Yue Li Bridge

Yue Li Bridge

Yue Li Bridge is a cultural relic protection unit of Guangdong Province.

Yue Li Bridge is located in Yuanling Village, Yonghu Town, Huiyang District, Huizhou City. The bridge was built in the 17th year of the Guangxu reign during the Qing Dynasty (i.e., 1891), situated on the section of the Maxi River within the Yuanling Brigade area. It now stands at the western end of Yaoli Mountain, southeast of the current Yuanling Brigade headquarters. Originally, this bridge served as the main route from Yonghu to Huizhou. It is a single-arch pedestrian bridge, with both the bridge piers and the arch constructed from uniformly sized square and flat white marble stones. The bridge has an internal span of 30 meters, a deck width of 1.8 meters, and the height from the top of the arch to the water surface is 25 meters. The thickness at the top of the arch is only 38 centimeters, and the bridge can support a load of up to three tons. Stone railings were built on both sides of the bridge, and rain shelters along with stone-carved human head statues, representing the Bridge God, were erected at the eastern and western ends.

This bridge is an outstanding example of ancient architecture within the Yonghu area. Over the past ninety years, despite numerous floods, earthquakes, and other natural disasters, the structure remains intact. Its elegant and majestic form spans the Maxi River stably. Since the completion and opening of the Yuanling Bridge, this once-pedestrian-only bridge has become a "veteran exhibit" of three eras. As the rain shelter at the eastern end of the bridge was destroyed, along with the inscribed stele, the identity of the bridge’s designer remains unknown.

Yue Li Bridge is a typical single-span masonry arch bridge. According to the *Chinese Cultural Relics Atlas · Guangdong Volume*, the bridge was built in the 17th year of the Guangxu reign of the Qing Dynasty (1891), with a length of 18 meters, a width of 2 meters, a height of 8 meters, and an arch span of about 14 meters. Its arch span is second only to that of the Tongji Bridge in Nankeng Village, Guanyinge Town, Boluo County. What is truly breathtaking is the thickness of the top of the arch, which is only 38 centimeters—fully demonstrating the superb architectural craftsmanship and the light, graceful lines of Yue Li Bridge. With a closer look, one can spot a stone plaque on each side of the top of the arch, engraved with the three characters “Yue Li Qiao” (Yue Li Bridge).

As Yue Li Bridge fell into disuse in the countryside after the completion of the Yuangling Highway Bridge (a road bridge) in 1966, weeds grew all over it, and the stone plaque inscribed with “Yue Li Bridge” was thus hidden by vegetation. During the lush summer months, people could only see the three large characters “Yue Li Bridge,” and no one had ever noticed the smaller characters beside them. It was not until recently that a local resident, Mr. Yan, visited Yue Li Bridge for photography and inadvertently discovered that after the weeds dried up, not only were the three characters “Yue Li Bridge” clearly visible, but the small characters beside them were also legible: the small characters on the plaque facing Huinan Avenue read “Guangxu Year of Xinmao (1891), March,” while those on the plaque facing the Maxi River in Yonghu read “Inscribed by Jiang Fengchen.”

Mr. Yan, who usually enjoys studying the history and culture of Huizhou, immediately realized that Jiang Fengchen was a late-Qing Dynasty imperial examination graduate from Huizhou—a renowned scholar and filial son—yet none of the previous media reports about Yue Li Bridge had mentioned him. Mr. Yan said that Jiang Fengchen is a highly notable historical figure, and it is truly regrettable that his calligraphic inscription has been left to fade in the overgrown weeds of the countryside.

Yuanling Village: Yuanling Village…… More details about Yuanling Village++

Further Reading:

· Ninth Batch of Cultural Relics Protection Units of Guangdong Province