Bridge-building skills span generations

Restoring the old

Chen Juan, Party secretary of Changqiao town, where the bridge is located, says that Wan'an Bridge is still an important traffic artery, and it is a meeting place for people to gather to chat, relax and have fun, and that for those who have moved away, it is an emblem of home.

Unlike some historical buildings, which were privately owned, covered bridges were always public structures. Consequently, their construction was a collaborative effort, with local communities pooling funds. The donations were viewed as "acts of prayer" and wishes for health and happiness, Chen says.

Wan'an Bridge was no exception. A tablet inlaid in one of its stone piers details a donation made in 1090 by a man called Jiang Zhen, who donated the money and millet to build the pier.

Chen says that the restoration last year was based on information collected during a census of Pingnan's cultural heritage in 2019, construction sketches belonging to the Huang family, and the support of an ancient building institute in Zhejiang.

"Luckily, the building techniques haven't been lost and there are inheritors of the craft," Chen says. "They decided not to change the original facade and features, and restored it using traditional techniques. Modern tools help in some areas, like sawing components, but most things were still done by hand."

She says although the bridge was badly damaged, key components survived. Local residents found them in the river and fished them out. In the act of restoration, the old components were reused and became part of the restored bridge.

"From the cultural heritage protection perspective, we want to reuse old components to preserve their history as much as possible. We make sure they are still safe enough to reuse and their inclusion symbolizes the continuation of the past, and serves as a warning to people not to neglect the safety of the bridge," Chen says.

Local residents donated 4.4 million yuan ($614,400) to the restoration, on top of funding from the government, and were invited to a banquet after the bridge was restored.

Chen says that they have analyzed the threats to the safety of the bridge: fire, floods, human-made damage and pests, and have taken measures to respond to them.

This includes installing alarms on the bridge to monitor for fire hazards, like smoking, and arranging for it to be patrolled 24 hours a day. Additionally, the bridge is regularly disinfected and sterilized to protect against pests.

Awareness of protection has improved. According to Chen, local residents have set up a center in the hopes of protecting their hometown.

Activities such as sports meetings for farmers, poetry recitation events, and study tours, have also been held to integrate the bridge into the area's development of tourism, and Chen says that during the Spring Festival holiday between Feb 10 and 15, it received about 10,000 visits every day.