臺北市政府文化局

Visiting the Caoshan Waterway and Sapphire Spring in Yangmingshan National Park is no easy matter! From the Corpus Christi Church on Yangmingshan, head into the mountains, to a trail that leads to a stone arch bridge called第三水管橋 (“third water-pipe bridge”). The bridge deck is divided into two sections, with one half made of individual stone slabs and the other a single, continuous slab, reflecting the different ways the water is transported in the waterway below.

After you cross the bridge, you see a house made of andesite rock marked Yongquan Terrace湧泉台, signaling that your destination is near at hand. When you open the door of the stone house, the shimmering blue beauty of the spring appears and you cannot help but exclaim, “It was worth it!”

In 1909, in order to address sanitary problems in Taipei, the Government-General of Taiwan began supplying clean water from the Taipei Waterway. But as the urban population grew, the water supply had to be expanded. In 1924, the Government-General began testing the water quality of the artesian springs on Yangmingshan Mountain. But it was not until 1932 that the Caoshan Waterway (planned and designed by Sano Toujirou, a student of W. K. Burton, who designed Taipei’s waterways) was completed and began operating as Taipei’s second water source.

The unique stone paving of the arch bridge shows it was built as part of the water supply system: one side of the bridge is a culvert that does not need maintenance and so is covered with one single slab, while the other side, under which water pipes run that require periodic inspection, is paved with stone slabs that allow for easy removal.

Located inside the andesite house, the Sapphire Spring is the third water source of the Caoshan Waterway. The spring water is enriched with minerals such as sodium, calcium, magnesium, and potassium, and is naturally filtered through the andesite rock, the pores of which are smaller than bacteria. The rippling interplay between the spring and the andesite stone house creates a sapphire-like luster. This enchanting sight draws many visitors to experience its beauty firsthand. Why not book a visit on the Taipei Water Department website and visit this hidden gem on Yangmingshan?