Tatang Bridge

Tatang Bridge

Tatang Bridge is a cultural relic protection unit of Zhejiang Province.

Tatang Bridge is located west of the Yuxin Foundry on Yuxin Community, Yuxin Town, Nanhu District, Jiaxing City, approximately 1,000 meters west of the Zhajiasu Expressway. According to the *Jiaxing Prefecture Records*, it was built during the Tongzhi era of the Qing Dynasty. It is a single-arch stone bridge spanning the Haiyan Pond from east to west. The total length is 45.93 meters, the bridge deck is 3.45 meters wide, and the height from the bridge bottom to the water surface is 8 meters, with an arch span of 14 meters. The bridge approaches are flared in shape — the east approach has a flare width of 4.38 meters, while the west approach flare is 4.76 meters wide. There are three heavenly disk stones on each side of the eastern part of the bridge and four on each side of the western part. Each of the four ends of the bridge deck is adorned with a lion-shaped stone pillar, and there is one square-shaped pillar at the western abutment. The east side of the bridge has 41 stone steps, while the west side has 42. The central top disk stone features whirlpool and coiled dragon patterns. The bridge plaque reads “Reconstructed Tatang Bridge.” Stone railings for pedestrians are installed along both sides of the bridge deck, and inscribed couplets are embedded in the bridge piers. A stone stele is inset in the southeastern part of the pier, though the inscriptions on the stele have become blurred, and there is a stone canopy above the upper part of the stele. This bridge is grand in scale and elegant in design. As one of the few remaining ancient bridges over Haiyan Pond, it holds significant historical and scientific value. It was designated as a Zhejiang Provincial-level Cultural Relic Protection Unit in 2017.

Source: Jiaxing Cultural Relics Protection Office

Further Reading:

· Seventh Batch of Zhejiang Provincial Cultural Relic Protection Units