Wushantou Reservoir (烏山頭水庫) lies in the stunning mountainous landscapes of southern Taiwan’s Tainan City. Completed in 1930, the reservoir is one of the essential reservoirs with far-reaching historical significance for Taiwan.
Covering an area of about 1,300 hectares (3,250 acres), this 30-meter-deep reservoir is formed by a confluence of over 30 mountain streams. Because more than 100 wooded islets are in the pool, and the aerial view of their zigzagging shorelines resembles a coral, Wushantou Reservoir is also known as the Coral Lake (珊瑚潭).
For more exciting photos of Wushantou Reservoir, please watch the following video:
Due to its breathtaking scenery and the recreational facilities established by the government in recent years, the Wushantou Reservoir Scenic Area has become an ideal destination for sightseeing, camping, barbecuing, boating, or hiking. In particular, cruising the lake allows visitors to enjoy the beauty of the picturesque valley and winding waterways.
The historical significance of Wushantou Reservoir
The reservoir was designed by Japanese hydraulic engineer Yoichi Hatta (八田與一) during the Japanese colonial period (1895-1945). He used the Guantian River valley to construct a dam at Wushantou in 1920.
The dam is 1,273 m (4,176 ft) long and 56 m (184 ft) high, with a total capacity of 154,158,000 m3 (5.4440×109 ft3) of water. One of the most striking features of Wushantou Reservoir is that the dam was constructed with the semi-hydraulic fill method (半水利填充法). Given that, it can prevent sand deposits and minimize the impact on the ecological environment. It is the only one of its kind left in the world.
Upon its completion in 1930, Wushantou Reservoir was not only the largest artificial lake in Taiwan and of its kind in Asia, but also the third largest globally. The reservoir was formally opened to tourists in 1969.
Besides, the Japanese engineer also constructed Jianan Irrigation Waterway (嘉南大圳). Stretching approximately 16,000 km (9,942 mi), the waterway has significantly watered 150,000 ha (370,658 ac) of the farmland in Yunlin, Chiayi, and Tainan.
Wushantou Reservoir and the Jianan Irrigation Waterway were registered as a cultural landscape by Tainan County Government in 2009. Moreover, the Ministry of Culture has selected them as one of Taiwan’s 18 potential UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
To commemorate the contributions of those who had worked for the construction of this remarkable water conservancy project, in particular those who lost their lives in the process of building, Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) also attended the 100th Anniversary of the Commencement of the Jianan Irrigation Channel Construction Ceremony in person on May 8, 2021.
The Wushantou Reservoir Memorial Park
Yoichi Hatta is “the founder of Jianan Irrigation System.” In honor of this Japanese hydraulic engineer for his remarkable contributions to Taiwan’s agricultural development, a memorial park was established north of the reservoir in the 1960s. It was renovated in 2009 and opened to the public in 2010.
In the park, besides Yoichi Hatta’s bronze statue and a cluster of Japanese-style buildings, there is a vertical well with a round vortex in the middle of the pond, symbolizing the vertical well upstream of Wushantou Reservoir.
Wushantou Reservoir vertical well spectacle
There is a vertical well upstream of the reservoir at Xikou Little Switzerland (西口小瑞士) in Tainan City’s Dongshan District. The vast vertical well is about 20 m in diameter and has a vertical height of about 20 m.
It was constructed in 1947 to generate electricity using the fall of water. Its strong suction power forms a breathtaking vortex in the reservoir. This spectacle has become a popular Facebook check-in location and is often joked about as a giant flush toilet by visitors.
There is also a striking 3D art installation of the vertical vortex on the ground near the lake’s pier. Visitors can stand around the vortex images or the surfboard for photography.
Undoubtedly, Wushantou Reservoir is a reservoir full of historical significance and an exceptional tourist destination worth visiting to explore its natural beauty and spectacles.
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