Longteng Bridge

Longteng Bridge 龍騰橋
Longteng Bridge c. 1910 Longteng Bridge c. 1910
Coordinates
Carries	Railroad
Crosses	(三叉河; Sānchā hé)
Locale	Longteng Village, Sanyi Township, Miaoli County, Taiwan
Official name	魚藤坪斷橋
Owner	Taiwan Railway Administration
Characteristics
Design	Masonry arch (approach) and truss (span)
Material	Brick (arch) and Steel (truss)
Number of spans	9
History
Designer	長稻垣兵太郎
Engineering design by	Theodore Cooper C.C. Schneider
Construction begin	1 May 1906
Construction end	30 January 1907
Collapsed	21 April 1935 (during 1935 Hsinchu-Taichung earthquake)
Longteng Bridge Location of Longteng Bridge in Taiwan

The Longteng Bridge (Chinese: 龍騰橋; pinyin: Lóngténg Qiáo; literally: "Dragon Bridge", officially known as the Yutengping Bridge, 魚藤坪斷橋; Yúténgpíng Duàn Qiáo; "Fish-Poisoning Shrub Bridge") is a former bridge in Longteng Village Sanyi Township, Miaoli County, Taiwan.

History

File:Tzu chiang Express and Yutengping Bridge.jpg

Longteng Bridge pier remains in 1998, with replacement 1938 iron bridge behind

The bridge was built in 1906 during the Japanese colonial period. It was designed by the American civil engineers Theodore Cooper and C.C. Schneider for the Japanese colonial government. The bridge was named after a local plant (魚藤; Yúténg) believed to be poisonous to fish; legends believed that a malevolent carp in a nearby lake was responsible for misfortune, and residents planted the shrub to counter the carp. The original design consists of a central steel truss flanked by multiple brick masonry arch approaches.

File:美哉魚藤坪斷橋.JPG

Longteng Bridge pier remains

The April 1935 Hsinchu-Taichung earthquake and subsequent aftershocks in July damaged the bridge beyond repair. Several masonry arches were cracked and the north and south ends of the truss became misaligned. A new iron bridge was built in 1938, 80 meters to the west of Longteng Bridge, and the central truss was dismantled once the new bridge opened.

The 1999 921 earthquake caused one of the remaining piers to collapse and as a result, the county government decided to rededicate the bridge's remains as a monument to the two deadliest earthquakes in Taiwan's history. It was placed on the list of Taiwan's Cultural Heritage Assets (Historical Site #KA09602001112) on 25 November 2003.

Architecture

File:Longteng Iron Bridge 01.jpg

1938 Longteng Bridge

The 1938 bridge stands at 50 meters tall and 200 meters long, making it the highest iron bridge in Taiwan.

The ruined 1907 bridge piers are covered with white Tung flowers (桐花; tóng huā, Vernicia fordii) every year from April to May, marking the height of its popularity as a tourist and hiking destination.

Transportation

The bridge is accessible by taxi south from Sanyi Station of Taiwan Railways Administration.

See also

• Transportation in Taiwan