A plan to strengthen iconic Queen’s Head rock remains on track despite mixed results from a series of tests on nearby formations in Yehliu Geopark, northern Taiwan.
The mushroom rock is suffering from the adverse effects of weather, with erosion reducing the circumference of its thinnest area from 1.44 meters in 2006 to 1.26 meters in 2014. A reinforcement program was launched last August by the Tourism Bureau in conjunction with North Coast and Guanyinshan National Scenic Area.
Project leader Hsieh Kuo-huang, a professor from National Taiwan University’s Institute of Polymer Science and Engineering, has employed 10 engineering methods on four similar rocks in the geopark over the past nine months.
“While nanotechnology reinforces a formation, the chemical coating also causes it to whiten,” Hsieh said May 25. “Dramatic changes in temperature and high moisture are equally challenging factors as they result in peeling surfaces.
“I am working to address the whitening problem and conducting a three-month experiment involving a new technique.”
According to the NCGNSA, work cannot begin on the Queen’s Head until a process is developed that leaves its appearance and color unaltered.
Around 3.33 million visitors toured the geopark in 2014, up nearly 20 percent from the year before. A recent poll shows that 75 percent of respondents will still visit even if the rock cannot be saved.
Queen’s Head is the most spectacular sight in Yehliu and often rated a top national tourist draw. Over the past 4,000 years, differential erosion by the sea has given the rock its unique shape, which is said to resemble Queen Elizabeth II from certain angles. (SFC-JSM)
Write to Taiwan Today at ttonline@mofa.gov.tw