The greenbelt park that runs along the Dongsing irrigation ditches, part of the High Speed Rail urban planning for Jhubei City, conserves eight historic sites and buildings, as well as some historic trees. The irrigation ditch runs through an area with many new buildings and seven schools on either side along its length.
During the Qianlong reign of the Qing dynasty, the Lin clan from Raoping county in China’s Guangdong province, including Lin Hsien-kun, cultivated 30 hectares of land in the Dongsing Community area, calling it Liuchangli. Wanting to increase agricultural productivity, the Lin family clan got together and built the Dongsing irrigation ditches, starting at Wuzuowu in Cyonglin Township, irrigating several hundred hectares of land with water from the Toucian River, for a length of around 5 kilometers. The area is called Lioujia — literally “six families” — and there is a theory that this name comes from the phrase “six houses of Raoping,” which referred to the six main family lineages of the Lin family clan.
For many years the Dongsing irrigation ditches have performed many purposes, from the early function of irrigation to the current uses of flood retention, water catchment, ecology, landscaping and soil conservation, carrying life-giving water and connecting six families.
(Liberty Times, translated by Paul Cooper)
Photo: Liao Hsueh-ju, Liberty Times
照片:自由時報記者廖雪茹攝
竹北高鐵都市計畫東興圳沿線的綠帶公園,保存了八處古蹟與歷史建築和老樹,周邊新建大樓林立,還有七所學校分佈水圳兩側。
清乾隆年間,中國廣東饒平人林先坤等林姓宗族,在東興社開墾田地三十甲, 稱為「六張犁」; 為提高農業生產力,林姓宗族合力修築東興圳,以芎林五座屋為圳頭,引頭前溪水灌溉數百甲田地,全長約五公里。而今日六家的地名由來,有一說源於饒平六屋, 也就是林姓宗族六大世系。
東興圳從早年的灌溉功能,到現代滯洪、集水、生態、景觀及涵養土壤等多項用途,都是串聯六家的生命之水。
(自由時報記者廖雪茹 )
South Korea’s famous kimchi is falling victim to climate change, with scientists, farmers and manufacturers saying the quality and quantity of the napa cabbage that is pickled to make the ubiquitous dish is suffering due to rising temperatures. Napa cabbage thrives in cooler climates, and is usually planted in mountainous regions where temperatures during the key growing summer season once rarely rose above 25 degrees Celsius. Studies show that warmer weather brought about by climate change is now threatening these crops, so much so that South Korea might not be able to grow napa cabbage one day due to the intensifying heat. “We
On blazing hot summer days, fresh ingredients and cool refreshments straight from a refrigerator feel like nothing short of a miracle. However, chilled foods didn’t begin with modern refrigerators. In fact, the origin of refrigeration precedes the invention of this now-indispensable appliance by centuries. Initially, the quest for refrigeration was motivated more by the desire to cool beverages than to preserve food. The ancient Greeks and Romans, for instance, used snow stored in insulated pits to chill wine. Around the fourth century BC, the Persians made a significant stride in refrigeration techniques when they devised the yakhchal. Fashioned from
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