Pingnan Covered Bridges—The 'Thousand and Ten Thousand' Covered Bridges

Pingnan County is another land of covered bridges. The longest existing covered bridge in China, the Wan'an Bridge, is located here.

Originally, the record for the longest bridge was held by the Buyue Bridge in Jiyang Town, Jian'ou, but it was destroyed in a fire in 2019. It is now said to have been rebuilt on the original site, but it is no longer the original ancient covered bridge.

Pingnan is famous for its 'Hundred, Thousand, and Ten Thousand' covered bridges, which refer to three ancient bridges named Baixiang, Qiansheng, and Wan'an. Except for Baixiang Bridge, which is deep in a mountain corner, Qiansheng Bridge and Wan'an Bridge are located in the densely populated areas of Tangkou Town and Changqiao Town respectively. They are enormous in scale and widely known, enough to boast of the prosperity of these two large towns.

First, I went to Qiansheng Bridge, located in the bustling area of Tangkou Town. The covered bridge is over 60 meters long. There is a temple at each end of the bridge, and the creek beneath it is very wide, offering a refreshing open view. Tourists and local residents constantly shuttle across the covered bridge, enjoying a harmonious atmosphere.

The creek water coming from upstream, just after flowing under Qiansheng Bridge, splits into two streams at a nearby hydraulic structure: one flows into the town, and the other goes around the town's outskirts.

Except for the central section of the bridge, there are almost no windbreak panels on the covered bridge, making it cool and airy, ideal for enjoying the cool in summer.

The next morning, I went to Wan'an Bridge. Heavy rain began to fall.

Wan'an Bridge truly lives up to its reputation as the longest covered bridge. It is nearly 100 meters long, and from a distance, it looks like a long dragon lying across the river. The bridge deck is also quite wide. The bridge body has no windbreak panels at all, which means no shrines can be placed for worship. The builders were probably considering fire prevention.

Many elderly people sat idly on the long benches, chatting and telling stories. Two rows of benches stretched from one end of the bridge to the other. The torrential rain was blocked by the wide eaves, unable to blow into the covered bridge.

Below the bridge is a long river beach with a very pleasant landscape, almost like a park. It is connected to the riverbanks on both sides by several small bridges. Taking a stroll on this river beach or along the banks, you could spend a long time without getting bored at all.

(Recorded on April 27, 2022)