October 30, 2022
On Sunday I visited the National Museum of Marine Science and Technology in Keelung.
The Google map above gives the distance from Xindian (bottom left) to Badouzi (top right, right of Keelung City); it’s about 40km, about equal to the distance from Northbridge to Blacktown in Sydney.
I purchased a railway ticket (above) at Taipei Main Station on the day. It cost NTD55, about $AUD2.75.
I took the above photo standing on the platform at Taipei Main Station.
I thought I’d get a faster ride to Ruifang so I caught a more luxurious train (above). However, I just noticed that the train ticket says “local” – I probably should have caught the local train. Only a few people were on the train. I originally intended to sit at the front of the train, but the car was reserved for parents and children, so I wasn’t allowed.
The day was overcast with showers of rain. The train went west underneath Taipei, and then picked up the Keelung River, with mountains on either side.
After half an hour or so we reached Ruifang. The indicator board above also shows Haikeguan, on the Shen’ao line.
Ruifang also is the railway stop for Jiufen; I’ve covered this in the entry for Jiufen and Jinguashi. The above photo was taken on the steps of the west entry to Ruifang train station.
The posted information said there would be a train in half an hour to Haikeguan. Another train pulled up, more basic this time, but it wasn’t the Haikeguan train – but similar enough, so you can see what the outside of the train looks like.
According to Wikipedia, the Shen’ao line (深澳線) is 4.6 km long and single-track. It was built in 1967 to ship coal. In 1989 passenger service was discontinued, but in 2016 it was re-established.
The next train was the train to Haikeguan.
Inside the train. Note the curved bulkheads, and the window at the front of the train next to the driver’s compartment.
I found a clip on YouTube that was filmed in that front window.
My photo of the same view.
Haikeguan. My Chinese teacher said that it is a shortened form of the NMMST. Wikipedia says that it is “The northernmost operational railway station in Taiwan”.
Had I known about it, Badouzi train station, the next station, is the location of the Shen’ao Rail Bike. I only found out about it afterwards when writing up this webpage, when YouTube directed me to clips of people riding rail bikes instead of the museum.
I found a map of the National Museum of Marine Science and Technology, which I’ll put here.
The train station was in a somewhat out of the way place, but a short (300 meters or so) walk (above) brought me to NMMST.
NMMST is, appropriately, by the sea – and on a busy road. For a major institution there is a curious lack of information about it, or perhaps the information is in Chinese. I found a TripAdvisor review of NMMST.
Certainly there were lots of tour buses visiting.
I couldn’t even make it inside the building before coming on something interesting – a appealing boat.
According to Wikipedia, the museum building was originally the North Thermal Power Plant, constructed by the Japanese in 1937. After the power plant went out of business in 1981, the Taiwanese government turned the building into a museum, opening in 2014.
There were a few YouTube clips about NMMST, one of which I’ve included. Notice the high quality of the clip.
I went straight up to the top floor where there is an exhibit of naval technology. The above is a deep-sea submersible at the entrance to the exhibition.
The exhibits were of propellers, of buoyancy, of the differences in types of ports, of the analysis of marine engine vibration – all gratifying to my geek heart. Naturally the exhibits were of high quality; I could have been wandering around Questacon in Canberra.
Even on my way out there were things to see (above).
I had a look at Badouzi Fishing Harbor (above). I also took some shots of temples and a market, but the photos didn’t come out.
This shot is of me waiting for a bus near NMMST.
On the bus. From Badouzi to Keelung the road is crowded and winding in the narrow place between the mountains and the sea, full of people mostly eating in the narrow restaurants. The bus took me to Keelung and then straight to Taipei.
Wandering Richard 