Immortal Bridge in Rucheng

Immortal Bridge in Rucheng

The Immortal Bridge in Rucheng is a cultural relic protection unit of Hunan Province.

About one kilometer north of Reshui Town in Rucheng County stands an ancient stone arch bridge called the Immortal Bridge. This bridge is fifteen meters high and twelve meters wide, making it the largest in span and the highest in elevation among ancient stone arch bridges in Hunan Province. Nestled between two mountains, it has long been a natural barrier on the ancient route from Rucheng to Jiangxi. For many years, people had dreamed of building an arch bridge here to “turn the natural barrier into a thoroughfare.” However, when they brought in a master builder with extraordinary skills from elsewhere and assembled a hundred-person construction team to work day and night, the bridge was surprisingly completed in just a few days—a speed that defied belief. A worker, noticing carefully, realized that while there were always one hundred workers during the day, only ninety-nine ever showed up for meals. It was then that people understood: immortals must have been helping. Thus, after the bridge’s completion, it was named the Immortal Bridge.

Reshui Town: A town under the jurisdiction of Rucheng County. Established as Lingping Township in 1949, it was renamed Reshui Township in 1956, converted to a commune in 1958, reverted to township in 1984, and became a town in 1990. Located in the eastern part of the county, it borders Chongyi County of Jiangxi Province to the east and Renhua County of Guangdong Province to the south. It is 23 kilometers from the county seat, covers an area of 141 square kilometers, and has a population of 10,000. The town government is based in Reshui Market. The area is accessible by road. It administers 12 village committees—Reshui, Changtang, Dengjiadong, Dashuishan, Taojindong, Yuwang, Dongjiangshui, Gaotan, Huangjiadong, Huangshi, Xinghuo, and Hengrui—and 2 neighborhood committees: Qiaodong and Qiaoxi. Local township enterprises include papermaking, … More details about Reshui Town ++

Further Reading:

· Ninth Batch of Cultural Relic Protection Units of Hunan Province