Before National Freeway No. 5 was built, New Taipei City’s Pinglin had been a major midpoint between Taipei and Yilan going all the way back to the Japanese colonial era. The Pinglin Bridge, now called the Old Bridge, used to be a simple beam bridge spanning the Beishih River one hundred years ago. The Pinglin Tea Museum is currently holding a special exhibition on Pinglin, its tea and its stories. It has a picture showing the late Japanese colonial administrator Shinpei Goto inspecting Pinglin. Compared with what the Old Bridge in front of the museum looks like now, the old bridge in the historical picture speaks of a bygone era .
The construction of the Pinglin Old Bridge began in 1908 and was completed in 1911. The original beam bridge was destroyed by floods in 1924, and engineers had to be sent from Japan to repair it. At that time Taiwan lacked the necessary building materials, and so reinforcement steel and cement had to be shipped to Taiwan from Japan, transported through Shenkeng and Shiding, and then carried through the mountains by men and horse-drawn carts.
After the Beiyi Road was inaugurated in 1946, the bridge was heavily used. It was not until 1970, when the Pinglin New Bridge was built, that the Old Bridge was finally relieved of its responsibilities. In 1996 the Pinglin Arch Bridge was built, with the Old Bridge sandwiched between the two larger bridges.
Photo: Screengrab by Weng Yu-huang, Liberty Times
照片：自由時報翁聿煌
The museum hopes to promote Pinglin’s local culture. This special exhibition is a collection of memories of Pinglin’s past, leading visitors back in time to learn how Pinglin evolved.
(Translated by Ethan Zhan)
國道五號高速公路未通車前，坪林從日治時期就是台北宜蘭的重要中點站，其中跨越北勢溪的坪林橋（現稱舊橋），百年前還是條木棧橋。坪林茶業博物館正在舉行「任意門—坪林．茶．故事」特展，展出民間珍藏的台灣總督府民政長官後藤新平巡視坪林照片，再與茶博館前的舊橋現況比對，充滿懷古幽情和跨越時空的趣味性。
坪林舊橋於一九○八年動工興建，一九一一年完工啟用，原本的木橋於一九二四年遭洪水沖毀，日本派工程師來台修復，當時台灣物資缺乏，搭建橋墩的鋼筋水泥皆由日本船運來台，途經深坑、石碇，再用人力馬車載運翻過山頭，過程艱辛。
西元一九四六年北宜公路通車後來往車輛頻繁，直到一九七零年「坪林新橋」完工，舊橋才卸下重擔，一九九六年「坪林拱橋」完工，舊橋便夾在兩座大橋中間。
茶博館希望能為坪林地區推展在地文化，此一特展蒐羅坪林的過往記憶，帶領觀眾穿越時空界限，以在地故事認識坪林的歷史演變。
〔自由時報翁聿煌〕
FOLLOW UP 讀後練習
1) Which river does the Pinglin Bridge cross?
坪林橋跨越哪一條溪流？
2) There is a museum in Pinglin. Does it show modern art, tea, or dinosaurs?
坪林有一座博物館，請問這是一間當代藝術博物館、茶業博物館、還是恐龍博物館？
3) Exactly how many bridges are there near the museum in the previous question?
上題提及的博物館週邊究竟蓋了幾座橋？
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