Dragon Bridge, South Broken Bridge Introduction
The Mountain Line Railway travels south from Miaoli Station, and about two kilometers past Shengxing, there are several beautifully styled remains of the Qingtian columns standing amid the overgrown fields on the east side of the railway at Longteng Creek. This ancient site is a remnant of the devastating 1935 Central Taiwan Earthquake, known as the Longteng Broken Bridge, which evokes poignant memories for the older locals. The earthquake occurred on the morning of April 21, 1935, its epicenter near Guandao Mountain, and the Sanyi area suffered severe damage. The majestic Longteng Creek Bridge on the Mountain Line Railway was completely destroyed. After the quake, a new bridge was built to the west of the original bridge, leaving behind the arched bridge columns standing resiliently in the sun and wind as a memorial for future generations. This broken red brick arch bridge was constructed by the Japanese around 1905, with all the masons sourced from Guangdong, China. The Japanese were extremely strict about quality control, and the entire bridge was built entirely from red bricks and cement without any steel reinforcements, yet its structure remains very tight and solid. In the earlier years of hardship and transportation difficulties, local residents, seeing the earthquake-damaged red brick bridge as a resource, attempted to chip away some bricks to take home for building walls and houses. However, they often found only a handful of intact bricks after a whole day of effort, highlighting the bridge's sturdiness. This is also one reason why the broken bridge has endured for over a century and continues to stand tall.
