Ten Thousand Bridges

Ten Thousand Bridge

The Ten Thousand Bridge is a cultural relic protection unit of Zhejiang Province.

The Ten Thousand Bridge is located in Wanqiao Village, Tiancheng Subdistrict, Yueqing City, spanning the Bailong River. It was named in honor of its founder, Wan Gui. This is a five-span, five-arch stone bridge, stretching 57.82 meters in length, crossing over the Chishui Harbor. The stones of the bridge are dark crimson in color, and the bridge deck is paved with alternating stepping stones and flat platforms. There are 21 stone pillars on each side, with lotus carvings on the capitals. On the central sides, a pair of pillars feature capitals intricately carved with crouching stone lions; along the sides of the bridge, there are 20 balustrade slabs, each 2.42 meters long and 0.43 meters high, with the inner side of the central slab carved with a design of two dragons playing with a pearl. Each end of the bridge is adorned with a pair of drum-shaped stones. The outer sides of the middle arch’s bridge slabs are inlaid with stone plaques inscribed with the name “Wan Bridge.”

According to the "Bridges" section of the 1901 (Guangxu 27th year) Yueqing County Annals: The Ten Thousand Bridge was built in the second year of the Yuanyou era of the Song Dynasty (1087) when a local man named Wan Gui “exhausted his family fortune to construct the bridge.” Wan Gui contributed all his personal wealth, rallied villagers, transported stones, and built embankments to start constructing the grand bridge. However, due to the deep and rapid currents, several times the surging waters collapsed the already built foundations and pillars. Undeterred, Wan Gui repeatedly rebuilt the bridge, raising funds from various sources, organizing villagers, and at times deploying over a hundred wooden boats to transport stones. After eight years, he finally completed a wooden-and-stone structure bridge over the Bailong River. To commemorate Wan Gui’s achievement, locals named the bridge after his surname — Wan Bridge. By the time the bridge was completed, Wan Gui had exhausted all his resources, leaving only the pillars standing with wooden beams spanning them. In the eighth year of the Ming Dynasty's Xuande era (1433), the bridge caught fire, and the wooden beams were reduced to ashes. Wei Di, then the commander of Puzhi, continued Wan Gui’s legacy, taking the lead in donating over eighty taels of silver to advocate for the bridge’s repair. He dispatched soldiers to widely solicit contributions, transformed the four pillars into five arches, erected balustrades on both sides, and after nine years, reconstructed the bridge as a five-span, five-arch stone structure — more solid and magnificent than the Song version. It underwent another major renovation in the 20th year of the Qing Dynasty's Guangxu era. In 1984, the Yueqing County government allocated funds for maintenance, and another round of repairs took place in 1989.

The Ten Thousand Bridge is a five-span, five-arch stone bridge that stretches from north to south across the Bailong River. The bridge is 57.82 meters long and has four piers. Most of the stonework is dark crimson in color. When sunlight hits, it resembles a “rainbow drinking from the stream,” presenting a spectacular sight. The bridge deck is not entirely laid out in a parabolic or arc shape but features a design of alternating stepping stones and flat platforms. This layout reduces the load on the arches, provides a more comfortable walking surface for pedestrians, and enhances the bridge’s visual appeal. The central arch’s bridge slab is used for water level measurement and is typically 4.5 meters above the water line. Twenty-one square-shaped stone pillars stand on each side of the bridge’s north and south ends, most of which are original, with some replaced during recent renovations. At the center of the bridge’s north and south sides, there is a pair of 0.80-meter-high pillars with unique capitals — carved stone lions. One lion holds a silk ball, while the other playfully teases a cub with its paw; both are in crouching positions. The other capitals are carved with either upward-facing or downward-facing lotus motifs. Along both sides of the bridge, there are 20 balustrade slabs, each 2.42 meters long and 0.43 meters high. The inner side of the central slab features an exquisitely carved relief of “two dragons playing with a pearl.” The other slabs are plain. Each end of the bridge has a pair of drum-shaped stones, which are slightly different and likely replaced during past renovations. The five arches of the Ten Thousand Bridge decrease in size progressively from the central arch to the side arches: the middle arch has a span of 8.8 meters, the next ones are 7.7 meters and 5.4 meters respectively, arranged symmetrically. Each arch is constructed by laying longitudinal stone slabs (eight per arch) to form the arch ring. The outer sides of the central arch’s bridge slabs are inlaid with stone plaques inscribed with the name “Wan Bridge.”

Listed as one of the first batch of cultural relic protection units of Yueqing County in 1983

Listed as the sixth batch of cultural relic protection units of Zhejiang Province in 2011

Further Reading:

· Sixth Batch of Cultural Relic Protection Units of Zhejiang Province