Remains of Longteng Bridge

Located in the Sanyi Township of Miaoli, Yutengping Bridge (魚藤坪斷橋), currently known as the Remains of Longteng Bridge, was built from brick blocks mixed with glutinous rice and lime in 1907, making it a masterpiece of Taiwan’s railway history. Legend has it that once upon a time, in a nearby lake lived a demonic carp (鯉魚精) causing chaos for years, so locals started to grow a kind of shrubs widely used as fish poison in traditional fishing and therefore named “fish poison climber” (魚藤草, “yuteng” shrub). It is from this poisonous shrub that Yutengping Bridge derived its name.

Being constructed without using reinforced concrete or cement, the bridge sadly toppled over during a devastating earthquake struck in 1935 as the epicenter of the quake was right next to the lake. Until today, this earthquake with a magnitude of 7.1 remains the deadliest one in Taiwanese history. Most of the bridge was gone except for the bridge piers. The local government decided to build a whole new steel bridge next to the Remains of Longteng Bridge, but again in 1999, another disastrous earthquake caused damage to the surviving bridge piers, which became what we see today. Having gone through two of the most catastrophic earthquakes ever, the Remains of Longteng Bridge was named a county-level historic site in 2003 owing to its historical and architectural significance, serving as a constant reminder of the power of Mother Nature.