Qualla: Old Donghe Bridge https://qualla.com/old-donghe-bridge en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 27 Jul 2026 10:40:57 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/w/s/n/6/old-donghe-bridge-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: Old Donghe Bridge https://qualla.com/old-donghe-bridge Old Donghe Bridge: Introduction https://qualla.com/old-donghe-bridge/ Photo credit Lord Koxinga, CC BY-SA 3.0. In 1926, Japanese engineers set out to bridge the Mawuku River on Taiwan's remote east coast, and produced what was at the time the longest bridge built during Japanese rule of the island. Nearly a century later, the Old Donghe Bridge still stands — no longer carrying traffic, now open only to pedestrians — as a quiet monument to colonial-era infrastructure ambition at the edge of the Pacific.

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Image: Lord Koxinga | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Sat, 13 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/s/n/6/old-donghe-bridge-wp/wsn6-old-donghe-bridge-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Old Donghe Bridge: Built to Last, Then Rebuilt https://qualla.com/old-donghe-bridge/ Photo credit Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0. The bridge was designed and constructed in 1926 under the name Jikuen Bridge, built as a suspension span connecting what would become Chenggong Township to the north with Donghe Township to the south. Its claim to distinction was straightforward: at 127 meters long, it was the lo...

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Image: Bernard Gagnon | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Sat, 13 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/s/n/6/old-donghe-bridge-wp/wsn6-old-donghe-bridge-built-to-last-then-rebuilt.mp3 0:06 2 full Old Donghe Bridge: Two Ends, Two Different Soils https://qualla.com/old-donghe-bridge/ Photo credit Aa7778273, CC BY-SA 4.0. The bridge's engineering reflects a real challenge: the two banks of the Mawuku River rest on fundamentally different geological foundations. At the northern end, on the Chenggong side, the bridge meets hard limestone bedrock, and the engineers installed an arch-shaped pier suite...

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Image: Aa7778273 | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Sat, 13 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/s/n/6/old-donghe-bridge-wp/wsn6-old-donghe-bridge-two-ends-two-different-soils.mp3 0:06 3 full Old Donghe Bridge: The River It Crosses https://qualla.com/old-donghe-bridge/ Photo credit Eric850130, CC BY-SA 4.0. The Mawuku River takes its name from the Amis word for the area — the same root as Fafokod, meaning "fishing by net" in the Amis language, which gives its name to the broader Donghe region. The river is not large, but east coast rivers in Taiwan are not measured by volume so much...

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Image: Eric850130 | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Sat, 13 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/s/n/6/old-donghe-bridge-wp/wsn6-old-donghe-bridge-the-river-it-crosses.mp3 0:06 4 full Old Donghe Bridge: A Pedestrian Landmark https://qualla.com/old-donghe-bridge/ Photo credit Mike841125, Public domain. The road that once crossed the Old Donghe Bridge has been rerouted to a newer span nearby, leaving the 1953 reconstruction as a pedestrian-only crossing. This change in status has actually increased the bridge's visibility as a destination: walkers can stand at the midpoint over ...

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Image: Mike841125 | Public domain

]]> Sat, 13 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/s/n/6/old-donghe-bridge-wp/wsn6-old-donghe-bridge-a-pedestrian-landmark.mp3 0:06 5 full