Painting of a bridge over the Xishi River in Wuzhen, Zhejiang (China)

One year, there was a drought in Jiangnan and the river dried up. People fetched well water for drinking, and water was as expensive as oil. One day, the scholar Marshal Wen found an evil spirit poisoning the well, so the next day, he stayed by the well and did not let the people get water. People who didn't know the truth scolded and beat him. Desperated, the scholar jumped into the well. When the people salvaged the scholar who had drowned, they found he had poisoning symptoms. They realized he was a hero who died for the safety of the Wuzhen people.

Legend of Wuzhen

Renji Bridge over the Xishi river in Wuzhen, Zhejiang (China)

 
You have the right to promote your own happiness just like everyone else, just like me. Your present dream has been shattered, but you can dream another. You should know that 'you can't relive old dreams. ' Even if you force them to come true, they won't bring you happiness.

Mao Dun, writer from Wuzhen

Painting of the Broken Bridge over the West Lake in Hangzhou, Zhejiang (China)

Tall willows shade the long embankment,
Through scattered leaves leak the rays of a waning moon.
With confident stride I pace the sand beneath the pines,
Thinking for a moment that perhaps it is snow upon which I tread

Poem by Zhang Dai about the Broken Bridge

translated by Duncan Campbell

Painting of the Qiantang River Bridge in Hangzhou, Zhejiang (China)

Great waves roll up like snowbanks white
The river extends till lost to sight
Jewels and pearls at the Fair on display
Satins and silks in splendid array

Poet Liu Young about Hangzhou

Footbridge over the river Liuxi in Heqiao Ancient Town, Zhejiang (China)

The bright moon rises over the river.

The moon reminds me of my love who is deep in the mountains.
He is the moon walking across the sky
Do you hear me singing your name by the river?

Lyrics of a Chinese Folk Song

Broken Bridge across the West Lake in Hangzhou, Zhejiang (China)

Two great snakes transform themselves into two young girls Bai Suzhen and Xiaoqing. They travel to Hangzhou, where they meet a young man, named Xu Xian. Xu Xian and Bai Suzhen fall in love and got married. The abbot of Jinshan Temple tells Xu Xian that his wife is a snake and that he should have her drink realgar wine. Bai Suzhen unsuspectingly drinks the wine and reveals her true form as a snake. Xu Xian dies of shock. Bai Suzhen travels to dangerous Kunlun, where she steals a magical herb to give life to Xu Xian. But back to life, Xu Xian, fearful of his wife, travels to Jinshan Temple, where the abbott imprisons him in order to save himself from the snakes. When Bai Suzhen and Xiaoqing fight with the abbott to rescue him, Xu Xian realizes his wife's love for him is genuine and no longer cares if she is a snake. He reunite with his wife on the Broken Bridge. Xiaoqing still furious, intends to kill him, but Bai Suzhen stops her. Xu Xian expresses his regret, and both girls forgive him.

Chinese legend about this bridge

Fuxing Bridge (Qiangjiang 4th Bridge) over the Qiantang River in Hangzhou (China)

Thunder heard a hundred miles,
The song of the lute falls still.
Horsemen stream from the compound gate
And riverside watch for the tide.
The sun hangs far in the autumn air,
Clouds float on the vastness of sea.
Then an egret wave like a surge of snow
All at once, a frost-born chill.

Poet Meng Haoran 

about Qiantang River weekly tide

Bridge in one of the canals of Xitang Ancient Town, Zhejiang (China)

The long-standing South China waterfront landscapes are the rich natural landscape resources of Xitang, which has been boasting of numerous bridges, narrow lanes and canopy corridors since the ancient time. Covering an area of 24 hectares, there are continuous patches of traditional architecture clusters in the ancient town

Xitang as part of The Ancient Waterfront Towns
 in the South of Yangtze River

UNESCO World Heritage Site

Bridge spanning the Grand Canal in Xitang Ancient Town, Zhejiang (China)

 “Many water towns are losing their original flavor during the process of development and are becoming commercial.”

Ruan Yisan, 

director of China’s Ancient 

Architecture Research Center

Yongning Bridge over the Grand Canal of Xitang Ancient Town, Zhejiang (China)

East wind blow water sun hold hill
Spring come great be idleness
Fall flower scattered wine rail pendants tinkling
Playing and singing drunk dream inside
Pendant sound quiet evening dress lack
For whom organise jadeite hair
Accept successive brightness cherish red complexion
Dusk alone lean on railings

The East Wind Blows Over the Water

Poem by Li Yu

Stone bridge in Xitang Ancient Town, Zhejiang province (China)

The south end of the bridge (the sound “nan,” with different tones, can refer to something male or south) is said to correspond with things male and yang with its steps being related to a Chinese saying about “moving up step by step” (taken in this case to refer to ambitious men). The north end has a slope and is said to correspond with things female and yin as women in China, having bound feet before the abolishment of the practice at the end of the Qing Dynasty, would take smaller steps.Some locals simply say that for a women to cross from the north results in her having a boy while crossing from the south results in her having a girl.

Legends about a bridge in Xitang

Bridge in Wuzhen Ancient Town, Zhejiang (China)

“Boats came back in the evening, 

birds flied back to nests, 

the moon raised above the bridge, 

a sweet dream at the riverside hotel.”

Shi Jian,

poet of Ming dinasty

writing about Wuzhen

Bridge over a canal in Wuzhen Ancient Town, Zhejiang (China)

"The first principle of modern cultures may be their connectedness. Culture is like wind and wind knows no boundary or center. Once there is a center, wind becomes a whirlwind"

Mu Xin, 

artist from Wuzhen