PingDing Channel

Shilin District Pingdeng Village was formerly known as “Pingding” because it was at top of the mountain with high and flat terrain. It was later named to Pingdeng Village. Two of the three Channels in Pingdeng Village are named after Pingding, including the Pindging Ancient Channel and Pingding New Channel. Both Channels are piloting facilities over 150 years while the third one is Dengfong Channel. Until today, the three Channels serve as irrigation for agricultural land, livelihood drinking water, and transport, the source of water for the local livelihood.

In the early days, the residents could not acquire water resource from high terrain and mostly cut down the Arcacia trees, sold wood and burn charcoal for living. The earliest development of agricultural land was in 1741 when Shi-Lan He from Zhangzhou City, Fujian Province, came to Taiwan for reclamation. The local residents gradually operated agricultural affairs for living. However the dry land required much irrigation while this area was only flown by Jiao-Keng Creek. This region was mostly planted with drought-resistant crops under water shortage.

Between 1821~1830, the increasing number of people for reclamation led to the pursuit of sufficient water source and intercepted the water from Pinglinkeng Creek, by reclaiming Pingding Ancient Channel and the New Channel respectively.

Japanese Ruling Period and by 1909, the shortage in water led to the re-reclamation of Dengfong Channel for water intake. Channel owner Deng-Fong Wu not only collected water intake from Pinglinkeng Creek but also Xiangdui Creek and thereby cutting Dengfong Channel. In particular, the “Neicu” located on Pingding is the tunnel entrance connecting with the Old Channel, New Channel and Dengfong Channel. Investigation shows that these three Channels are all intercepted and built from Qingtiankang Creek (formerly known as Pinglinkeng Creek, the upstream of Neishuang Creek), in addition to cutting the Erwei Mountain. Moreover, the tunnel of Fengfong Channel became the bat cave scenery due to the massive habitation of bats.(k)

The three Channels were reclaimed from the joint capital and land contribution by the residents. Hence the residents had operated the cleaning and management of Channels through self-governance since the Qing Dynasty. By Japanese Ruling Period, the Channel paths were constantly damaged and under the lack of repair fund, the Channels were then turned to Chi-Sing Irrigation Combination (the Chi-Sing Irrigation Association today) for assistance with management. Today, the Irrigation Association sends staff to clean the Channels twice a year.

In recent years during the seasons of torrential rain and typhoons, the Channels would be affected and damaged from collapse. For example, when Typhoon Xangsane hit Taiwan in 2000, the strong rain caused turbulent surge and formed a big waterfall. The waterway structure was consequently damaged. (b)Typhoon Soudelor and Typhoon Dujuan hit Taiwan in 2015 and caused trees to collapse while some Channels were damaged. Fortunately the Ancient Channel still preserves it complete look under routine and rapid maintenance and protection.(j)

It is also discovered before and after the reclamation that the Channels are getting longer while the technology also improves. Today traces of Channels are found nearly everywhere in the entire Pingdeng Village. However as transportation improves, many areas where the Channels flow by such as Neicu, Neiliao and Daxhuangzi, area are all covered by bridges or asphalt. The image of Channel network is gradually disappearing.

Nonetheless “Pingding Ancient Channel” was validated by the Bureau of Cultural Heritage on April 29, 2009 and registered as “cultural landscape.” It is the first cultural heritage in Taipei City that has officially registered as “cultural landscape” with profound significance.

It is stipulated that the “cultural landscape” needs to be equipped with one of the following standards, in the following order:
(1) Significance of exhibiting the interaction between human and nature.
(2) History, culture, art, or scientific values with commemoration, signature, or specialty.
(3) Significance in terms of time or society.
(4) Rarity.

It is rare and valuable that Pingding Ancient Channel is fully equipped with the four standards for becoming the valuable cultural heritage. In particular the reasons consist of the follows:

(1)Pingding Ancient Channel, New Channel and Dengfong Channel for formed by the predecessors manually moving and chipping the mountains and walls during mid Qing Dynasty. They were the key facilities for agricultural irrigation and exhibit the interaction between people and nature with profound cultural significance.
(2)The ancient Channel and tunnels are both over 100 years, which techniques exhibit the scientific technology of irrigation engineering in mid Qing Dynasty.
(3)The residents gathered and reclaimed this land for demand in agricultural water, symbolizing the development process of agriculture in Taipei basin after mid Qing Dynasty.
(4)There are currently nearly 60 hectares of agricultural land that still receives irrigation from the ancient Channel. It is very rare to see such irrigation equipment in northern Taiwan after the industrial period.(o)

The description of the above content shows that Pingding Ancient Channel is not only an indispensable part of life for the local people but also the stream nourishing the local landscape in this long period of reclamation history.

Reference material：

(b)Ancient Channel, June 2002
(j)Oral narration by Mr. Yong-Sheng Lin of Chi-Sing Irrigation Association Website
(K)Pingding Channel Reclamation Contract ( http://ms2.ctjh.ntpc.edu.tw/~tlf/BT-807.htm )
(o)Reading Taipei Vol. 473(http://www.gov.taipei/ct.asp?xItem=47797&CtNode=5283&mp=100021)

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