Taiwan’s spectacular marble high way

Press, 3 February 1981, Page 22

Taiwan’s spectacular marble high way

The Chinese, noted for their graphic descriptions, call the east-west highway across Taiwan “the Rainbow of Treasure Island.” It is a highway of awesome grandeur as well as an engineering marvel. The Taroko Gorge, through which the eastern-most section of the highway runs, has been aptly depicted as one of the greatest natural wonders of the world.

The highway, which took 10,000 workers four years to build, was completed in 1960 at a cost of nearly USII million and 450 lives. The prime purpose was to open up the great Central Mountain Range that, like a spine, extends from north to south, to fanning, logging, and tourism.

The highway winds its way, with gradual but breathtaking ascents and descents, from Taroko on the east or Pacific Ocean coast of Taiwan to

Tungshih, a gateway opening from the lush green plains of the west coast. It covers a distance of 193 km. The most travelled section is the 19 km stretch through the Taroko Gorge, a ravine lined with towering cliffs of solid marble. There are 38 tunnels in this section, some with windows gouged out to provide light and venti'atThe Taroko Gorge is about 200 km to the south-east of Taiwan’s bustling capital, Taipei. Day excursions are possible by flying to Hualien (20 min-: utes). Coaches are available at the airport. It is not advisable to drive a rental car: the gorge highway teams with pedestrians, particularly in the week-ends, and the narrowness of the road makes the passing of other vehicles difficult and, at times, even dangerous. . , Taiwan is slightly more than an hour by air from Hong Kong and is a microcosm of the best of the Chinese way of fife. — Les Bloxham.