Shijiazhuang Yong’an Bridge

Shijiazhuang Yong’an Bridge

Shijiazhuang Yong’an Bridge is a cultural relic protection unit of Hebei Province.

In the northwest of Shijiazhuang city lies an ancient bridge called Yong’an Bridge. With a long history and exquisite design, it remains relatively unknown to outsiders. Yong’an Bridge is located in the western part of Yudi Village. According to the revised 1912 edition of the Huolu County Annals, it states: "Yong’an Bridge is located in Yudi Village, fifteen li east of the county." The bridge deck is 20 meters long and 4.5 meters wide, and the bridge body is a single-arch stone arch bridge constructed from blue stone blocks. Research indicates that Yong’an Bridge was built during the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty (1573–1619 AD), making it around three to four hundred years old. It can be said to be the only well-preserved ancient stone bridge still existing in the urban area.

Historical records indicate that the bridge runs from north to south and was originally built to facilitate traffic across the ancient Taiping River, making it easier for people to travel and visit the nearby Chongsheng Temple. About 100 meters north of the bridge lies the sizable Chongsheng Temple. Ten meters south of the bridge once stood a two-story pavilion called "Chuanxin Pavilion" (literally “Through-the-Heart Pavilion”). The upper floor housed a statue of the South Sea Bodhisattva, while the lower floor enshrined a statue of Guanyin, the Goddess of Mercy who grants children. According to inscriptions on the stele, this pavilion was established in the 35th year of the Kangxi reign during the Qing Dynasty (1696 AD). To the east between the pavilion and the bridge, there used to be a bell tower, of which only two stone bases, each three meters high, remain. At the bridge’s entrance, two tall, colorfully painted flagpoles once stood. Outsiders entering the village or going to the temple had to pass through the Chuanxin Pavilion and cross the Yong’an Bridge. Hence, locals often referred to the “Three Treasures of Yudi Village”: the grand temple, the stone bridge, and the Chuanxin Pavilion (pronounced “gao” in the local dialect). Not far east of the bridge stood an embankment built from blue stone, atop which was a raised platform that divided the river into two streams. On top of the platform was a Guan Yu Temple. During summer floods, mountain torrents would rush into the Taiping River, surge westward through the Yong’an Bridge, and then be split into two flows by the Guan Yu Temple, thereby reducing the water's force and mitigating flood damage. A later poet wrote: “The ancient Chongsheng Temple faces Yong’an, / Horse-drawn carts pass through Chuanxin’s span. / The Taiping River’s flow meets Guan’s shrine, / Forced to divide and head southeast again.”

Further Reading:

· Fifth Batch of Cultural Relic Protection Units of Hebei Province