it... I guess?! 8-O lol

清水斷崖 Chingshui Cliff

I walked down 清水斷崖 (Chingshui Cliff) today... sort of... although I did not get to go all the way down... I did managed to go down and back up in one piece... 清水斷崖 (Chingshui Cliff) is a part of the Taroko National Park lasting for around 21 km.  About 5 km of the cliff extends along the coastline and rises almost perpendicular from the Pacific Ocean.  Like the rest of the mountains in Taiwan, the steep mountains in the east coast such as Chingshui mountain is formed due to the continental drift with the Philippine Sea Plate continuing to slide under the Eurasian Plate.  Which the steepness we see above the sea level also translate into the steepness below the sea level... drops in hundreds meters in altitude within tens of meters off shore.

Such huge drops inevitable will result in undercurrents in the water... thus, so I was told, it makes it dangerous for you to go into the water unless you are on one of the rare sand beaches in the vicinity.

The last time I took my parents to  清水斷崖 (Chingshui Cliff) in 2006, I was still physical capable but did not take the walk.  (Should've known better?  How'd anyone know?)

So, I took my time and did my walk... the not-so-steep slope also helped...


Although I did not get to make it all the way down... because I had to make sure I could carry myself back up in one piece and without making the rest of the people waiting for mes, myselves, and Is for too long... I made it far enough for myself and I am happy about it-- not to mention, without a cane.  From not even able to move after Jan. 7th, 2011 (yet again), to bringing myself down to ground zero by trying to get up to see St. Paul and them canons on Mount Fortress in Macau, to my still be in one piece right now after today's attempt... sure, I have not gone all the way day to the waterfront and touched the Pacific ocean... and the not-so-steep slopes might have helped.... yet, this is one of the biggest achievement I have made so far since Jun. 19th, 2007.

One thing I can say to myself is that... all them ground work I put all things down for... to walk... one step at a time on flat surface or on slopes... whether it looks like walking or not... it paid off!

When you go to Hualien, I hope you can take some time to enjoy a walk I took... (though all the way done not).