Guang’an Bridge

Guang’an Bridge

Guang’an Bridge

It is located to the south of No. 36, Chikou, Xinyang Village, Tianning Town. The 1884 edition of the Jiashan County Annals recorded during the Qing Dynasty’s Guangxu era states that the bridge was built in the 10th year of the Ming Dynasty’s Chenghua era (1474) and repaired in the 24th year of the Qing Dynasty’s Jiaqing era (1819). In January 2004, it was designated as a county-level cultural heritage conservation site.

Guang’an Bridge covers an area of 42 square meters. It is a three-arch stone slab flat bridge, oriented east-west across Sishierbangkou (Forty-Two Creek Mouth). The bridge is 20.9 meters long, with a deck width of 1.8 meters and an approach width of 2 meters. The bridge deck is paved with three long flagstones, with the engraved inscription “Reconstructed Guang’an Bridge” in the middle. It has no railings or balusters. The bridge piers are constructed from three vertical flagstones, and the bridge foundation consists of stacked block stones. There are 8 steps on the western side and 10 steps on the eastern side. At the time, this area had a large population and numerous creeks, and the location was called Sishierbangkou. Guang’an Bridge provided great convenience for local residents. In August 2015, Tianning Town carried out a comprehensive restoration of the bridge foundation.

Tianning Town: The water town of Tianning is located in the northwest of Jiashan, Zhejiang Province, situated in the Hangjiahu Plain and within the hinterland of Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Suzhou, belonging to the golden triangle of the Yangtze River Delta. It lies 90 kilometers east of the international metropolis Shanghai, 110 kilometers west of Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang Province, 60 kilometers north of Suzhou, a key city in southern Jiangsu, and 45 kilometers east of the major port of Zhapu. The Hongqi Pond runs through the town, connecting the Huangpu River to the east and the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal to the west. The town covers a total area of 21.7 square kilometers with a population of 22,000. Tianning features flat terrain, a dense network of waterways, bustling boat traffic, and endless sails, earning it the reputation of being the “Land of Fish and Rice and a Pearl of Aquatic Products.” … More details about Tianning Town++