An Engineering Wonder

Chiang Wei-shui Memorial Freeway (National Highway No. 5) is totally a shortcut to Yilan. It used to take at least two hours and a half to get to Yilan via Taipei-Yilan Highway from Taipei. Thanks to the tremendous effort of the engineers and constructors, it takes only half an hour from the west to the east coast.

The Hsuehshan Tunnel (Snow Mountain Tunnel), 12.9 km long, is the very tunnel that makes this huge difference. This tunnel is considered one of the most difficult construction projects in the world at the moment. It is reported that “one of the shafts is 512 meters deep, which is higher than the building of Taipei 101.” Also, the total volume of excavated dirt and stone was 5.090 million cubic meters, which is enough for the construction of two Egyptian pyramids. (By Shih Hsiu-chuan, adopted from http://www.taipeitimes.com/)

Personally, I believe that as one gets into the tunnel deeper, he/she would appreciate this marvel even more. Yet, it was really “difficult” for a racer like me to keep a constant speed under 70 km/hour (43.5 miles.) As I went through the tunnel, I was so bored that I almost dosed off.

The bonus of this trip to Snow Mountain Tunnel is Wufongchi Fall. Since it was raining today, there were only a few tourists there. I was so relieved to escape from the crowd and to embrace the nature.

In addition, I also found a challenging hiking route in Wufongchi Scenic Area today. Hopefully, I can conquer the path in the near future.