One of China's top ten bridges: Dongguan Bridge

There is a gallery style bridge, named Tongxian Bridge in Yongchun County, Dongping country, such bridge is rare in Minnan District of China. The bridge also known as the Dongguan Bridge, and was built in the Southern Song period, but it was repared in almost every dynasty. The bridge had keeped open in Song Dynasty, until the mid-Ming Dynasty, people added seal to the bridge. The existing wooden bridge was reconstructed in the first year of the Guang Xu Dynasty (1875), and was repaired in 1929.


Although it was rebuilt several times through the ages, but it still retains many characteristics of the Song Dynasty bridge. If ranking the bridges in China, then this bridge should be able to be at least the top ten.


This wooden bridge is 85 meters long and 5 meters wide, mixed with wood and stone, with four piers and five holes. Pier is made of a large dry stone, without any reinforced concrete, under the piers there is also a layer of large pine, called "sleep wood sink base." In the winter dry season, the water level drops, through the crystal clear streams, you can easily see the pine base, the whole weight of the bridge press on the pine base in the water. The pine does not rot after so many years, which is really a miracle.


People used 22 large fir wood as the beams, paved on the upper and lower levels, parts of above the beam are wooden the structure, there are more than twenty bridge houses. The houses on the bridge can be a shelter for people to rest and aviod the rain and sun, also can enhance the stability of the bridge, what is more, the houes can prevent wooden beams from rotted by rainwater, so they are practical, sturdy and beautiful.


Dongguan Bridge is full of red paint inside and outside, each house on the bridge has a picture, painted with some of the ancient legend, there are stories about RM 95M, The Goddess Chang's fly to the moon and so on, and a Bodhisattva of Compassion in middle of the bridge.