Shijing Bridge

Shijing Bridge

Shijing Bridge is a cultural relic protection unit of Guangdong Province.

The Shijing Bridge in Qing Dynasty Guangzhou is located in Shijing Subdistrict, Baiyun District, Guangzhou. Built in the 11th year of the Daoguang reign (1831), it runs east-west, stretches 68 meters in length and 3.8 meters in width, and is a beam-type stone bridge supported by six piers. Stone railings line both sides of the bridge. Originally, there was a pavilion at each end of the bridge—both featuring hip-and-gable roofs and covered with green-glazed tiles. At the two ends of the bridge are stone inscriptions marked with the reign year “Daoguang Year Xinmao”; on both sides there is also an inscribed couplet that reads: “Good enough for celestial sandals to step on; able to allow horse-drawn carriages to pass through.” The bridge remains well-preserved to this day. It stands as a historical witness to imperialist aggression against China in modern history.

In September of the 6th year of the Xianfeng reign (October 1856), Britain provoked the Second Opium War under the pretext of the “Arrow Incident.” The following year, France, using the “Father Ma Incident” as an excuse, joined Britain in forming an invading allied force. On December 13 (January 27, 1858), they captured Guangzhou. The Viceroy of Liangguang, Ye Mingchen, was taken prisoner, and officials such as Governor of Guangdong Bai Gui surrendered. The Anglo-French allied forces established a “Committee of Three” to control Guangzhou, turning the Qing government into a local puppet regime for three years. However, the people of Guangzhou did not yield. They organized militia forces en masse to resist the invaders. At that time, Shijing Township was one of the most active strongholds of the popular armed resistance. In early December of the 9th year of Xianfeng (1859), over a thousand British soldiers invaded the area around Shijing Township. The militia forces rose up in resistance, forcing the invaders to retreat back to Guangzhou. To this day, on the western end of Shijing Bridge up to the fifth stone railing panel, one can still see bullet holes pierced by the invaders’ artillery fire.

In 1983, the Guangzhou Municipal People’s Government designated it as a cultural relic protection unit. On July 17, 2002, it was included in the fourth batch of Guangdong Provincial Cultural Relic Protection Units.

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Further Reading:

· Fourth Batch of Guangdong Provincial Cultural Relic Protection Units