Xiluo Bridge

Xiluo Bridge

The Zhuoshui River is an important dividing river in central Taiwan. Due to its vast width, maps of Taiwan drawn by Europeans in the 16th century even mistakenly depicted the island as being split into northern and southern parts. For a long time, people on both sides of the river had to rely on bamboo rafts and other means of transportation to cross. When the river swelled due to heavy rains, cross-river traffic was severely disrupted. As a result, discussions about constructing a bridge have been ongoing for years, and under these circumstances, Xiluo Bridge came into being.

Spanning the lower reaches of the Zhuoshui River, Xiluo Bridge is a truss iron bridge that connects Xiluo Township in Yunlin County at one end and Xizhou Township in Changhua County at the other. Construction of the bridge began in 1937 (the 12th year of the Showa era), and during the Japanese colonial period, the main work completed was the construction of the bridge piers. The project was later halted when steel was repurposed for war use, leaving the structure unfinished. After the Nationalist government relocated to Taiwan, construction resumed in 1952 with U.S. aid, officially starting on May 29, 1952, and completing on December 25, 1952. The bridge was officially opened to traffic on January 28, 1953. At the time of its completion, it was the second longest bridge in the world after the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, USA, and the longest in the Far East. The bridge also featured a sugar railway running alongside the roadway, creating a striking sight where rail and road traffic coexisted.

Xiluo Bridge

Why you must visit: One of Taiwan’s largest bridges