Pudu Changsheng Bridge 普渡長生橋

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Pudu Changsheng Bridge is known as the most beautiful bridge in northern Taiwan. It is an old stone bridge that was built in 1953 to connect two small villages in the mountains of Shiding District. Now it is a popular spot for hikers and photographers. 

Background:
Puduchangsheng Bridge was finished in July 1953, to connect two mountain villages: Yuguiling Village (玉桂嶺村) and Fengtou Village (峰頭聚落) in Shiding.
People had been living in these mountain villages since1887 during the Qing Dynasty. 
The trail between the two villages is about 650 meters long. The cost of the bridge construction was donated by the local villagers.
Even though Yuguiling Road has now been built to connect the villages, the bridge still stands as a beautiful monument to the past.

Hours:
24/7

Price:
Free

How to get there:
By Car Scooter: Take highway 106 east through Shiding until you reach the large U shaped bridge before Yongding Village. Do not get on the bridge, and take a right under the bridge up the mountain valley. Keep going straight until you reach Yuguiling Road, and turn left. Keep going until you see the bridge on your right side after about 500 meters. 
By Bus: Take bus 795 from Shiding until you reach Tengliaokeng 藤寮坑  station. From there it is about 4 KM or one hour to get to the bridge, not ideal. 

Map:
Please see below:

Our Journey:
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​I have been to Pudu Changesheng Bridge once. It was not that hard to find actually, you can see it clearly from Yuguiling Road as you pass a bend.

View of the bridge from the road.

When I went, the area around the bridge was overgrown, but I know from other blogs that the land is trimmed every once in a while. 
The red sign warns you that the top of the bridge is slippery and you should be careful.

Side view of the bridge. 

A post with the year and month the bridge was built, ROC year 42 (1953), July. 

The top of the bridge.

View of the stream down below. 

Near the head of the bridge is a plaque with the bridge's name and the names of those that donated to the bridge construction (which are barely visible now). The largest donation was 220 NT.

Another stone marker with the names of other people that donated. The largest donation was 6 NT. 

Another post with the name of the bridge.

Another post with illegible characters. 

View of the bridge from the back.

The best view of the bridge is from underneath on the river bed. 

To get a perfectly symmetrical shot, you have to be standing on a slippery rock or in the water. 

Abandoned pipe on the land next to the bridge. 

What looks like a Qing Dynasty era house near the bridge. 

If you walk across the bridge to Fengtou Village, you will come to the Yuguiling Cliff (full blog here), which is the largest sandstone cliff in Taiwan. If you have time, go check it out.

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more of our blogs on Shiding to come!

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