Houting Bridge

Houting Bridge

Houting Bridge, located 300 meters south of Liuzhuang Bridge in Hou Ting Village (Donghekou Natural Village), Qiting Subdistrict, Yixing City, on the west side of the Xili Canal. In May 2009, it was designated as a municipal-level cultural heritage site by the Yixing Municipal People’s Government.

Houting Bridge was built during the Qing Dynasty and is a single-arch stone bridge constructed from a mix of bluestone and granite, with the main body made of bluestone, the arch stones and steps made of granite. It runs north-south (with a 30° eastward deviation). The bridge has an overall length of 12 meters, a deck length of 1.75 meters, a central width of 2.75 meters, a clear span of 4.90 meters, and a height of 3.10 meters. The north slope is 4.90 meters long, with a base width of 2.85 meters and a slope of 19°; the coping stones are 0.42 meters wide and 0.17 meters thick. The south slope is 5.35 meters long. The pillow stones are 3.60 meters long, 0.48 meters wide, and 0.16 meters high; the bridge inscription stone is 0.30 meters thick; the arch ring has an arc length of 1.82 meters, a width of 0.33 meters, a thickness of 0.20 meters, and the decorative arch ring is 0.14 meters thick. The steps are 0.37 meters wide and 0.18 meters thick. The underside of the bridge features a bas-relief carving of two dragons playing with a pearl, with a diameter of 0.50 meters. The bridge inscription reads: “Reconstructed by local residents, Houting Bridge, 1899 (Guangxu Ji Hai Year).”

Economic Development Zone (Qiting Subdistrict): In 2006, Qiting Town was abolished, and its former jurisdiction was reorganized as Qiting Subdistrict. The subdistrict administers one neighborhood committee and seven village committees.

In 2007, seven village committees—Huawei, Dongmei, Xingli, Wen Zhuang, Zhen Cun, Dongjiao, and Bian Zhuang—from Yicheng Subdistrict were placed under the administration of Qiting Subdistrict.

Former Qiting Town (Qǐtíng Zhèn)

Located in the northeastern part of Yixing City. It borders Fangqiao Town to the east, Yicheng Town and Xinzhuang Town to the south, Gaocheng Town to the west, and Heqiao Town to the north. It covers an area of 29 square kilometers and has a permanent population of 19,000. The town people’s... Detailed information about the Economic Development Zone (Qiting Subdistrict)++