Shimen Bridge

Shimen Bridge

Shimen Bridge, also known as Qingyang Bridge, is located in front of the People's Hospital on Xinhua Street in Yunhe County, Lishui City, Zhejiang Province, spanning the Huangxi Stream. It is the only well-preserved stone beam and slab arch bridge in the county town, measuring 10.8 meters in length, 3.9 meters in width, and 2.2 meters in height. The single-arch bridge has a clear span of 10 meters, with no railings, and features eight stone steps at each end. In the past, the bridge deck was equipped with a wooden bridge house, which has since been demolished. In the first year of the Republic of China, a devastating flood submerged the county town, but this bridge remained standing, serving as the sole escape route for residents and earning it the reputation of the "Lifeline Bridge."

The stone bridge has witnessed a thousand years of human settlement history in Yunhe. During a cultural relics survey, the inscription "Mei Jiu San" was discovered on the bridge. The Floating Clouds Mei clan migrated from Kuaiji Commandery to Huangxi Village in Yunyang Township, Yuyang (now Zhongshan Street in the old town of Yunhe) during the early Tang Dynasty. "Mei Jiu San" is believed to have lived during the period from the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms to the Northern Song Dynasty. Additionally, based on the ancient Chinese practice of using numbers as personal names, it is inferred that "Mei Jiu San" was born during the Later Jin Dynasty (936–944).

Further Reading:

· Sixth Batch of Zhejiang Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units