Ancient covered bridges remaining in Hunan
2023-03-01
Among the existing 339 ancient covered bridges, there are 63 built in the Ming Dynasty or earlier, 200 in the Qing Dynasty, 41 in the Republic of China and 35 with unknown date of construction. For instance, Lianyuan Xinche Bridge was constructed in the Tang Dynasty, which is the earliest known covered bridge in Hunan. Dongkou Shuidong Bridge is 86 meters long, which is the largest existing wooden beam covered bridge in Hunan. Zhijiang Longjin Bridge is 252 meters in length, which was listed in Guinness World Records. Yizhang Guanyin’ge Bridge is currently China’s only covered bridge combining bridge and tower.
The book “Hunan Ancient Covered Bridges” is based on the results of Hunan transportation heritage census. Taking the Xiangjiang River, Zijiang River, Yuanjiang River, Lishui River, Ganjiang River, Guijiang River and Beijiang River basins as geographical units, the book not only systematically introduces the remains of covered bridges at the Ancient Salt Iron Road, the Ancient Tea Horse Road, the Ancient Tea Salt Road and the branches, but also sorts out the relevant historical and cultural background information.
