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Pound Hang Hau

2025-09-02
886-2-24972250
新北市瑞芳區九份輕便路輕便路350號旁
Pengkengkou is another name for “tunnel entrance.” The term “Pengkengkou” today usually refers to the Jiufen Shan Pengkengkou. Its width once allowed two-way traffic for the old light-rail handcars, but now only a single van can squeeze through in one direction. The rock is hard; spring water constantly drips from crevices inside the tunnel, especially after heavy rain. The Shuijinjiu area has several vehicle tunnels called pengkengkou, all related to the light-rail system. When Jiufen was swept by the “Great Gold Rush,” human porterage on the traditional Shuchi Road and Baojia Road could no longer cope, so Yan Guonian founded the Ruifang Light-Rail Co., Ltd. and laid the Ruifang Light-Rail Jinguashi Line. About 6 km long, it opened in November 1931 (Shōwa 6). The line linked Ruifang, Jiufen, and Jinguashi. Stations along the route: Ruifang ‑ Yuanyitangling ‑ Ganpingli ‑ (Aerial ropeway) ‑ (Jiufen Shan Pengkengkou) ‑ Jiufen ‑ Jilongshan-foot ‑ Tunnel No. 6 Bridge ‑ Jinguashi. At Ruifang Station one could transfer to the Keelung Light-Rail and reach Keelung. Soon after completion the line was merged into the “Keelung Light-Rail” (Keelung Light-Rail Co., Ltd.) and became Jiufen’s main transport link, greatly speeding up freight supply and commodity circulation. It also undermined the status of Gengziliao Port (today’s Ruibin Fishing Harbor) and turned Ruifang into the key supply base for Jiufen. Between the upper and lower ropeway stations the grade was too steep for manpower; cars could roll back and cause accidents, so an aerial ropeway was installed. A hook on the handcar caught the rope, which was driven by a pulley system to haul the car uphill. This short 6-km light-rail crossed three pengkengkou: 1. The one on the Liulangjiao Tourist Trail (lower ropeway trail). 2. The Jiufen Shan Pengkengkou, about 50 m long, just before entering Jiufen from the end of Qingbian Road. 3. The Jilongshan-foot Pengkengkou, about 100 m long, between Jiufen and Jinguashi. The third tunnel has been sealed because sandstone and andesite meet there in a fault zone prone to rockfall. Though only a tunnel, Pengkengkou has become the intangible terminus of Jiufen settlement. A few houses and B&Bs line both sides; west of it no one lives. Vehicles entering from the west must make an immediate 90-degree turn, and newcomers often think the road ends at the tunnel mouth. After the right turn the view opens onto Songde Park, then the Songde community, and finally the junction of Qingbian Road and Jishan Street where activity picks up. The two ends of Pengkengkou feel like different worlds. Reference: field interviews, “Jiufen · Taiyang River Prosperity—Oral History Monograph”
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