Kaitai Bridge

Kaitai Bridge

Kaitai Bridge is a cultural relic protection unit of Jiangsu Province.

“Kaitai Bridge” is situated on Nanmenwai Street in the urban area of Danyang City, crossing the east-west-oriented Ximen Canal. Also known as “Caoyan Bridge,” it was first constructed during the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty (around 1590). It is a single-arch granite stone bridge built with a transverse and longitudinal interlocking pattern, standing 10 meters high, 45 meters long, and 9.5 meters wide. The words “Kaitai Bridge” are inscribed on both sides of the arch. Each of the bridge’s east and west side pillars features a couplet: the eastern side reads, “Harnessing the tides of Jingkou, a hundred-foot rainbow waist, towering above Yingchun; resting against the shadow of Qu’a Pagoda, a thousand-layered tooth-like structure, gracefully stretching eastward toward Cuixiu.” The western side reads, “Waves crash against the rocks, standing as a mighty gate, swaying to greet the beauty of Phoenix Mountain; the long rainbow of the weir bridge spans the main thoroughfare, connecting sideways to the fragrant grassy river.” Aside from the horizontal stepped stone sections, the bridge deck has a central vertical stone path to allow the passage of wheelbarrows.

The Ximen Canal beneath “Kaitai Bridge” is an ancient section of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, formed in the 16th year of the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty (1588) after the widening and deepening of the western and southern city moats of Danyang County. Starting from 1588, passing ships navigated around the outside of Danyang City.

In 1985, “Kaitai Bridge” was designated as one of the first batch of county-level cultural relic protection units by the Danyang County Government.

On December 19, 2011, the People's Government of Jiangsu Province listed it as part of the seventh batch of provincial-level cultural relic protection units.

Further Reading:

· Seventh Batch of Jiangsu Provincial Cultural Relic Protection Units