After a two-hour coach ride, the bus turned into an attraction known as the Old Mountain Line Rail Bike, which I don't remember was part of our official Taiwan itinerary .
And it sure wasn't. To be frank, KK, our tour guide, had already gave us prior information on the itinerary for the day and what we would be checking out shall be some bridge remains.
While our female tour mates had to queue for the washrooms, my dad and I visited a side attraction; the placement of two unused train carriages!
Right carriage was just an empty shell but it seemed to be a lot more older, with ceiling fans and even wooden window frames. Wait, maybe the carriage's original purpose was for standing, instead of sitting.
Onwards to the first item on our day two itinerary; the Remains of Longteng Bridge! As seen from the expression on my dad's face, he wasn't that impressed. To be fair, he's more a nature person.
Built in 1906 during the Japanese occupation of Taiwan, the 200-meter long Longteng Bridge was once know as the artistic pride of Taiwan railway. Sadly, it partially collapsed during an earthquake in 1935, which was said to be the deadliest in Taiwan's recorded history, killing over 3,000 persons.
In 1999, another powerful earthquake (known as 921 earthquake) struck Taiwan, and the bridge suffered further damage. Given the bridge significance of going through two of Taiwan's deadliest earthquakes (death toll for the 921 earthquake was over 2,400), the government decided to make the remains a monument.
Extent of the damage from the two earthquakes.
As the area wasn't closed to the public, I can imagine some adventurous individuals might just drop by to check out the bridge remains at night. I guess it would likely be very eerie!
The mountain line wasn't abandoned back in 1935 as it was an important connection, and a separate line was built to reroute the line from Longteng Bridge.
That rebuilt line appeared to have stopped operations as what I saw from the tracks were converted into a guided bikeway for visitors; hence the name of the attraction that I showed on the first paragraph.
Given my understanding of Chinese characters, I am aware that this sign pointed to the bridge remains on the northern side. This means there's another section elsewhere.
Southern side of the bridge remains!
I hesitated as it seemed like a long staircase down and the rest of our tour mates had already started making their way back to the coach! Should we be the inconsiderate tour mates and let them wait?
Oh well, we shall be considerate and be fast at the same time! At the base of staircase was a wooden bridge. Gosh, would the southern bridge remains be very far off?
A river runs underneath. Before the Longteng Bridge collapsed, it actually crossed over the same river and the height from river to bridge was about 50 meters.
A shot of dad at the bridge. We decided not to continue any further in our crusade to find the other remains. While I am confident I am fast, I had to remind myself that my dad is already in his 70s! Let's not push his heart too hard.
Back to the main road.
A few quick photographs of dad so that we didn't have to keep our tour mates waiting for too long! p.s. they were all very kind as my dad was the oldest in the tour group!
Lastly, for your reading pleasure on the history and importance of the bridge given the mountainous terrain. I used it for some of the information you see appended below the photographs.
Map showing a biking trail. In case you are unaware, it is possible to explore Taiwan using a bicycle and while I am keen to embark such a journey; I could only think of doing so when I resign from my job!
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Address
367, Sanyi Township,
Miaoli County, Taiwan
Map
As above.
