[First-line narration, researchers say]
Taishun covered bridge: Don’t let the covered bridge become a “dream”
Narrator: Zhuang Tong, Director of Taishun Corridor Bridge Research and Protection Center, Wenzhou City, Zhejiang Province
The ancestors of Taishun in the past dynasties opened roads and bridges when they met water. At present, there are nearly 1,000 ancient bridges and more than 70 covered bridges, of which 15 covered bridges are listed as national key cultural relics protection units.
In ancient times, the covered bridge was called “Wind and Rain Bridge”, “Pteris vittata Bridge” or “CuO Bridge”. Until 1930s, the ancient architect Liu Dunzhen called this kind of covered bridge “covered bridge” for the first time. In 1995, with the American film The Bridges of Madison County swept China, photographer Xiao Yunji took up his camera and went back to Taishun to search for the covered bridge. His work The Covered Bridge in South Zhejiang attracted great attention and started the covered bridge craze in Taishun.
Covered bridges are not only public buildings, but also “spiritual totems” of people in mountainous areas. Lounge bridge is generally located at the mouth of the village’s geomantic layout, at the end of the water, or at the ancient road connecting the mountain stream. It integrates the traditional geomantic layout of mountain settlements, worship beliefs, party fairs and other functions, and plays an important role in enhancing people’s emotional exchange and cultural identity. In 2009, the traditional construction techniques of wooden arch bridge in Taishun County were listed in UNESCO’s List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Urgent Need of Protection. In December, 2012, 4 lounge bridge in Taishun and 18 lounge bridge in six counties of Zhejiang and Fujian were “packaged” and entered the preparatory list of applying for World Cultural Heritage in China.
However, the protection of inheritance is not smooth sailing. In the Mid-Autumn Festival in 2016, Typhoon Moranti landed, Xuezhai Bridge and Wenzhong Bridge were destroyed by floods, and Nanxi Bridge was partially destroyed … We immediately sent a notice to the relevant towns and villages to search for wooden components of covered bridges, and received feedback from many people in less than five minutes that wooden components were found, and a 10,000-person rescue operation was started. For two weeks in a row, township cadres, volunteers and the masses and I waded from the canyon to the source of the waterfall and took a kayak boat to the outlet of the upper stream of Feiyun Lake. Everyone tried their best to pull, carry and lift the rope, and recovered 90% of the wooden components, laying the foundation for the rebirth of the covered bridge. After the completion of the three covered bridges, Xuezhai Bridge, Wenxing Bridge and Wenzhong Bridge, their post-disaster restoration projects were selected as the “National Excellent Heritage Protection Project” specially recommended by the China Association for the Protection of Monuments and Sites, and selected as the case study of UNESCO’s global cultural heritage restoration and reconstruction.
Carrying forward the covered bridge culture and strengthening its protection, Taishun has been sparing no effort to “bridge” and let the covered bridge, which has been silent for thousands of years, show a new look.
(Project team: Guangming Daily reporters John Zhang, Hu Xiaojun, Li Yulan, Wang Yang, Gao Jianjin, Lu Jian, Zhou Shixing, Wang Jinwen, Wang Simin Guangming Daily correspondent Lu Peng, Zhang Chuan Huizi, Feng Yao)