Dawn over the Cishan valley...
The approach road to the Neimen control gate below. The late morning sunshine and blue skies didn't last long. The signpost informs visitors that this road is a cul-de-sac since it leads only to the control gate for the Agongdian reservoir diversion channel...
Although I had toyed with the idea of riding the bicycle, in the end I decided to drive the motorcycle and it was a good decision; I wore myself out all morning searching the length of the canal and following little farmer's roads and various detours for signs of infrastructure that might indicate an access point to the channel. My hypothesis had been that I would find such an access point running westward from somewhere along the northern section of the irrigation canal where the altitude remained over 80m above sea level. I didn't find it. I then searched along the tributary stream running to the west of the irrigation canal, just beneath the foot of the mountains. Again, however, I didn't find anything. By 9.30am I was so worn out I could barely keep my eyes open and had to sleep for almost an hour in a 7-11.
One section of the irrigation canal with a small drop-weir (at sometime after 7am)...
Another section of the canal, but this time with a much noisier baffled drop-weir...
The tributary stream just outside a little village; it runs alongside the mountains separating Neimen (west) and Cishan (east) districts of Kaohsiung county (photo taken at around 9am, just as my eyes were starting to close)...
I woke up from my little nap in the 7-11 at about 10.20am and left to photograph the Neimen control gate and nearby pressure reduction tank for the Nanhua reservoir pipeline. I already had photos of both of these, but this time the light was better. The Neimen control gate...
The pressure reduction tank for the Nanhua reservoir pipeline...
Driving along route 182 through Longci district at 6.00am is marvellous: pre-dawn light and water vapour lifting off from the tops of the mountain trees. I didn't stop to take pictures since I hadn't brought the tripod along and it was still quite dark. Apart from one or two spots under repair, that road is a joy to drive - lots of curves, banks and rises. There were a handful of cyclists out too with their luminous leotard kits. In my present state of fitness, and on my flatbar mountain bike I think I could just about manage the 34 kilometers from my place to the Neimen pressure reduction tank - though whether I could make it all the way back again without stopping I don't know. Strangely, it felt like a lot more than 34 K, but that's what my motorcycle clock showed.
So I still haven't solved this problem. Where does the underground channel lie that transports water from the Yueh Mei weir to the Neimen control gate? Where is the entry point? The distance is aproximately seven kilometers running from an altitude of 92 meters down to an altitude of 77 meters and the tunnel must pass under the mountainside seperating Neimen district from the Cishan valley.
I am going to have to ask for help I think.
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