Tamsui River

Tamsui River

Danshui River is located in the northern part of Taiwan Island. It is the third longest river in the island and the third largest basin area. It is also a nature reserve. Tanshui River basin covers Taipei City, Xinbei City, Taoyuan City and Hsinchu County. The mainstream Dahan river originates from pintian mountain (located in Xueba National Park) in Xueshan mountain range. The main tributaries are Jilong River and Xindian river. In a narrow sense, Tanshui River refers to the section where Dahan River and Xindian River converge at zicui of Banqiao River to the outlet of Tanshui oil tanker. Tanshui River, which is often said in daily life, basically refers to the narrow sense of Tanshui River. There are many famous scenic spots on both sides of Danshui River, such as Danshui old street, fisherman's Wharf, blue road, ShiSanHang Museum, Baxian paradise, etc.

The river is 158.7 km long and covers an area of 2726 square kilometers. The main stream upstream is the Dahan River, the Xindian River and the Keelung River. The two tributaries meander through the flat land of the Taipei area. They merge into the main stream at jiangzicui and Guandu, and then flow to the northwest. They flow into the Taiwan Strait at the entrance of the tanker in the freshwater area. The upper reaches of the Dahan river originates from pintian mountain, with a river length of 135 km and a drainage area of 1163 square kilometers. It is rich in water resources. At present, there are ronghuaba, Yixing power plant and Shimen multi-objective reservoir projects developed, which are the irrigation and public water supply hub in Northern Taiwan. The river bed below Shimen is wide and gentle. In the heyday of Tanshui River Navigation, Zhouji once sailed to Dahan river.

General situation of rivers

Tanshui River is the only navigable river in Taiwan. It is 158.7 km long (old or 144 km long) and has a drainage area of 2725.8 square kilometers, ranking third behind the two rivers of Zhuoshui and Gaoping. Tanshui River basin covers Taipei City, Xinbei City, Taoyuan City, Keelung City and Hsinchu County, and the mainstream originates from pintian mountain.

tributary

The main tributaries are Jilong River, Dahan River and Xindian river. In a narrow sense, Danshui River refers to the section where Dahan River and Xindian River converge at zicui of Banqiao River and reach Danshui estuary. Keelung River originates from jingtongkeng, Pingxi District, Xinbei City, flows eastward through Ruifang District, and turns westward near nuanwan, Keelung City. After crossing Xizhi, it enters Taipei basin.

Shangyuan Dagao River (recently renamed "Dahan River") is located on the north side of Shantian mountain (3524 meters). It flows through the Taipei Basin in the northeast, and then flows into the sea in the Northwest after tributaries such as huixindian River and Keelung River. The source area is 2530 meters above sea level, with an average gradient of 1 / 50. But below Shimen, the altitude has dropped to 140 meters. The ancient channel in the lower reaches of Shimen entered the sea through the Taoyuan alluvial fan in the original westward direction. Later, due to the action of seizing, it cut the sandstone strata and turned northward to enter the Taipei basin.

Dahan river is the main source of Danshui River. Its farthest source is takkin River (Taigang River). It is located in Jianshi Township, Xinzhu county. It flows to the northeast first and then turns to the northwest. After meeting with another tributary Sakya River (Baishi River), it is renamed as malikuowan River (Yufeng River). Then it flows to Fuxing Township, Taoyuan City North and East. After meeting with another tributary Sanguang River, it is called Dahan river. Later, it flows northward into Shimen Reservoir, passes through Yishan weir and then into the Three Gorges River, which becomes the source of water supply for Banxin waterworks, and flows into Danshui River near jiangzicui (gangzizui).

The upstream of Xindian stream is Beishi stream, which originates from yingziling and flows northward and westward to Guishan. It is called Xindian stream only after it meets with its tributary Nanshi stream. It flows northward through Quchi, zhitan and Xindian, converges into another tributary Jingmei river near Jingmei, and then flows northward and westward to near jiangzicui and flows into Danshui River.

Keelung River originates from huoshaoliao mountain, Pingxi District, Xinbei City, flows eastward through Ruifang District, and turns westward near nuanwan, Keelung City. After crossing the Xizhi area, it enters the Taipei basin. After crossing the north side of the Taipei basin, it flows into the Tanshui River at Shezi.

trunk stream

The Shizitou pass on the west side of the main stream of the Tanshui River flowing out of the outlet of the Taipei basin was destroyed by the project of widening the Tanshui River. Adjacent to the tributaries zhouziweigou and guanyinkeng Creek, they first flowed into another tributary, longzichuan, and then flowed into Danshui River. After the explosion of shitoutou, the river channels changed into the current situation and flowed into the Tamsui River respectively.

hydrographic features

The annual precipitation in the upper reaches of the basin can reach 3000-4000 mm, and that in the estuary area is nearly 2000 mm. The seasonal variation of precipitation is small. The discharge flood period of Taipei city is more than 10000 m3 / s, and the planned flood volume of the estuary is 20000 m3 / s.

traffic

traffic

In the early days of the development of Taipei, sailing ships were opened from the lower reaches of Daxi. The rise of Banqiao, Xindian and Taipei City in the era of kawaka all depended on the help of Tanshui River. Since then, the lower reaches have been silted up, and the river transportation has been replaced by railways and highways. Danshui River is one of the main water supply rivers in northern China.

reservoir

There is Shimen Reservoir in the upstream of Dahan River and feicui reservoir in Beishi River, a tributary of Xindian river. In addition, there is Xinshan reservoir in Keelung River Basin. Since the completion of Shimen dam in 1963, Shimen Reservoir has become the largest comprehensive utilization hub of water resources in Northern Taiwan, especially in Taoyuan terrace. At present, Shimen Reservoir and its adjacent areas have become an important tourist area in Northern Taiwan. The northern part of the reservoir runs across the highway, along the upper reaches of the reservoir, through Jiaobanshan (now renamed "Fuxing") and the distribution area of Alpine ethnic groups along the baling line, to the Ilan plain.

Wetland

List of known wetlands in greater Taipei area (most of them belong to freshwater river system)

Note: from yuanshanyan to the entrance of spillway, there are Xinhai constructed wetland phase I and II, dariao wetland and lujiaoxi wetland

hydrographic features

Due to its stable flow, Tanshui River was once the only river with shipping function in Taiwan. In the early years, the advantages of the Danshui River and its tributaries led to the development of many coastal settlements, such as Caohe, Dadaocheng, Xinzhuang and so on. However, by the end of the 19th century, the waterway of Danshui River was gradually silted up, and the coastal settlements also declined. Danshui River has little shipping function, only a few ferry in the past have been preserved to this day.

Environmental governance

After 20 years of regulation, the water quality of most sections of Danshui River has been improved, but some sections of Danshui River have been polluted by human activities. According to the investigation by Taiwan's environmental protection agency, the section from fuzhouqiao to jiangzicui of Dahan river is polluted by sand and gravel industry, with the suspended solids as high as 24600 ppm, which is 246 times of the standard of 100 ppm for the seriously polluted section. The river is so dirty that it's hard to see even pollution resistant fish.

According to the EPD, there are many sand and stone quarries along the Shulin and Taoyuan reaches of the Dahan River in Xinbei City, and some operators directly discharge mud into the Zhonghan River, which is often covered with mud when the tide is low. Although the water quality has been improved, there are still 5300 ppm of suspended solids and the pollution is still quite serious.

The EPA pointed out that the suspended solids in the river are high, and the turbid water will block the gills of the fish, making the fish unable to breathe and endangering their survival. Since 2005, the EPA has sometimes failed to catch pollution tolerant species such as Wuguo fish.

The investigation shows that not only the suspended solids in this seriously polluted river reach are not up to the standard, but also the ammonia nitrogen exceeds the standard. The reason why ammonia nitrogen is too high is that the sewage connection rate in these areas is low, and the domestic sewage is directly discharged into the Dahan river.

The EPD has also received frequent reports from the public that they often smell the stink of the river water when cycling or exercising in the riverside park between Huazhong bridge and jiangzicui in Xindian Creek. According to statistics, the serious pollution rate of Tanshui River Basin in Taiwan has decreased from 12.8% in 1997 to 8.5% in 2006.

According to the EPA, the heavily polluted sections of Tanshui River are concentrated in Taipei's Zhongzheng District, Wanhua District and Jingmei district; and in New Taipei's Banqiao District, Zhonghe District, Yonghe district and Xinzhuang district.

In the future, we will continue to assist Taipei City and Xinbei city in renovating the Tanshui River, and reduce the seriously polluted reaches of the Tanshui River from 8.5% to 4% within four years.

natural scenery

To enjoy the night of Tanshui River, the best place is Tanshui old street, where there are various snack bars, all kinds of shoes and clothes, lively dart shops and so on. Besides, there are street artists who help tourists draw portraits and sing with guitars.

You can also climb Guanyin Mountain at the beginning of the rising sun, feel the fresh air in the forest in the early morning, listen to the wonderful symphony in the forest, or stand at a high place and look out from the fence. Or they may embark on the journey of tracing their historical footprints, visiting Hongmao City, ShiSanHang Museum and Huwei fort.

Address: Tanshui estuary, northwest of Taipei

Longitude: 121.4541881

Latitude: 25.139835

Ticket information: no ticket required.

Chinese PinYin : Dan Shui He