Chengdu, this ancient city that thrives on water, has an inseparable relationship with bridges. Just look at the countless bridges and quite a few ponds in the city to know how deep Chengdu’s relationship with water is. According to "Chengdu General View", at the end of the Qing Dynasty, there were more than 20 ponds and nearly 200 bridges in the city, including arch bridges, flat bridges, and many covered bridges. In terms of raw materials, there are stone bridges, wooden bridges, bamboo bridges, and iron bridges. There are forty or fifty streets named after bridges in the city. If you add those named after rivers, ponds, ditches and ponds, the number will be even greater. There are more than ten streets and lanes named after ponds, such as Xialianchi, Baijiatang, Fangchi Street, etc., which allow us to imagine the scene of ponds dotted all over the city in the past. Unfortunately, since the late Qing Dynasty, they have been gradually occupied due to the increase in population and other reasons. It is a pity that the name of the place does not match the actual name of the empty space - it is not just a pond? Since ancient times, Chengdu's water town style of "looking like the beautiful scenery of the south of the Yangtze River, with boats plying on the blue waves" has been eroded and swallowed up year by year by the expanding population and crowded living space since the 20th century. Although there were many bridges of different sizes at that time, the names of the bridges were not ambiguous at all: Wolong Bridge, Shuangfeng Bridge, Luxiao Bridge, Lotus Bridge, Saijin Bridge, Shuangling Bridge, Liuyin Bridge... They may be tall. Or low, but they all carry a poetic atmosphere lying on the water, seemingly inadvertently adding a little more elegance to Chengdu, an ancient city known for its bookish style. Of course, the bridge is first and foremost for pedestrians. Pedestrians, sedan chairs, chicken buses, and rickshaws pass by in a hurry; beside the elm trees under the bridge, people fishing with bamboo poles are fishing up one pole at a time, but they always have harvests. , so happy that even the people watching the fun couldn't open their mouths from ear to ear; in the stilted building beside the bridge, the women carrying wooden basins to wash clothes had endless dragon gate formations: I heard that the one opposite the Liu family's mansion on Dongyusha Street The photo studio can not only keep people’s shadows, but also add color to the clothes they wear; at this year’s flower festival, many snacks from other counties and towns were also displayed, among which there is a kind of salt and pepper hotpot that tastes the best; foreign cloth is available in the commercial market again New colors... If it's summer, the bridge becomes a paradise for children again. They wear a pair of small pants, or simply "come and go naked without worries" and dive into the water as slippery as loaches. Of course, the brave ones jump from the bridge piers or bridge railings, with various postures such as "bomb", "flying swallow", and "sitting on the bench". The scene would be even more exciting if there were many spectators on the bridge cheering for the jump, accompanied by uncontrollable applause or boos when the diver made a mistake. The river flows slowly, and the days beside the river and under the bridge unfold slowly. People at that time grew up with bridges and water since they were born. They never thought that future generations would live in a situation where the water is dry and the water is turbid. The history of some bridges can certainly be traced back to the distant past. For example, Changchun Bridge (Dongmen Bridge, also known as Zhuojin Bridge) was repaired in the late Qing Dynasty and a Song stele was found, which shows that it must have been built in the Song Dynasty; Jiuyan Bridge, known as Hongji Bridge in ancient times, was called Suojiang Bridge in the Ming Dynasty, and was built during the Qianlong reign. At that time, it was renamed Jiuyan Bridge; as for the Si Ma Bridge, which Sima Xiangru passed by when he went to Chang'an, the capital, and praised the famous Haikou, it is even older. According to legend, there was a wooden bridge called Shengxian Bridge here during the Qin Dynasty. The old bridges disappeared into the smoke of history, and the new bridges extended into longer and wider living spaces. In this way, the bridges in Chengdu bear witness to the history and changes of Chengdu.
Zuo Bridge is the earliest recorded bamboo cable bridge in the world. If we examine from reliable documents, the earliest bridge in Chengdu is the "Two Rivers and Seven Bridges" in Li Bing's era. The great Dujiangyan water conservancy system project includes two rivers formed after the diversion and reconstruction of the original waterways in the southern suburbs of Chengdu. These are the famous "two rivers" in Chengdu, namely the Pi River and the Jian River. Pijiang, also known as Neijiang, is the predecessor of today's Fuhe River; Jianjiang, also known as Waijiang, is the predecessor of today's Jinjiang and Nanhe. On these two rivers, it is said that Li Bing built the famous "Seven Bridges". The specific locations of the seven bridges are not completely known today, but the locations of two of them can be roughly determined. Today's Nanhe Bridge on the Nanhe River (most Chengdu people mistakenly call it Rainbow Bridge, which is wrong. If you don't believe it, please go to the south end of the bridge and take a look to find out. The bridge was originally engraved with the three characters "Nanhe Bridge" ) More than a hundred meters upstream, there was a steel cable bridge connecting the 502 Factory and the 363 Hospital ten years ago. This is where Zuo Bridge, one of the seven bridges, is located. The Zuo Bridge back then was the earliest recorded bamboo cable bridge in the world (please don’t ignore the cable bridge. It was a great creation of the ancient Shu ancestors in the history of world civilization, and it changed the "difficult road to Shu" into "the road to Shu". The specific embodiment of "tong"). The location of the Old Nanmen Bridge, which is well known to Chengdu people, is the location of the Changxing Bridge among the seven bridges.
Changxing Bridge has long been called Wanli Bridge because Zhuge Liang said "The road of thousands of miles begins with this bridge" when he bid farewell to the envoy to Soochow during the Three Kingdoms period. It is a historical place with a testable position among the ancient bridges in Chengdu. The oldest famous bridge. The Old Nanmen Bridge is a stone bridge that was rebuilt in the fifth year of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty (in this article, the word "rebuilt" will appear many times. This is because during the long-term wars in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, all the buildings in Chengdu were destroyed Destroyed, all the ancient buildings we see in Chengdu today were rebuilt in the early Qing Dynasty, including all bridges). Due to the need for the expansion of South Street, it was demolished in 1995 and a wide concrete bridge was built on the original site. Last year, a more majestic viaduct was built above the bridge. Fortunately, a newly built boat-shaped commercial building next to the bridge was named "Wanli", which preserved the memory of Wanli. As far as I know, the relevant departments are about to build a large-scale art structure with the theme of Wanli Bridge nearby, striving to pass on the history and culture of Wanli Bridge for a long time. Walking down the Wanli Bridge, you will find the Jinjiang Bridge, which was built in 1958 when Renmin South Road was newly opened. There was originally no bridge here, only a simple wooden plank bridge.
New Nanmen Bridge The bridge where "Run Alarm" ran out. Down from Jinjiang Bridge is the New South Gate Bridge. It turned out that there was neither a bridge nor a road here. In 1939, in order to facilitate the residents of the city to leave the city when they were avoiding Japanese air raids (called "running the alarm" at the time), a temporary opening was opened in the city wall and a new city gate was added, named Fuxing Gate, outside the city gate. The newly built bridge over the Nanhe River is also called Fuxing Bridge. For convenience, people call Fuxingmen the New South Gate and the Fuxing Bridge the New South Gate Bridge. After liberation, the New South Gate Bridge was expanded at its original location, and was expanded and rebuilt again in 1997. Perhaps most people in Chengdu have not noticed that to this day, this bridge is still called Fuxing Bridge on some maps of Chengdu. Going down from the New South Gate Bridge is the Anshun Bridge. Anshun Bridge was rebuilt in the 11th year of Qianlong's reign in the Qing Dynasty and was originally named Changhong Bridge. This was once an important water pier on the Jinjiang River. It was quite busy with many passengers boarding and disembarking. It was here that Ba Jin boarded the ship from Chengdu to the world. Anshun Bridge was once a covered bridge with a length of more than 60 meters and a width of more than 3 meters. The bridge could provide shelter from wind and rain. After liberation, only a stone bridge remained. After it was destroyed by floods in 1981, a new concrete bridge was built on the site. Three years ago, in order to open up the tourist area in the east of the city, a large-scale covered bridge was built downstream of Hejiang Pavilion, named Anshun Covered Bridge, which is inherited from the old Anshun Covered Bridge.
Old Jiuyan Bridge is the largest bridge in the city. Jiuyan Bridge, which still existed a few years ago, is an old bridge that Chengdu people are very familiar with. It was built in the 21st year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty. Rebuilt in the 53rd year of Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty, its original name was Hongji Bridge. Because there were nine bridge holes under the bridge, people called it Jiuyan Bridge. This ancient bridge, which is more than 120 meters long, has long been the largest bridge in Chengdu. In 1953, the original very arched bridge deck was slowed down. For decades, various motor vehicles have been able to pass without interruption, which fully demonstrates the strength and durability of the ancient bridge. Due to heavy traffic, a new bridge was built on the side of the old bridge in the early 1980s. Fuhe River is the sister river of Nanhe River. The most important bridge on Fuhe River is today’s Renmin North Road Bridge. The history of this bridge is very short, because after the founding of the People's Republic of China, Chengdu had a railway station (it was renamed North Railway Station after the South Railway Station was established), and the Renmin North Road from the railway station into the city was newly built. The Renmin North Road Bridge was built over the Fu River. Before that, there was a wooden covered bridge called Wanfu Bridge between today's Renmin North Road Bridge and the Northwest Bridge (the Northwest Bridge used to be a wooden bridge). It was destroyed by floods on the eve of liberation. After the Renmin North Road Bridge was built, it replaced the ancient Wanfu Bridge, so the Renmin North Road Bridge was also called Wanfu Bridge. Although the original Wanfu Bridge no longer exists today, there are two things that cannot be ignored: First, the famous Chen Mapo Tofu became famous at the head of Wanfu Bridge. A few years ago, the Chengdu Catering Company built a new Chen Mapo Tofu store on the south side of Renmin North Road Bridge (previously it was next to the Yudai Bridge Dianwei Restaurant), just to return to its hometown. Second, there is an archway at the head of the original Wanfu Bridge, with a plaque engraved with "Wanfu Comes to the Palace". It is considered a blessed and auspicious place. When marrying a new wife, the sedan chair is always carried here for a walk, just like today. Many brides and grooms in Chengdu always go to Hejiang Pavilion to take a wedding photo. To the east of the Renmin North Road Bridge is the North Gate Bridge. Beimen Bridge is the common name of people. In the past, its original name was Qingyuan Bridge, also known as Yingen Bridge. It is also an ancient bridge.
The Taisheng Road Bridge further east is a completely new bridge. This is because Taisheng Road is a new road built in 1988 after opening and widening the original inner city North Alley, Hengtongshun Street, Beitongshun Street and Lamasi Street. The new Taisheng Road was There is a newly built Taisheng Road Bridge across the Fu River. When talking about these newly built bridges, we can’t help but think of the newest bridge in Chengdu, which is the overpass that has mushroomed in recent years. Chengdu's overpasses began with the Second Ring Road, which was completed in 1994, but the large-scale construction of overpasses was the Third Ring Road that was only fully completed the year before last. There are 34 various bridges on the Third Ring Road, including 22 overpasses. The largest and most beautiful one is the Tianfu Overpass on the southern extension of Renmin South Road. The most distinctive decoration under the bridge is Sichuan Opera. Supo overpass in the shape of facial makeup.
The Lost Bridge The above mentioned bridges are familiar to everyone and are still in use. In addition, there are many bridges in Chengdu that no longer exist but are still in people's hearts, mouths and place names. We can give a brief introduction to some of the most familiar ancient bridges in Chengdu as follows: The famous Si Ma Bridge outside the North Gate can no longer be seen, but it is because it was built because Sima Xiangru, a great writer in the Han Dynasty, once rode a high chariot and Si Ma Bridge across it. The bridge was named after it (previously it was called Shengxian Bridge), which had a great impact, so this place name is still in use. The predecessor of the exhibition hall was the imperial city of the Ming Dynasty. There was originally a Yuhe River around it, and there were originally eleven bridges on the Yuhe River. Although Yuhe and the bridge on the river no longer exist, the place name of Ping An Bridge still remains today. Ping'an Bridge was originally a wooden bridge on the Xiyu River.