Longteng Broken Bridge, South Broken Bridge. Southbound on the mountain line from Miaoli Station, about two kilometers past Shengxing, over the Longteng River, several beautifully shaped, sky-piercing remaining pillars stand amidst the overgrown weeds on the east side of the railway. Southbound on the mountain line from Miaoli Station, about two kilometers past Shengxing, over the Longteng River, several beautifully shaped, sky-piercing remaining pillars stand amidst the overgrown weeds on the east side of the railway, exuding an ancient charm. These are the remnants of the great earthquake in central Taiwan that left the older generation of villagers with lingering fear – the Longteng Broken Bridge. That great earthquake occurred on the morning of April 21, 1935, with its epicenter near Guandao Mountain. Sanyi was severely affected, and the majestic Longteng River Bridge on the mountain line was completely destroyed. After the earthquake, a new bridge was built to the west of the original bridge, leaving the arched bridge pillars standing through sun and wind for future generations to commemorate. This broken red brick arched bridge was built by the Japanese around 1905. The craftsmen who built this bridge were all hired from Guangdong, China. The Japanese were extremely strict about quality control. The entire bridge was constructed purely of red bricks and cement, without a single piece of steel reinforcement, yet its structure was extremely tight and firm. In the early years, when life was difficult and transportation inconvenient, local residents, seeing the red brick bridge broken by the earthquake, wanted to take some bricks home to build walls and houses. However, they would often spend the whole day trying to break off bricks and only get a dozen or so intact ones. This shows how strong the bridge was, and it is also one of the reasons why the broken bridge has stood for a century without collapsing.
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Miaoli