About Wenzhou Lucheng Ancient Bridge and Old Alley

Covered Bridge: Xidong Bridge

Xidong Bridge: It is a wooden arched bridge structure. It is located in the east town of Sixi Town, Taishun. Because it is located in the upper reaches of Dongxi River, the local people Also known as "Shangqiao". Xidong Bridge was built in the fourth year of Longqing in the Ming Dynasty (1570). The bridge is 42 meters long, the gallery is 10 meters high, and the clear span is 31 meters. The bridge is composed of two layers of intersecting ribs. Nine arch bones are placed side by side with another layer of eight-segment arch bones to form a stable beam frame. A triangular wooden frame is placed inside the arch to enhance the lateral force. In order to protect the arches and beams from wind and rain erosion, wind panels are installed on both sides. The arch toes at both ends are respectively supported on the abutment. The abutment is built with granite blocks on the cliffs on both sides. There are stone treads on the passages at both ends. There are 15 corridor-style bridge houses built on the beams, three of which are elevated into pavilions with overhanging wings at both ends. Coiled dragons and crouching tigers, fighting horns swirling around the clouds, blue dragons standing upright, seeming to be swallowing clouds and spitting out mist. It is one of the best-shaped wooden arcade bridges in Taishun.

The bridge spans the Dongxi River, so it is called Xidong Bridge. There are three high-rise pavilions in the middle, with flying wings at both ends, like a coiled dragon and a crouching tiger, with the potential to swallow clouds and spit out mist. . The stream under the bridge is crystal clear. On one side of the bridge is a distant mountain, and nearby are two higher peaks, one is Lion Peak and the other is General Peak. According to local people, the bridge and its surrounding environment are in a geomantic treasure land where "generals tease lions". Against the backdrop of distant mountains, Xidong Bridge is even more beautiful and light.

Beijian Bridge

Beijian Bridge is located at the ancient ferry at the confluence of the east, south and north streams in Shangqiao Village. Built in the 13th year of Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty (1671) and rebuilt in the 8th year of Jiaqing reign (1803), the bridge is more than 51.7 meters long, nearly 6 meters wide and 11.22 meters high. It is located northwest of Sixi Upper Bridge, 1 km away, across Beixi, so it is called "Beijian Bridge". The village is named after the bridge. Its structure and shape are similar to the upper bridge. The bridge deck is arch-shaped, and the bridge is built on it. There are dozens of houses, three in the middle protrude into two overlapping eaves, and the four wings are raised like a roc spreading its wings; there are several wing rooms on both sides of the bridge. The entire bridge is made of green bricks and blue tiles, with carved beams and painted tiles, and is painted in red and red colors. There is a thousand-year-old camphor tree at the stone steps on the wing of the bridge. Under the dim dusk, the tree provides shade from the sky and the fragrance is far away, which makes Beijian Bridge exceptionally solemn and elegant.

The surrounding environment of Beijian Bridge is beautiful, with two streams converging beside the bridge. The stream is crystal clear, and there is a small stone bridge built with stone beams over the stream, connecting the steps. Whenever the stream water rises, the small stone bridge will be submerged under the water. Along the stream bank, a path leads people to the bridge and the village. Two large camphor trees stand at the head of the bridge. The thicker one is more than two meters in diameter. Both trees are thousands of years old. The gnarled roots of the big tree firmly grasp the earth and rocks around the bridge foundation, ensuring that it has withstood hundreds of years of wind and rain erosion without serious damage. Walking along the path towards Beijian Bridge from a distance, the dense crowns of two big trees are like the beard and hair of an old man, gently covering the ancient bridge and the surrounding quaint houses, looming. A small stone street at Qiaotou is the center of the entire village. On one side is the covered bridge and on the other side are residential buildings. The cornices of the covered bridges and pediments intersect with the eaves of the houses on the small streets, naturally forming a windy street. There are some stone benches and wooden chairs conveniently placed at the bridge head and under the eaves, so people can find a resting place at will. When they have nothing to do, the villagers rest at the bridge, chat, and do business.

When Beijian Bridge was first built, the integration with neighboring buildings was taken into consideration. This can be seen from the connection between the bridge and the building: mortises are reserved on the bridge columns to connect with the building. The shape of the bridge is as simple as folk customs, with the structure forming an "eight" shape. There are four rows of square pillars on the bridge, covered with a green tile roof. The mountain flowers at both ends are in the shape of resting mountains. The central lifting room of the bridge is also the top of the mountain. The sloping spine rises very high, making it appear very light. The structural part is sealed with oil-red painted wooden weatherproof boards to prevent wind and rain erosion. The entire bridge has a reasonable structure and well-proportioned proportions. The gray tiles and red body complement the green mountains and clear waters, making it a landscape painting.

Xuezhai Bridge

Xuezhai Bridge is located in Xuezhai Village, Sankui Town. It is a wooden arch bridge. It was first built in the seventh year of Zhengde in the Ming Dynasty (1512). It was rebuilt many times and was destroyed in Flood; the current bridge was built in the sixth year of Xianfeng in the Qing Dynasty (1856), spanning Jinxi, and was named "Jinxi Bridge" in ancient times. It has a total length of 51 meters, a width of 5.1 meters, a single span of 29 meters, a height of 10.5 meters from the water, and a single eaves. The arch of the bridge has a relatively large slope. There are fifteen bridge houses built and the slope of the bridge head is more than 30 meters. It is recorded in "History of Chinese Bridges".

Qifeng Bridge

Qifeng Bridge is located outside Wengshan. It is a stone arch and wooden covered bridge. It was built in the 13th year of the Republic of China. It is a stone arch and wooden covered bridge with a length of 22.58 meters. The width of the house is 4.35 meters, the height of the bridge house is 4.4 meters, and the span is 14.2 meters. Qifeng Bridge is surrounded by water on three sides. The surrounding environment is beautiful and suitable for camping. About 100 meters downstream of Shunqifeng Bridge is the famous Jinzhongtan Waterfall in Sanchongji Scenic Area.

Xiaguang Bridge

Xiaguang Bridge is located in Huayang Village, Hengkeng Township. It is a stone arch and wooden covered bridge. It was built in the first year of Yongzheng in the Qing Dynasty (1723) and rebuilt in the second year of Xianfeng. Rebuilt in the 13th year of Tongzhi. The bridge house is more than 17.26 meters long, the span is 13.20 meters, and the bridge deck is 4.42 meters wide. The bridge house is 425 meters high, the arch is 730 meters high, with seven bays and double eaves.

Duntou Bridge

Duntou Bridge is located on the Duntou River in Liufeng Township. It is an unknown year when the wooden flat-beam covered bridge was built. Years of reconstruction. It is 16.36 meters long, 4.49 meters wide, 8.70 meters across, and 1.60 meters high from the water. It runs east-west and is surrounded by ancient residential buildings. There is an anti-volcanic wall at the east bridge head. The main body is a masonry structure, and the brickwork method is one-shun-one-ding type. The bridge roof is seven bays wide, has 32 columns, and the beam frame is of the lifting beam type. The ridge is made of pressed bricks and has a tiled roof. Two layers of windshields, with a lookout window on the upper windshield bridge. The bridge body is made of nine large wooden cross frames, with flat beams ranging in diameter from 35 cm. There is a bridge monument, but the age record part is damaged. (Photography by Zhong Xiaobo)

“Winter passes quickly and spring fades, and the cold and heat change suddenly.” Time passes, and the pace of history never stops. Life is difficult and the wrong path is difficult, but it still cannot stop people from running. On the country roads in the mountains, how many figures have been left in a hurry from ancient times to the present? The ancient roads are long and carry a profound traveling culture. The Duntou Bridge and Pubin Bridge on the famous ancient road "Tongshan Avenue" in Taishun are undoubtedly important carriers of ancient road culture.

Duntou Bridge is located in a village with mixed surnames in Liufeng Township. There are still a large number of commercial buildings around the covered bridge, telling the story of its prosperity and business in those days. Today, Duntou Bridge and the old street have become deserted. But the commercial atmosphere of those days still exists, and the culture of businessmen and merchants has penetrated into every brick and mortar here.

The Yayang Pubin Bridge, located on the same "Tongshan Avenue" as the Duntou Bridge, received donations from people in Taishun, Shouning, Tongshan, Pingyang, and Zherong during its construction. After the bridge was completed, a portion of the donation remained unspent. So a tea pavilion was built at the head of the bridge, and the patrons made tea for passers-by to drink for free. In the old shop in Langwu, we met Mr. Fu Dacheng, who has made a living by carrying burdens for most of his life. He is eighty-four years old this year. When he was sixteen, he began to work for merchants traveling between Tongshan and Taishun. The person carrying the burden must be in very good physical condition. It takes one day and one night to reach Luoyang from Tongshan. You can only rest for a few minutes in a road pavilion and drink some mountain spring water. After arriving at Pubin Bridge, we bought some rice cakes to eat in the bridge house and went to the tea pavilion to drink two bowls of tea. The goods on their shoulders must arrive at Luoyang on time, so as not to miss the owner of the Luoyang shop who uses these fresh goods for the morning market. The burden bearers do physical work of long distances, and one can imagine the hardships of their lives.

Those who passed by Duntou Bridge and Pubin Bridge were not only businessmen and burden bearers walking on this ancient road, but also scholars, entertainers, government officials, and people seeking fame. Warlocks, traveling doctors, beggars, etc., constitute different pictures in the long history of traveling culture.

From the Eastern Jin Dynasty and Southern Song Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, Wenzhou people of all dynasties continued to build their bridges, until suddenly one day, they thought of building roads. This is understandable, but they gave up the original ideal of building a city and filled in the river. As a result, the bridge became a redundant roadblock and was pressed underground by cement asphalt. Only those bridge names are still preserved and have become the names of new roads. There are quite a few such names, such as Cangqiao, Shuanglian Bridge, Sigu Bridge, Bazi Bridge, Puqiao, Maima Bridge, and Doufu Bridge. , Gugu Bridge, Short Bench Bridge, Wanli Bridge, etc. In the old days, someone composed Jiangjun Bridge, Xima Bridge, Shuixin Bridge, Jinsi Bridge, Carp Bridge, Daoqian Bridge, Yufeng Bridge, Daluo Bridge, Doufu Bridge and Nanchan Bridge into a limerick: "General Xima Bridge Crossing the middle of the water, golden carps jumped over the dragon gate, and Yufeng hit the gong bridge in front of the road. Mrs. Dou asked Nan Chan in front of her, "It's quite interesting." The bridges in Wenzhou can also be linked by numbers: the first and first bridge, the second and second bridge, the third and third Banqiao, the fourth and fourth Gu bridges, the fifth and fifth horse streets, the sixth and sixth peak bridges, and the seventh and seventh Buddhas. Bridge, Eighth Eight-character Bridge, Ninth-Nine Mountain Bridge.

Bridges in Wenzhou are also named after official positions, such as Zhuangyuan Bridge, Yushi Bridge, Bangyan Bridge, Jiangjun Bridge, etc.; some are named after people, such as Zhongshan Bridge, Gaogong Bridge, Sanlang Bridge, Doufu Bridge, etc.; Some are named after commerce or handicrafts, such as Maiya Bridge, Maima Bridge, and Gugu Bridge; some are named after food, such as Sesame Bridge, Tanggao Bridge, etc.; there are also those with auspicious meanings, such as Guangli Bridge, Wanli Bridge, Wangzeng Bridge, etc.; others include long ones such as Wanli Bridge, tall ones such as Dagao Bridge, short ones such as Low Bench Bridge, hot ones such as Stove Bridge, cold ones such as Curling Bridge, and others such as Qingming Bridge and Feixia Bridge. Bridge, Chengliang Bridge, Snowflake Bridge, etc. The names of these bridges can all tell touching stories about the small town and reflect the folk customs of the small town. Moreover, these allusions or customs are also full of poetic and picturesque meaning. From the names of these bridges, we can see that Wenzhou people value both justice and interests. The ideological characteristics of practicality.

The following are the specific ancient bridges in Wenzhou:

Wanqiao is located in Wanqiao Village, Tiancheng Township, Yueqing. Construction started in the second year of Yuanyou (1087) in the Northern Song Dynasty and was completed in eight years. It was rebuilt in the eighth year of Xuande (1433) in the Ming Dynasty. In order to commemorate the founder Wan Gui, it was named. It is a five-span stone arch bridge with a total length of 57.82 meters, spanning Chishui Port. The bridge stone is cyanotic red in color, and the bridge deck is alternately paved with treads and platforms. There are 21 tree pillars on each side of the bridge, with lotuses embossed on the capitals, and a pair of pillars on both sides of the middle, with squatting stone lions carved on the capitals. There are 20 railings on both sides of the bridge, each 2.42 meters long and 0.43 meters high. There are reliefs on the inside of the middle railing. Two dragons playing with pearls. There are a pair of drum-holding stones at each end of the bridge. There are "Wanqiao" stone foreheads embedded on both sides of the middle hole bridge plate.

Dongan Bridge is on Fenghu Street, Ruian. It was first built in the Song Dynasty, rebuilt in the early Ming Dynasty, and repaired in the fifth year of Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty (1740). It is now well preserved. It is a single-hole granite stone arch bridge with an arch span of 19.21 meters, a clear span of 4.53 meters, and a width of 21.58 meters. It is constructed in parallel and vertical sections. There are Fenghu Pavilion and Zhuangji Temple on the bridge deck. The pavilion is three bays wide and one bay deep; the temple is two bays wide and the main hall is five bays wide. There is a stage built in front of the Ming Dynasty. They are all wooden buildings in the late Qing Dynasty.

The bridge is in Daqiao Village, Linyang Township, Xianjiang, Ruian. It was built in the fourth year of Chongning in the Northern Song Dynasty (1105), and the investor was Wu Sanjiu Niang. It is a two-hole beam-type stone structure bridge with a span of 11.6 meters, a bridge deck width of 1.6 meters, a middle hole 4.2 meters long, and the east and west holes each 3.7 meters long. Each hole is paved with four bridge slabs. There are also seven steps of stone paving. The date of construction and the inscriptions of the investors are engraved on the sides of the north and south bridge slabs in the middle hole. Each seam of the bridge piers has four cubic stone pillars with side feet.

The Ancestral Hall Bridge is located in Shen'ao Village, Xin'ao Township, Tangxia, Ruian. It was built during the Daguan Period of the Northern Song Dynasty (1107-1110). It is a three-hole beam stone bridge with a span of 11.25 meters, the middle hole is 4.85 meters, the left and right holes are 3.2 meters, the bridge deck is 1.35 meters wide, each hole is paved with 3 bridge slabs, and the middle hole is 4.85 meters long. The outside of the bridge slab is engraved with the date of construction and the inscription of the person who built the bridge. There are three cubic columns in each seam of the bridge pier, with side legs; the inscription "Sun An, the stonemason" is engraved on the surface.

Bagua Bridge was built in Taofeng Village, Taofeng Town, Taoshan, Ruian, during the Chunxi period of the Southern Song Dynasty (1174-1189). It is a five-hole beam stone bridge with a total span of 25.4 meters and a bridge deck width of 2.35 meters. The span of each hole: the middle hole is 6.24 meters, and the corresponding holes in the north and south are 5.20 and 3.13 meters respectively. Five bridge plates are laid on each hole, and the front is polished and engraved with patterns. There are 5 cubic columns in each seam of the bridge pier, and the left and right two have a larger slope. There are five stone columns in a row on each side of the two seams of the left and right piers in the middle hole, with a stone beam on top to prevent water from flowing directly into the bridge pier, which is quite unique.

Shiliang Bridge, located in Siqian Village, Tengqiao Town, Ouhai, was first built in the eighth year of Qiandao (1172) in the Southern Song Dynasty and completed in the sixth year of Chunxi (1179). It is a three-hole beam stone bridge with a span of 33.3 meters and a bridge deck width of 3.9 meters. The piers are made of stones, with both ends extending 3 meters to form a triangle. Each bridge deck has five straight stone beams laid side by side. Each beam is 9 meters long, 0.5 meters thick, and weighs about 6 tons. They were erected by floating and dissolving during the rising tide. They have not been repaired for hundreds of years. The dates of construction and completion and the name of the investor are engraved on both sides of the bridge.

Yongqing Bridge is at the foot of Changshekeng Shibalong Mountain in Yantou Town, Yongjia. It was built in the third year of Qingyuan of the Southern Song Dynasty (1197). It is a three-section beam stone bridge with a total length of 12.65 meters, a width of 3.6 meters and a height of 4 meters. The bridge piers are built with stones at both ends, and two rows of stone bridge pillars are used in the middle. Each row has a root and a strip of stone on top to support the bridge deck. The bridge deck is divided into three sections, each section is paved with 8 long stone slabs in a row; the date and date of the bridge's construction and the names of the donors are engraved on both sides of the middle bridge deck. Still intact and solid today.

Santiao Bridge is located in Xuezhai Village, Sankui Town, Taishun. It was named after the three giant trees that originally spanned the river in Taiyuan. It was built on September 13th, the seventh year of Shaoxing (1137) by Ding Ji, and rebuilt on In the 23rd year of Daoguang reign (1843), it is now a wooden laminated beam arch covered bridge. The total length is 26.63 meters, the width is 10 meters, and it is 10 meters high from the water. There are 11 bridge houses built on it, with five lifting beams in the open room and saucer-shaped lotus petal head arches on the capitals. In recent years, the bridge houses have been demolished and repaired, and the old tiles of the "Zhenguan" era were demolished.

Dizang Bridge is in front of Renzhai in Lucheng today. It was built in the 16th year of Kangxi reign of Qing Dynasty (1678). It is a seven-hole beam stone bridge with a total length of 36 meters, a width of 145 meters, and a middle hole of 6 meters high. The whole bridge is arch-shaped, with three holes in the middle that can pass ships. The dates of the bridge's construction and repair are engraved on both sides of the bridge deck.

Sixi East Bridge is located at the head of Xiaqiao Village, Sixi Town, Taishun. It was built in the 10th year of Qianlong's reign in the Qing Dynasty (1745). It is 40 meters long, 6 meters wide, 9.5 meters above the water, and has 15 bridge houses. There are no piers, and it is made of thick wood into a figure-eight-shaped outrigger wooden arch, which is quite rare.

Shishui Bridge is in Xidong Village, Shiyang Township, Taishun. It was built in the 60th year of Qianlong (1795) and rebuilt in the 5th year of Jiaqing (1820). It has a total length of 130 meters and has 221 stone steps. Each stone step is made of two flat stones and is divided into high and low levels in parallel. The materials are exquisite and the span is very large. It is the prototype of the original bridge.

Xuezhai Bridge, also known as Jinxi Bridge, is located in Xuezhai Village, Sankui Town, Taishun. It was built in the sixth year of Xianfeng in the Qing Dynasty (1856). It is a stacked beam arch covered bridge with a total length of 51 meters, a width of 5.1 meters, a single span of 29 meters, and a height of 10.5 meters above the water. It has 15 bridge houses, a bridge head slope of 30 meters, a large arch slope, and a simple shape. Unique and majestic. Renovated in 1986.