Hengshui Anji Bridge

Hengshui Anji Bridge

Hengshui Anji Bridge is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Hengshui Anji Bridge was built in 1766, with a total length of 116 meters. There are 58 stone pillars on each side of the bridge, each topped with uniquely carved stone lions; stone balustrades are placed between the pillars. At both the eastern and western ends of the bridge, as well as on the northern and southern sides, there is a larger stone lion. Bai Rutin, director of the Cultural Relics Office in Taocheng District, Hengshui, introduced that this bridge is the largest and best-preserved ancient stone bridge in the Fuyang River basin. It was announced as a Hebei Provincial Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit in 1993.

Hengshui Big Stone Bridge is the common name people use for Anji Bridge today. From Anji Bridge, one might uncover the secrets of Hengshui’s city center — without this bridge, tracing the roots of Hengshui could easily lead to confusion. Outside the west gate of Hengshui, “it served as a key thoroughfare connecting Qi, Jin, and the southern regions of the capital,” stretching east to Shandong and west to Shanxi. The convergence of the Zhang and Fuyang rivers formed a natural barrier that had to be crossed, and the bridge made that possible. In the first year of the Tian Shun era (1457 AD), Yang Yan, the magistrate of Hengshui County, petitioned the two prefectures of Shen and Ji, as well as the two counties of Zaoqiang and Wu Yi, to “jointly fund the construction of a wooden bridge.” This was a rather flimsy wooden bridge, which during the subsequent years of the Chenghua, Hongzhi, Zhengde, and Jiajing eras, “collapsed repeatedly and was repaired repeatedly” — during this time, the river channel beneath the bridge had been dredged, and water transport began, “extending upstream to Handan and downstream to Tianjin.” The bridge builders often drank to relieve fatigue at a tavern called Deyuan Yong, unaware that the liquor they drank back then would later become the renowned brand known as Laobaigan.

By the 32nd year of the Jiajing era (1553 AD), led by local resident Xu Ting and others, a campaign was launched to raise funds for a stone bridge — this was the same year that Yang Jisheng from Hebei submitted a memorial impeaching Yan Song for ten crimes and five acts of treachery, leading to his imprisonment by the Imperial Guards. Two years later, Yang Jisheng was executed bravely, and the stone bridge was still under construction. It was said that the final completion of the stone bridge cost over 70,000 taels of silver and took more than three years. Even after its completion, the stone bridge was not very sturdy. In the 3rd year of the Longqing era (1569 AD), a major flood occurred, “the bridge collapsed again, and the county magistrate Sun Menglin, along with local residents Jia Congren and Zhao Ru, raised funds to rebuild it. After several years, the project was finally completed, and the bridge stood magnificently as a landmark for both land and water transport in the county.”

More than 200 years passed, by which time the Ming Dynasty had given way to the Qing Dynasty. The Zhang River flowed south into the Wei River, and the convergence of the Zhang and Fuyang rivers transformed into the Fuyang River joining the Hutuo River, “merging into a single river with a flow twice as powerful as before.” Hengshui Bridge “was gradually collapsing,” and “facing a bridge on the verge of collapse, urgent and extensive repairs were imperative.”

At that time, Fang Guancheng, the Viceroy of Zhili, petitioned the imperial court to allocate over 47,680 taels of silver for the reconstruction of the stone bridge outside the west gate of Hengshui City. The magistrate in charge of the specific reconstruction work, Tao Shu, “personally oversaw the planning and selected materials and laborers” — Tao Shu, whose courtesy name was Weicang, became the magistrate of Hengshui after passing the imperial examination. During his tenure, he also presided over the restoration of Taicheng Academy and the construction of the Laolongting sluice gate south of the city.

Construction began in August 1765 by the lunar calendar and was completed after October, “with solid earth and no breaches, and water flowing without flooding.” This grand seven-arch stone bridge has a total length of 116 meters, a bridge deck width of 7.5 meters, 58 stone pillars on each side, each topped with uniquely carved stone lions, and stone balustrades between the pillars. At both the eastern and western ends of the bridge, as well as on the northern and southern sides, there is a larger stone lion.

Emperor Qianlong bestowed the name “Anji.” Deeply honored, Fang Guancheng wrote “The Imperial Record of the Construction of Anji Bridge,” stating that Hengshui “is located in the southern part of the capital region, at the crossroads of water and land routes between Qi and Jin, where salt transport, grain trade, and travelers come and go.” “His Majesty takes pity on the people’s hardships,” “bestowed the name Anji, the meaning of ‘An’ (peace) is indeed profound.”

We are no strangers to Fang Guancheng, having mentioned him before. “Aspiring in spirit, diligent in learning, knowledgeable about the benefits and problems of the world, the customs and sentiments of the people, and what measures should be taken,” he was from Tongcheng, Anhui, and was promoted to Viceroy of Zhili at the age of 52. He managed river channels, promoted the cultivation of yams and cotton, handled grain transport, established public granaries, “no matter how big or small the policies were, he devoted his full efforts to them.” He held this position for nearly 20 years and achieved remarkable results — he died in office the year after the completion of Anji Bridge.

Tao Shu also wrote a “Record of the Imperial Construction of Anji Bridge”: “Since the Wei Dynasty of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, it has been named after water. The west gate of the county is where the Fuyang River merges with a branch of the Zhang River, where boats gather in great numbers, and the route is one of the nine major thoroughfares southwest of the capital.”

For the next 100-plus years, Anji Bridge remained safe and sound until 1937, when Japanese troops invading southward along the river bombed the central arch of the stone bridge, forcing the use of a wooden bridge as a makeshift connection...

“Carriages and horses converged, merchants gathered, and the Fuyang River flowed through north and south, extending from Linshui upstream to Jingu downstream. Merchant ships came and went, their sails as dense as a forest.” On both banks of the river lay hometowns. Hengshui’s “entire commercial hub centered around Xiguan in the county. The streets were wide, trade was bustling, with pottery from Pengcheng, bamboo ware from Qinghe, silk and ironware from Shandong, foreign goods from Tianjin, coal from Tangshan’s Kaiping, all converging to supply the needs of Shuji, Shenwu, and other areas.”

On both banks of the river lay hometowns, the scenes of those years living on in the memories of Hengshui’s elders. “After the river ice thawed in spring, especially from July during the flood season until the river froze again, water transport was extremely busy.” They would talk animatedly about the old establishments like Deyuan Yong Tavern, Yiqinglong Tavern, Chengxing Tavern, Qingshuzeng Tavern, Zengqingyu Coal & Pottery General Store, Yujì Kerosene Shop, and Shuangsheng General Store, all located on or near the riverbanks.

On both banks of the river lay hometowns. Each year after river transport began, goods from upstream such as coal chunks, pottery, porcelain, stone materials, and mountain produce, and goods from downstream such as food, sundries, hardware, kerosene, cigarettes, general merchandise, textiles, timber, and reeds... were all transported to the docks. Meanwhile, large quantities of local products such as grain, oil, distilled spirits, and vegetables were shipped via the river to cities like Tianjin.

In 1940, the Shide Railway was completed, and operations began the following February. For some time afterward, the Fuyang River became a dead river, regaining vitality only after 1947. We may have heard or read firsthand accounts: goods shipped from Hengshui Dock to Tianjin included cooking oil, sesame, wheat, sweet potato noodles, red dates, as well as walnuts, jujubes, persimmon cakes, peach kernels, wool, Sichuan pepper, honey, and other mountain products for re-export. Goods coming from upstream included smokeless coal from Fengfeng, pottery, porcelain, lime, stone materials, various dried mountain produce, and especially in autumn, when persimmons were in season, they piled up like mountains on the riverbanks north and south of the stone bridge. Porters and vendors came and went in an endless stream, making the entire dock resemble a bustling new market. In winter, “from Nanhuajie in the south to the northern end of Jixianjie along the entire eastern riverbank, boats pulled ashore for repair and various vessels were everywhere, ranging from hundred-ton barges to a few-ton fishing boats, with two to three hundred households involved each year.”

Elderly residents of old Hengshui also remember that in those days, the middle of Anji Bridge was for carts, while both sides were lined with all kinds of snack stalls, reportedly numbering fifty to sixty. There were baked wheat cakes, fried dough sticks, pancakes, old tofu, tofu pudding, mixed noodles, wontons, steamed buns, flatbread, rabbit meat, stewed meats, and so on — like Ermo’s mixed noodles, Huailin’s buns, the King Turtle’s wontons, Li Sanzhen’s sheep head and tripe, Xiangli’s fresh stewed chicken...

In 1946, Hengshui County established the Hengshui Chengguan District, which was divided into four gates: Dongmenkou, Ximenkou, Nanmenkou, and Beimenkou; and eight streets: Donglongqing, Beirenjie, Nanhua Street, Dongming Street, Fufeng Street, Jixian Street, Qinqin Street, and Wenjin Street...

Hengshui City was under Shen Zhou in the Ming Dynasty and under Ji Zhou in the Qing Dynasty. It became Hengshui City in 1947, and in 1949, it became Chengguan District of Hengshui Prefecture in Hebei Province. In 1962, Hengshui Prefecture was established, and in 1964, the urban area became Hengshui Town. In 1982, Hengshui City was established based on the administrative divisions of Hengshui Town in Hengshui County.

From 1948 to 1960, there were over 300 registered boats. A 1956 statistic stated that Hengshui Port had 283 wooden boats and 2,088 employees. However, after 1978, the Fuyang River, which once nurtured Hengshui City, gradually dried up.

After 1982, the wooden bridge connected to Anji Stone Bridge was demolished and replaced with a reinforced concrete structure. With no more boats passing beneath the bridge, Hengshui’s urban center shifted toward the west bank of the river...

Further Reading:

· Third Batch of Hebei Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units

· Seventh Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units