Inner Bridge

Inner Bridge

Inner Bridge is a protected cultural heritage site of Nanjing.

Inner Bridge is located south of Xinjiekou in Qinhuai District, Nanjing, and is a protected cultural heritage site of Nanjing. It is where Zhonghua Road, Zhongshan Road, Jianye Road, and Baixia Road intersect. The bridge is named Inner Bridge because it was situated directly in front of the palace city (the inner court) of the Southern Tang Dynasty’s capital.

The Shangyuan County Annals states: “Inner Bridge lies north of the Imperial Street (Zhonghua Road), and was the bridge in front of the (Southern Tang) palace.” During the Song Dynasty’s Zhenghe era, Cai Yi renovated the bridge, which was then also called Cai Gong Bridge. After Emperor Gaozong of Song (Zhao Gou) fled south, he established a temporary palace here and renamed the bridge Tianjin Bridge, in remembrance of the Western Capital, hence the name (referring to the bridge in front of the palace of the Western Capital).

The history of Inner Bridge dates back to the Yang Wu era in Nanjing’s past.

During the Yang Wu period, a “Jinling Prefecture Office” was built in what is now the Hongwu Road area, covering the region south of Huaihai Road, north of Inner Bridge, east of Wangfu Garden, and west of Taiping South Road. Nanjing served as the Western Capital of Yang Wu, a regime founded by Yang Xingmi, who designated Yangzhou as the Eastern Capital and Nanjing as the Western Capital. Although Yang Wu was soon replaced by the Southern Tang, this regime left Nanjing a precious legacy—the Jinling City and the moat of Yang Wu City.

During the Southern Tang era, the “Jinling Prefecture Office” was transformed into the “Southern Tang Palace City.” The river below Inner Bridge became the city moat, and the palace city was also called the “Great Inner,” hence the bridge in front of the southern side of the palace city was named “Inner Bridge.” The southern gate opposite Hongqiao (now Inner Bridge) was the main gate of the Southern Tang Palace City. Emperors entering or exiting the palace had to cross this bridge. The role of Hongqiao was similar to that of the Golden Water Bridge in front of the Forbidden City. Moreover, at that time, Inner Bridge actually consisted of three bridges: the central one was reserved exclusively for the emperor, while ministers could only use the two side auxiliary bridges. Nowadays, Zhenhuai Bridge, located north of Zhennan Gate, marked the southern boundary of the Southern Tang Jinling City. The stretch from Zhenhuai Bridge to Hongqiao was precisely the imperial path during the Southern Tang period. This imperial path largely aligns with today’s Zhonghua Road.

During the Northern Song’s Zhenghe era, the bridge was once renamed Cai Gong Bridge. It is said that Cai Yi, an official of Nanjing at the time, renovated Inner Bridge, and out of gratitude, the people commemorated him by naming the bridge after him.

During the Southern Song era, Nanjing became a secondary capital, and the “Southern Tang Palace City” was turned into an “imperial palace,” where Emperor Gaozong of Song, Zhao Gou, once resided and crossed Inner Bridge countless times. In the Southern Song period, Inner Bridge was also renamed “Tianjing Bridge,” which carried special political significance—a single bridge reflecting a city’s status. The Northern Song designated its capital Kaifeng as Dongjing (Eastern Capital) and Luoyang as Xijing (Western Capital), and in front of the Luoyang palace stood a “Tianjing Bridge.” When the Southern Song reestablished its rule in Lin’an and made Nanjing a secondary capital, it retained the bridge name from the Northern Song’s Western Capital, symbolizing the inheritance of the previous dynasty’s authority and maintaining the so-called legitimate capital status.

During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the area south of Inner Bridge, from Sanshan Street all the way to the Qinhuai River, was one of the most bustling districts of Nanjing at the time.

Inner Bridge, once the “Inner Bridge” in front of the main gate of the Southern Tang palace’s great inner court, connected Zhonghua Road—then known as the “Imperial Path” and the city’s central axis dividing urban districts. After the Song Dynasty, the general layout of Nanjing city was largely established, gradually expanding on the foundation of the Southern Tang capital. Bridges spanning the city’s waterways concealed untold stories of vicissitude and gave rise to many old place names, historical anecdotes, and literary works. Among them, Inner Bridge has always remained at the very core of the capital.

In a city like Nanjing in the Jiangnan region, a bridge is not just a transportation route but also an indispensable backbone of the urban layout. The development history of Nanjing’s urban structure is also closely linked to the evolution of the city’s various bridges. Since the Southern Tang era, Inner Bridge has played the role of a “central axis” in the development of Nanjing’s road network. Originally serving as the main bridge connecting the central palace of the imperial city to the outside, subsequent dynasties’ reconstructions and renovations have always “remained true to the core,” consistently positioning Inner Bridge as the “central axis node” of the city center.

On the lawn east of Inner Bridge stands a memorial stele erected in 1998 by the Baixia District Government of Nanjing to commemorate the expansion of Inner Bridge. According to the stele, due to millennia of weathering, the ancient bridge could no longer bear the load. During the widening of Zhonghua Road in 1998, Inner Bridge was also expanded. The two auxiliary bridges of Inner Bridge were also constructed at that time. Additionally, because the original Inner Bridge was a stone arch bridge with a steep slope that made vehicle passage difficult, the expansion project added a layer of stone bricks over the original bridge to flatten the slope, making it as smooth as level ground. In 1992, Inner Bridge was listed as a protected cultural heritage site of Nanjing.