Taiwan ROC - University Pond Bamboo Bridge 大學池竹橋

 

Stamp Issue : 1983-03-01 

The water in the University Pond is crystal clear like emerald. Across the pond sits an arch bridge made of bamboo with an unusual shape. It was constructed in the 1950's as a landmark of Xitou in Lugu Township of the Nantou County.
The main arch bridge across the University Pond is approximately 70 meters long, 1.5 meters wide, and rising, at it height, 5 meters from the surface of the pond water. It is not only one of the few man-made, bamboo arch bridges in Taiwan but is also known both in and outside of Taiwan for its beauty. The material used is Moso Bamboo (Phyllostachys edulis) which needs to be totally replaced every one to two years. The bridge, however, is made not only with bamboo. At a later date, for the safety of the pedestrians, two reinforced concrete bridge columns, cast to look like bamboo, were sunk deep into the ground at both ends of the construction while from above two pre-stressed wire ropes were strung both to reinforce the structure and to increase the carrying capacity of the bridge.

大學池池水清瑩碧透。池上一座拱形竹橋，造形特殊，建於1950年代，是南投縣鹿谷鄉溪頭的地標。
大學池的主拱橋，長約70公尺，橋寬約1.5公尺，離池面最高點約6公尺，是臺灣少有的大型人工竹製拱橋，也是臺灣中外知名的美麗竹拱橋。竹材選擇為毛竹（孟宗竹），約一至兩年即需全面更換一次，但它並非只是純粹以竹子作材料搭建，為了遊客行走其上的安全，後來在橋頭兩端設立有深埋地下的仿原木形狀的高大鋼筋混凝土橋柱，配合以兩端架設預應力鋼索，從上方懸吊，加強它的承載力與安全性。