Bridges into the past
(Shanghai Daily)
Updated: 2004-04-05 17:20

When I finally arrived at Nanxi River, everything was in darkness except for the light cast by street lamps and the stars above. My first impression was one of peace and quiet.

It was already noon when I got up the next day. The streets had become busy and lively and I was in a hurry to appreciate the beauty of the river. I had already seen many scenic photos of this river taken by my friends. But when I sat on the raft drifting on the river, all I had in my mind was that being quiet, sometimes, was also a kind of power. Indeed, that was the whole of my feeling for the Nanxi River, just like tasting a cup of green tea with a light scent.

In the Nanxi River Scenic Spot located in the southern part of East China's Zhejiang Province, there was an old town called Cangpo. We got there at dusk and had to find a hotel to stay, however, the few tourist hotels were fully booked up. We had no alternative but to visit the old town in the bright moonlight.

The outlines of the houses were mirrored in a big pond at the entrance of the village, which looked like a canvas. Occasionally, I could hear barking of dogs in the small lanes. Walking in the quiet ancient town, I felt I had returned to the ancient nights of hundreds of years ago.

Later, we found a residential guest house, which was built in China's traditional courtyard style. Actually, I found many similar old houses in the town. They were all well preserved and still had people living in them. Visitors could visit these houses and pass the time chatting with kind villagers.

Although I admired the ancient architectures from the bottom of my heart, I was more jealous of local people, who could lead their lives in this easy and casual way.

In the Nanxi River Scenic Spot, another attraction was the corridor bridges. Probably I was too deeply involved in the story of "The Bridges of Madison County", so I had always thought that these corridor bridges were romantic structures full of stories. In fact, lots of these bridges could be found in this scenic spot, which was really their home setting.

The grey bridges stood silently above the rivers, with the rubbish of modern life floating past occasionally. If these bridges had life and dignity, they would sigh with regret.

Among the bridges, Zimei (Sister) Bridge enjoys a high reputation thanks to its marvelous architectural characteristics. The beautiful shape of the bridge and its primitive colour reminded me of the romance of ancient lovers, who fell in love while walking over a corridor bridge.

The second famous corridor bridge we found was called Santiao Bridge. It was nothing special in terms of its architecture, but it was well integrated with its surroundings. Since it was built over a deep gorge, it was well protected against destructive forces. It was said that the Santiao Bridge was probably the oldest corridor bridge in China. If it was really built in the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907), it is also the oldest corridor bridge anywhere in the world.

Closing my eyes and listening to the whisper of the wind through leaves, it seemed that time itself stood still when I was strolling on the bridge.

The last bridge I visited was the Xianju Bridge. It happened to be a sunny day, so the red bridge and the green river were strongly contrasted in front of my eyes. The name of this bridge told me that it was a place for supernatural being to live.