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Wan'an Ancient Bridge

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Wan'an Ancient Bridge Wan'an Ancient Bridge is located in Jianning County. It is about 10 kilometers northeast of Quanzhou via the highway. Nestled against Dongshan Mountain and flanked by the city gate, it lies on a vital route of Suicheng. Originally built in the first year of the Shaoding era during the Southern Song Dynasty (1228), it featured stone piers with a wooden deck, covered pavilions, and long corridors, and was called Zhen'an Bridge. In the sixth year of the Qianlong era of the Qing Dynasty (1741), it was rebuilt as a stone arch bridge and renamed Wan'an. As the longest ancient stone bridge in the upper reaches of the Min River and within the territory of Sanming, historical records note it collapsed due to flooding eight times and was destroyed by fire five times. Despite repeated destruction, it was rebuilt time and again, enduring centuries of turmoil. In the summer of 1931, Mao Zedong and others led the First Front Red Army in their “15-day, 700-li march,” with flags flying over the bridge and bugle calls striking fear into the enemy. Wan'an Bridge bore witness to the final victory in the Second Counter-“Encirclement and Suppression” Campaign and is hailed as the “Red Army Bridge.”

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Wan'an Ancient Bridge is located in Jianning County. It is about 10 kilometers northeast of Quanzhou via the highway. Nestled against Dongshan Mountain and flanked by the city gate, it lies on a vital route of Suicheng. Originally built in the first year of the Shaoding era during the Southern Song Dynasty (1228), it featured stone piers with a wooden deck, covered pavilions, and long corridors, and was called Zhen'an Bridge. In the sixth year of the Qianlong era of the Qing Dynasty (1741), it was rebuilt as a stone arch bridge and renamed Wan'an. As the longest ancient stone bridge in the upper reaches of the Min River and within the territory of Sanming, historical records note it collapsed due to flooding eight times and was destroyed by fire five times. Despite repeated destruction, it was rebuilt time and again, enduring centuries of turmoil. In the summer of 1931, Mao Zedong and others led the First Front Red Army in their “15-day, 700-li march,” with flags flying over the bridge and bugle calls striking fear into the enemy. Wan'an Bridge bore witness to the final victory in the Second Counter-“Encirclement and Suppression” Campaign and is hailed as the “Red Army Bridge.”

The red Soviet area witnessed tumultuous years. On June 16, 2002, a “once-in-two-hundred-years” catastrophic flood destroyed the bridge in an instant. Though the flood was ruthless, the people were resolute. A collective fundraising effort saw 133 social organizations, government agencies, enterprises, and public institutions both inside and outside the county, along with 8,348 individuals from all walks of life, donate funds and materials totaling 4.934 million yuan. The Provincial Department of Transportation allocated an additional 1 million yuan. The bridge was rebuilt in September of the same year and completed in December of the following year. It now features a structure of 4×20-meter prestressed concrete hollow slabs plus 12-meter reinforced concrete special-shaped slabs, with the bridge deck expanded to 15.5 meters and the total length of the bridge reaching 92 meters.

Specific route: 10 kilometers northeast of Quanzhou