Shuangpao Bridge

Shuangpao Bridge

Shuangpao Bridge is a cultural relic protection unit of Fuzhou City.

As this bridge is located at the confluence of Dakhangqiao River and Yuanshoumiao River, with waters beneath it flowing from one side to Yuanshoumiao River and the other to Baima River, where the two rivers merge, and when the Baima River rises, the tides converge here, it was originally named Hechao Bridge. Also, because the bridge spans the two rivers in an L-shape, it was commonly called Shuangtao Bridge, which over time was phonetically altered to Shuangpao Bridge; near the bridge, banyan trees grow across the river with branches intertwined, inspiring literati to derive a tragic love story of Qiu and He’s martyrdom.

Shuangpao Bridge is located at the north entrance of Yadao Lane on Yangqiao Road. It is a single-arch stone bridge, 9 meters long, 2.9 meters wide, with a span of 4.8 meters. The arch is built from nineteen square stone pillars. The stone pillars of the bridge railing are inscribed with “Ancient Name: Hechao Bridge” and “Built in the 32nd Year of Guangxu (1906),” and the bridge features a covered corridor with two bays and a gable-and-hip roof.

According to inscriptions on the bridge’s stone railings, the bridge was originally built in the 12th year of the Tang Dynasty’s Tianbao era (753 AD), and also bears the six characters “Hechao Liushui Hebu” (Hechao Flowing River Steps).

According to the cultural relics department, the existing bridge was constructed in the 2nd year of the Qing Dynasty’s Guangxu era (1876 AD).

It was renovated again in the 32nd year of Guangxu (1906 AD).

In the June 1928 edition of the “Complete Map of Fuzhou,” Shuangpao Bridge was still marked as two bridges forming a right angle. That year, large-scale road reconstruction began in the Dongjiekou area, converting Yangqiao Alley into Yangqiao Road and extending it westward, with the northern half of Shuangpao Bridge becoming part of Yangqiao Road and thus modified.

After 1949, the People’s Government blocked the outlets of the Jin’an River and Baima River, preventing the city’s inland rivers from connecting with the tides of the Min River. Additionally, the Dakhangqiao River and Yuanshoumiao River to the east of the bridge were filled or covered, while the remaining section of the Dakhangqiao River to the west quickly deteriorated, with water turning foul and smelly.

Between the late 1980s and 1990s, the Fuzhou municipal government decided to widen Yangqiao Road, initially planning a scheme to straighten the road by cutting the curve, which would have led to the demolition of Shuangpao Bridge. Later, through the efforts of various parties, the construction plan was revised, allowing the ancient bridge to be preserved, though the project cost increased by more than 3 million yuan.

Around 1992, Cheung Kong (Holdings) Limited of Hong Kong, owned by Li Ka-shing, undertook real estate development in the Three Lanes and Seven Alleys area. Li commissioned Hong Kong’s Ng Chun Man Architects to design the plans, covering the Dakhangqiao River below Shuangpao Bridge and installing an extremely shallow pool as a symbolic feature for the residential community’s landscape. The project was completed around 2002, during which one of the three ancient banyan trees originally located on the riverbank was pruned.