The Get Mirror Bridge

The Get Mirror Bridge

The Get Mirror Bridge is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The Get Mirror Bridge is located 2.5 kilometers southeast of Fuquan City, Guizhou Province.

The Get Mirror Bridge is also known as the "Tofu Bridge." Legend has it that the Maha River was a vital section of the ancient Beijing–Yunnan courier route during the Ming Dynasty. The riverbanks towered a thousand feet high on either side, and the waters were fierce. Every spring and summer, floods would rise violently, causing great inconvenience to travelers. During the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty, a local man named Ge Jing, who was devoted to doing good deeds, resolved to build a bridge for the benefit of the people and to facilitate travel. Initially, Ge Jing’s first two attempts to build the bridge ended in failure. The immortal Zhang Sanfeng, while traveling, learned that Ge Jing had failed twice in constructing the bridge. He then appeared in a dream to Ge Jing, instructing him to build the foundation at the spot on the riverside cliff marked with the characters “Dizhu” (Pillar), and to have every household in Fuquan City grind a box of tofu and transport it to the Maha Riverbank before the rooster crowed—only then could the bridge be successfully built. Ge Jing suddenly understood. Eventually, Zhang Sanfeng used his magic to transform the tofu into stone materials, helping Ge Jing complete the bridge just before the flood season arrived. This is why the Get Mirror Bridge is also called the "Tofu Bridge."

The Get Mirror Bridge is 52 meters long, 5.5 meters wide, and 30 meters high, spanning the towering cliffs on both sides of the Maha River. The bridge arches up from the cliffs and is anchored to a midstream reef. Its design is ingenious, the materials refined, and the craftsmanship exquisite. After more than 400 years, it remains as solid as ever. The renowned bridge expert Mao Yisheng praised it in his book "The History of Chinese Bridge Technology," edited by him, as “an engineering feat of great difficulty, majestic in scale, and the finest bridge in southwestern China.”

In 2006, the Get Mirror Bridge, as an ancient structure from the Ming Dynasty, was listed in the sixth batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units by the State Council.

Further Reading:

· Sixth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units