The Beihai Tunnel () is a tunnel in Nangan Township,

Lienchiang County The Matsu Islands ( or , ; Foochow Romanized: Mā-cū liĕk-dō̤), officially Lienchiang County (, ; Foochow Romanized: Lièng-gŏng-gâing), are an archipelago of 36 islands and islets in the East China Sea governed by the Republic of China ( ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

. It is located between the villages of Ren-ai and Meishi. The tunnel runs from Tieban Coast deep into the heart of the hills in lattice shape.

History

The tunnel was constructed in 1969-1971 by the

Republic of China Armed Forces The Republic of China Armed Forces (ROC Armed Forces) are the armed forces of the Republic of China (ROC), once based in mainland China and currently in its remaining jurisdictions which include the islands of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu ...

for ships to avoid bad weather and attacks from the People's Liberation Army in the aftermath of

Second Taiwan Strait Crisis The Second Taiwan Strait Crisis, also called the 1958 Taiwan Strait Crisis, was a conflict that took place between the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of China (ROC). In this conflict, the PRC shelled the islands of Kinm ...

in 1958. It took 820 days for the tunnel to be completed which were mostly done by hand, with some exception of small amount of explosive. Some of the workers lost their lives during the construction process. At that time, the tunnel could harbor 120 small naval vessels but it was badly damaged after a severe typhoon hit the area. After the return of Matsu Islands from military to civilians in 1992, the tunnel was remodeled and opened to the public in 2000.

Geology

The tunnel is 700 meters in length. It goes deep into the granite mountain and there is a waterway with 18 meters in height, 10 meters in width and 640 meters in length. Water inside the tunnel goes as deep as 4 meters during low tide and 8 meters during high tide.

References

{{commons category 1971 establishments in Taiwan Military history of Taiwan Nangang Township Tunnels completed in 1971 Tunnels in Lienchiang County Tunnel warfare

History

Geology

See also

References