A Priceless Legacy-Beitou Stone Arch Bridge

There’s a quaint stone arch bridge near the skating rink in Beiton Park. On walking through it, you will see a beautiful pond in the shape of Taiwan Island. They are all valuable assets in Beitou area. I can’t wait anymore to introduce them to you right now.

In the senior residents’ memory, the stone arch bridge was built together with Beitou Park by Imura Daikichi, a former magistrate of Taipei Prefecture, at about a century ago, the equivalent year of Japan’s Meiji era. At that time, most of the Japanese bridges were made of wood, with the exception of some more important ones made of stone or cast iron. The technique of building stone arch bridge originated from ancient Egypt, Greece or Rome. Then, it was transferred to Japan by routing India and Mainland China. However, not long after, at early Showa period, the stones were gradually replaced by RC structure, a brand new and stronger architectural material.

By coincidence with the history of bridge civilization, there used to be some stone bridges over the Beitou Creek here, built during Japanese colonial period. Yet after several renovations and reconstructions of the park, only this one remains intact. It’s the only old stone arch bridge left from that period of time in Taiwan. While the size itself may be small, its historical value is significantly great. For well preserving this precious legacy permanently, it was designated as a ”Memorable Construction Relic” with the official name “Beitou Stone Arch Bridge” by Taipei city government in 1998. Only it can’t be listed as a historical site since no evidence has been provided yet, about if it was made of solid stones or just pasted stone flakes on the exterior.

The principle of the arch bridge is taking advantage of the upward pushing force from the thick and rough arch itself to withstand the gravity of the vehicle or pedestrian on the deck, while its elegant and charming appearance also contributes to the appreciation of aesthetics. The bridge may not solidify until the keystone is firmly inserted to the central bottom as a final step. Without a doubt, the stone arch bridge requires an accurate engineering calculation of the joints between the stones in order to generate the upward pushing force as just mentioned above. There’s no margin for error. Subtle mistake not only makes load-bearing impossible, even worse, the entire bridge will fall into pieces. It goes without saying that the difficulty of construction adds far more meaning to this priceless cultural heritage.

The beautiful curve of the stone arch bridge under the shadows of swaying leaves reveals the unique rustic flavor of its raw material. It definitely has long been a perfect background for taking a nice picture.

Another special spotlight nearby is the Taiwan pond. Instead of cement, stones were used to provide hideouts for frogs, shrimps, fishes and many other kinds of little creatures. It surely was a fabulous ecological workmanship. Lilies were grown all over the pond with various algae as well. Have a nice stroll around the pond and enjoy the beauty of nature.