King Tang Bridge

King Tang Bridge

King Tang Bridge spans the counties of Dengzhou and Xichuan, originally named Pujie Bridge, and has a history of over 400 years. According to the Nanyang Prefecture Annals from the Ming Dynasty’s Jiajing reign, Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang enfeoffed his 23rd son, Zhu Jin, as the Prince of Tang in the 24th year of the Hongwu era, with Nanyang as his fief. The bridge was built to facilitate his travels westward to Shunyang for hunting and to the Xiangyan Temple for worship, hence the name “King Tang Bridge.” Originally an arched bridge over the Su River, it was later destroyed and rebuilt as an eight-pier, nine-arch half-river bridge. The bridge body and the bridgehead fortifications are constructed from bluestone slabs and square-block stones, and remain largely well-preserved to this day.