Miaoli County, Sanyi Township, Remains of Longteng Bridge
When we saw this picture, we knew we had to go straight to Google. It led to this, abridged from Wikipedia: “… 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 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 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 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 on 25 November 2003.”
So now you know. Unused Fun Taiwan (!) card P072-102. Grade: 1