Zhangzhu Jade Belt Bridge

Zhangzhu Jade Belt Bridge

The Zhangzhu Jade Belt Bridge is a cultural relic protection unit of Yixing City.

The Jade Belt Bridge is located in Zhuling Village, Zhangzhu Town, Yixing City. In November 1996, it was designated as a municipal-level cultural relic protection unit by the Yixing Municipal People’s Government.

The Jade Belt Bridge was originally built during the Song Dynasty and rebuilt in the Qing Dynasty. Legend has it that during the Yuanyou era of the Northern Song Dynasty, the great literary master Su Dongpo resided in Yixing. One day, Su Dongpo set out from the Chengguang Temple on Longchi Mountain and headed to the Shanjuan Cave for a visit. It was nearing noon when he arrived near Zhuling Village in Shanjuan. However, his path was blocked by a small river. Looking both upstream and downstream, he could not see even a trace of a bridge. Just as he was at his wit’s end, the clear sound of singing drifted toward him. Following the sound, Su Dongpo saw two farmers dredging mud from the river in a small boat. Thinking he had found a way across, Su Dongpo hurriedly called out to the farmers, asking them to ferry him across. The two farmers, seeing that he was a scholar-like gentleman, whispered to each other and then said to Su Dongpo, “It’s easy for us to ferry you across, sir, but first, please compose a matching line of verse. If you can match our line, we’ll take you across.” Delighted, Su Dongpo thought to himself that composing poetry was one of his specialties, and readily replied, “Please share the first line.” The farmers said: “Digging mud with a mud scoop—loach pokes out through the scoop’s eye.” Su Dongpo was taken aback—the words were simple, yet the structure of the riddle was extremely tricky, and for a moment, he was stumped. He paced back and forth along the riverbank, and before he knew it, the sun had long passed noon. By now, Su Dongpo was hungry, thirsty, and embarrassed. Just as he was at a loss, he noticed a child leading a large ox toward the river. They arrived at a waterwheel shed by the river, hitched the ox to the shaft, gave a shout, and the big ox began circling the waterwheel. Immediately, a stream of clear water poured out from the wheel’s head. At this sight, inspiration struck Su Dongpo, and he recited: “Turning water with a waterwheel—ox circles around the wheel’s head.” After crossing the river, Su Dongpo reflected with emotion on how inconvenient it was for the local people to cross the river. He then asked to speak with the village elders, untied the jade belt he was wearing, and offered it to be used as funding for building a bridge. Once the bridge was completed, the villagers, in gratitude for Su Dongpo’s generous act of donating his jade belt for the bridge’s construction, named it the “Jade Belt Bridge.”

The Jade Belt Bridge is a single-arch stone bridge oriented from north to south. Its main structure is built with bluestone, while the steps and the arch are made of granite. The bridge is 16.10 meters long, 3.80 meters wide at the center, with a clear span of 5.80 meters and a height of 3.90 meters. The bridge is 4.30 meters wide at the approaches. The base is slightly wider than the middle section. A longitudinal stone path known as the “Di Lun East Road” runs across the bridge. There are 19 stone steps on the southern end and 15 on the northern end. Stone railings made of bluestone are installed on both the east and west sides, with 12 balusters in total. Each baluster is 0.44 meters high, with lotus petal patterns carved at the top. On both sides of the arch along the river, there are outward-flaring revetments (built at the same time as the bridge) that help protect the structure. Two inscribed stones inside the arch are present, though their inscriptions have become blurred over time.

Zhangzhu Town: Yixing City Zhangzhu Town, historically known as Taohexi, was established in the fourth year of the Yongjia era of the Western Jin Dynasty (310 AD) and boasts a history of nearly 1,700 years. It is situated 30 kilometers southwest of Yixing’s urban area in a hilly region. Surrounded by verdant mountains, bamboo forests, and fragrant tea plantations, the famous Shanjuan Scenic Area—ranked among the top four—is located within Zhangzhu. For a long time, it has served as a renowned hub for agricultural and sideline product distribution as well as commercial trade in the tri-provincial border area of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui, earning it the nickname “Golden Zhangzhu.” It has been successively recognized by the provincial government as a Key Industrial Satellite Town, one of Jiangsu’s Hundred Famous Towns, a New Model Demonstration Town of Jiangsu, and a Hygienic Town of Jiangsu Province. Currently... More details about Zhangzhu Town++