Guanyang Wind and Rain Bridge

Guanyang Wind and Rain Bridge

The Guanyang Xiyang Wind and Rain Bridge, also known as the Elderly Bridge, is located in Laorenqiao Natural Village, Xiyang Administrative Village, Guanyang Township, Fuding County. Originally built during the Zhengde era of the Ming Dynasty, it has stood for nearly five hundred years.

The Elderly Bridge was built by the people of the 17th District during the Ming Dynasty to commemorate Elder Qiu Fu and remains remarkably well-preserved. Facing southwest to northeast, it is an ancient arched wooden bridge that spans over a stream pond, impressive in scale.

The bridge is 30.8 meters long and 8 meters wide. Its main structure (the bridge frame) consists of five segments and three tiers interconnected, using a total of 135 whole log cylinders (not including cross beams), four of which are 85 cm in diameter and referred to as “earth dragon logs” positioned at both ends. The top of the bridge frame is laid with sleepers and wooden planks, and a bridge pavilion is erected on it, supported by 56 pillars. The entire exterior of the bridge is covered with wooden boards nailed in place to shield against wind and rain. The design is rational and the construction solid.

The bridge pavilion is shaped like a long corridor, with two shrine rooms in the center. One enshrines stone statues of the Sizhou Buddha, the Water God, and the True Martial Emperor—each exquisitely carved and lifelike—with a stone incense burner placed in front. Research reveals that these stone figures and the burner were relocated here from Panjing Bridge (once situated opposite Qiantou Shop, now non-existent) upon the completion of the Elderly Bridge.

The other shrine houses Elder Qiu, containing a gilded wooden plaque carved with a double-dragon-and-pearl design and inscribed with “Spirit Tablet of Qiu Fu, Who Resolved Disputes in the Ming Dynasty.” In front of it sits an ancient stone incense burner engraved with the words “Elder Qiu,” its back edge damaged with a notch—reportedly caused by being thrown into the pond during the Cultural Revolution.

Story of the Elder: The local gazetteer "Xiangtu Zhi" compiled by Magistrate Huang Dinghan during the Qing Dynasty’s Guangxu reign contains the following account: “Qiu Fu, a man of Wayang, was known for his virtue and spent decades mediating disputes across the region. On one occasion, a certain man, whose wife was particularly fierce, became embroiled in a minor quarrel and took it to court. Qiu tried to dissuade them, but to no avail. Ashamed of his perceived lack of virtue, he drowned himself in the river. The local people, moved by his sincerity, built this bridge and established a shrine in his honor, and it has been called the Elderly Bridge ever since.”