Bridge

Southern end of Balong Suspension Bridge
古道圖片

The Balong Suspension Bridge on the Jiaobanshan Sanxing Historic Trail from the Japanese occupation period is located 47 kilometer away from today's Northern Cross-island Highway, next to the Baling Scenic Bridge. The predecessor of the Northern Cross-island Highway was the Jiaobanshan Sanxing Historic Trail during the Japanese occupation. In October of Taisho 3rd year (1914) the Japanese built the Balong Suspension Bridge. When the Northern Cross-island Highway was built in the 1960s, the Bridge was demolished and rebuilt into the Baling Bridge. Although the suspension bridge no longer exists, the Taoyuan City Government has reproduced a small section of the suspension bridge at the southern end of the bridge, allowing tourists to see the full image of the bridge at that time.

Old Baling Bridge
巴陵橋

Baling Bridge is located 47 kilometers away from the Northern Corss-island Highway. The predecessor of the highway was Jiaobanshan Sanxing Historic Trail during the Japanese occupation, and in October of Taisho 3rd year (1914) the Japanese built the Balong Suspension Bridge. When the Northern Cross-island Highway was built in the 1960s, the suspension bridge was demolished and rebuilt into the Baling Bridge. Since the Cross-island Highway leads to Jiaobanshan, Lalashan, Qilan, Mingchi and other important tourist and recreational areas, the traffic volume surges every holiday. The original Baling Bridge width is only 4.6 meters, the width of the road is insufficient, and it is easy to cause traffic jams. The new Baling Bridge was built to solve the problem of traffic congestion and was opened to traffic on July 30, 2005. The old Baling Bridge was changed to a pedestrian-only scenic bridge. The tunnel No.1 and No.2 on both ends of the bridge were also transformed into an Atayal Cultural Exhibit Hall.

Tianlun Baileng Suspension Bridge
影像為天輪發電廠通往白冷的吊橋。

This suspension bridge that leads to the Baileng Police Post can be seen from the 1/50,000th topographic map of the  Japanese rule during the Showa period. The bridge was the predecessor of the monitoring route of Baileng Aiyong Border, which was excavated on February 23, Meiji 44 (1911). The route began from the Beileng Supervision Office, going up the Dajia River and arriving at the シウワンタイム, with a total length of about 4 miles (about 16 kilometers). In the 3rd year of Taisho (1914), because the original old defile was very narrow, Taichung Office planned to widen the road from Dongshijiao to Baxianshan to facilitate the logging business. It was finally excavated by the Forestry Bureau of the Governor's Office of Taiwan, but the road still ended in Jiurai (now Songhe, Heping District, Taichung City).

Simulation Diagram of the Balong Suspension Bridge
巴壟鐵線橋模擬圖

This is a simulation diagram of the Balong Suspesion Bridge, which is located at the southern end of the bridge. It is accessible through the Baling Scenic Bridge that is located at 47 kilometers away from the Northern Cross-island Highway. The predecessor of the Cross-island Highway was the Jiaobanshan Sanxing Historic Trail during the Japanese occupation. In October of Taisho 3rd year (1914) the Japanese built the Balong Suspension Bridge. When the Northern Cross-island Highway was built in the 1960s, the Bridge was demolished and rebuilt into the Baling Bridge. Although the suspension bridge no longer exists, the Taoyuan City Government has reproduced a small section of the suspension bridge at the southern end of the bridge, and set up a simulation diagram there, allowing tourists to see the full image of the bridge at that time.

Baling Bridge
巴陵大橋

The Baling Bridge, which spans across the Dahan River, was completed in 2005 and is an important landmark in the Baling area. In the 3rd year of Taisho (1914), the Japanese built the Baling Suspension Bridge here. When the Northern Cross-island Highway was built in the 1960s, the suspension bridge was demolished and rebuilt into the Baling Bridge. Since the Cross-island Highway leads to Jiaobanshan, Lalashan, Qilan, Mingchi and other important tourist and recreational areas, the traffic volume surges every holiday. The original Baling Bridge width is only 4.6 meters, the width of the road is insufficient, and it is easy to cause traffic jams. The new Baling Bridge was built to solve the problem of traffic congestion. After the new Baling Bridge was opened in 2005, the old Baling Bridge was changed to a pedestrian-only landscape bridge.

Baishi Suspension Bridge
吊橋距下方的薩克亞金溪,約有100多公尺深,吊索與橋板間為鐵絲交織而成的防護網,於橋板兩側左右向外側延伸。

The Baishi Suspension Bridge was first built in the 10th year of Taisho (1921) and rebuilt in 1947. The bridge is about 145 meters long and 90 centimeters wide, crossing the main stream of Sakyacin Creek. Skayacin means white stone (Baishi) in the Atayal language. Sakyacin Creek originates from the west side of the north edge of Dabajian Mountain, and is one of the two major tributaries of the upper reaches of Dahan River. In recent years, due to the increase in the number of tourists, it has been renovated again in consideration of safety, and an explanatory board is set up beside the bridge.

Qingquan No. 1 Suspension Bridge
連結清泉派出所與新竹縣五峰鄉桃山村清泉部落的的清泉一號吊橋

Qingquan No. 1 Suspension Bridge is located in Qingquan Hamlet, Taoshan Village, Wufeng Township, Hsinchu County. It is about 535 meters above sea level and crosses Shangping River. Qingquan No. 1 Suspension Bridge also connects to Qingquan Police Station. It is about 157 meters long, 25 meters high, and 1.4 meters wide, and is the highest suspension bridge in the Qingquan area. You can overlook the entire Qingquan area from the bridge. Where the bridge is standing was the original site for the Inoue Railway Bridge during Japanese rule. Both ends of the bridge still have sections of the Syakaro guard road remaining from those time. The Railway Bridge was damaged due to disrepair for a long period of time and in 1996 the current bridge was rebuilt on the same site.

Guzilun Suspension Bridge Ruins
姑仔崙吊橋遺址

The Guzilun suspension bridge is erected on the Chachayadun River, and was one of the important suspension bridges on the Jingshuiying Trail. The bridge was erected in the 6th year of Taisho (1917). At that time, the Guzilun police post was located on the north bank of the Xidi camp site (Miaopu) of the Qing Dynasty, so the suspension bridge was called the Guzilun Bridge. In the 7th and 8th years of Taisho (1918 and 1919), the suspension bridge was damaged twice by typhoons. In the 14th year of Taisho (1925), the suspension bridge was re-erected. The remnants of the suspension bridge seen today were rebuilt in the 15th year of Taisho (1926). Today, only the cement bridge girder remains intact. Around the bridge girder, the iron wires used for the suspension bridge at that time can still be found. On the bridge girder, there are engravings of the words “Completed in March 15th year of Taiso”.

Stone steps in Bazai Mountain
拔仔山往那實達社方向路段的石階群

The stone steps in Bazaishan are located in Ruisui Township, Hualien County.

Bazaishan is the first mountain on the eastern section of the Guanmen Historic Trail. The entrance to the trail is in the Fuyuan National Forest Recreation Area. Enter from the industrial road outside the Butterfly Valley, go through the old afforestation path to reach Nasida Hamlet, and the stone steps are on the road to the hamlet.

Due to the steepness, there are many stone steps along the way, especially on the road close to the forest triangle point, where the stone steps are very dense. Road closer to Nashida Hamlet is gentle and therefore, has less stone steps.

 

Marshland in the east section of Guanmen Historic Trail
拔仔山往那實達社方向路段的石階群

The Guanmen Historic Trail, which straddles Jiji Township of Nantou County and Ruisui Township of Hualien County, began construction in 1886 and completed in the following year. The trail starts from Jiji in the west and reaches Fuyuan in the east, about 105 km in length. It was the last excavated road during the Qing period but was not frequently used by the officials then.

During the Japanese occupation, the trail was used by the Government-General in Taiwan to force the Kashe group and Danshe group of the Bunun tribe to move to a concentrated village.

Nowadays, there is a marshland in the east section of the Guanmen Historic Trail, which is located below the ridge line of Bazaishan. Due to the humid and rainy climate here, many sections of the road are quite muddy. Although the terrain is wide, flat and covered with short grass, the bottom is full of mud and is easy to sink in when walking on it.