Pingnan Covered Bridges – Challenging the Dragon Well Bridge

Anyone who has visited the covered bridges of Fujian and Zhejiang will long for those hidden deep in the mountains, in remote valleys, and accessible only by rugged paths. For example, the Three-Lane Bridge in Taishun and the Yangmeizhou Bridge in Shouning are far from any road, reachable only by ancient pathways. But once you arrive, you'll find these bridges perched over ravines, standing in solitude, with an overwhelming beauty. At that moment, the mountains and forests become borrowed scenery for the covered bridge, and the bridge itself shines like a pearl between heaven and earth.

Pingnan County is full of layered peaks and ridges, with many beautiful covered bridges among the mountains and waters. Only the Dragon Well Bridge is known for being difficult to reach. The difficulty comes from the long mountain trail; without a guide, it's easy to get lost. The Dragon Well Bridge, hidden deep in the landscape, was very appealing to me, and I wanted to challenge myself.

Before going, I searched for information online. There was very little material, no authoritative sources, some were vague, some outdated, and some contradictory. But I finally figured out that the key was to find a stone tablet reading "Dragon Well Bridge" by the roadside, marking the entrance to the path.

I drove following the signs for "Baiyu Village." On the first pass, I didn't notice the stone tablet in time. I went another 2 or 3 kilometers, felt something was wrong, turned back to the Baiyu Village entrance, and happened to meet a girl with a face full of pimples. She told me to drive back a few hundred meters, and most importantly, she said the stone tablet was still there.

So I drove slowly toward the county seat for about a kilometer and suddenly saw the stone tablet across the road. I quickly found an empty spot near the small road entrance of Baiyu Village to park.

Walking to the stone tablet, I saw an opening from the road. Behind the tablet was a straight uphill path. I didn't know how long it would take or how difficult it would be, but there was no hesitation—I just went up.

The climb started with a short dirt path that was quite steep; it would be muddy and slippery on rainy days. Soon I reached a ridge covered with fir trees, where the path became flatter. The ground was covered with red needle-like leaves that had fallen last winter.

There were few signs of human footsteps on the trail, and almost no side paths. At places that looked like forks, there were colorful ribbons tied to branches by outdoor groups to show the way.

Walking alone in the mountains, I couldn't help feeling a bit scared. Isn't the fear of crawling creatures like snakes and bugs ingrained in human genes? But most of the harmful creatures were probably still hibernating—I comforted myself with that thought.

From the woods came bird calls totally different from those in the city. I listened carefully to the loudest bird; it seemed to be saying "dri-liu-gu-qi," which made me wonder if it was mocking my round figure ("dri-liu-gun-yuan").

When I began to hear the faint sound of water, the path started descending, gradually approaching the valley floor. Suddenly, behind the bamboo at the end of the path, the Dragon Well Bridge appeared faintly. Finally, I arrived. It took 25 minutes one way—not as far as I had imagined.

According to records, the Dragon Well Bridge is known as the most dangerous bridge in the southeast. It is located on the ancient path between Baiyu Village, Shoushan Township, Pingnan County, and Kangli Village, Daixi Town. It is a wooden arch covered bridge, originally built in the Song Dynasty and rebuilt during the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty.

Walking across the bridge, it is not long, yet it exudes a sense of ancient simplicity forged by time. Perhaps this is the calmness that wooden structures bring. The ancient path and old bridge are no longer used, leaving only silence. The bridge deck and eaves are dotted with moss.

The stream below is called Jinzao Stream. I heard that in late spring and early summer, the stream rages violently and is extremely perilous, but now it is deep winter, and the water flows gently and silently. On both sides are steep cliffs, and the bridgeheads seem to be wedged into the huge rocks, showing how hard it was to build.

I wanted to take a full frontal view of the Dragon Well Bridge, but there was no foothold on either cliff. Only a drone or a boat on Jinzao Stream could capture that. The path I came from was hidden by dense forest, so I couldn't get an overview of the bridge. The path beyond the bridge toward Kangli Village also seemed to lead into deep woods, likely with no good viewpoints.

I love this kind of covered bridge—it leaves a silent beauty in the world.

Tips: The Dragon Well Bridge is suitable for self-driving. The entrance is at the small road of Baiyu Village, on the south side of the highway about 100–200 meters east of that small road, where there is a stone tablet reading "Dragon Well Bridge." Further east is the main entrance of Baiyu Village, about 1 kilometer away. Walk up the path, then follow a path parallel to the highway going east, then descend to the valley floor to reach the Dragon Well Bridge. It takes about 25 minutes one way for an average person; the path is clear and not easy to get lost, with some markers left by outdoor groups. Also, there is a lot of dirt road, so be careful of slipperiness on rainy days.

(Recorded on April 28, 2022)