Yuehe Bridge

Yuehe Bridge

Yuehe Bridge is a cultural heritage site protected at the provincial level in Jiangsu Province.

Yuehe Bridge

Located over the Yue River on South Street in Meili Town, hence its name. It was originally built during the Song Dynasty and was renamed Ziwēi Bridge during the Hongzhi era of the Ming Dynasty. The current bridge is a single-arch structure oriented from north to south. Its piers and part of the bridge deck are constructed from Wukang stone, while the arch ring employs a segmented parallel-laid masonry technique, giving it an extremely archaic appearance. It is believed to have been rebuilt during the Hongzhi era of the Ming Dynasty after the original Song Dynasty structure was dismantled. The bridge is 3.1 meters wide at the center, has a rise of 4 meters, and a total length of 15.8 meters. Each abutment is equipped with 20 steps. On the southern side of the arch base, the three characters “Ziwēi Bridge” and a lotus leaf pattern are engraved, while on the northern side, a stone stele is embedded, inscribed with several lines of text including: “Supervised by Official Xu Rang, ceremonial officer Lü Tang, and stonemason Gao Yongji. Rebuilt in the twelfth month of the ninth year of the Hongzhi era of the Great Ming.” It was designated as a cultural heritage site protected at the municipal level in Changshu City in November 1982.

Meili Town: Meili Town is located in the northeastern part of Changshu City, bordering Shanghai to the east, Suzhou to the south, Wuxi to the west, and the Yangtze River, a golden waterway, to the north. It is 10 kilometers away from Changshu Port. The town covers an area of 78.6 square kilometers, with the central urban area spanning 5.27 square kilometers and arable land totaling 57,900 mu. It administers 2 subdistrict offices, 18 administrative villages, and 3 neighborhood committees, with a total population of 78,500. Meili Town is recognized as a National Sanitary Town, a Nationally Recognized Beautiful Environment Town, a Civilized Town of Jiangsu Province, one of Jiangsu Province’s Top 100 Towns, a Modern New-Type Small Town of Jiangsu Province, a Key Central Town of Jiangsu Province, and a Focus Area for Environment and... More detailed information about Meili Town++

Further Reading:

· Eighth Batch of Cultural Heritage Sites Protected at the Provincial Level in Jiangsu Province