Wanning Bridge, commonly known as Houmen Bridge and Haizi Bridge Di'an Bridge, is a bridge located outside Di'anmen Gate in Beijing, located on the central axis of Beijing.
It was built in the twenty-second year of Yuan to Yuan (1285), formerly known as Wanning Bridge. Because the bridge is in the north of Di'anmen, Di'anmen is the back gate of the imperial city, so it is also called the Houmen Bridge. It was originally a wooden bridge, and it was changed to a stone arch bridge in the Yuan Dynasty.
Wanning Bridge (commonly known as "Houmen Bridge")
In the Yuan Dynasty, Kublai Khan built the end point of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal to today's Jishuitan, and this Wanning Bridge is the northernmost gate of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, the Cao transport ships that enter the imperial city of Beijing must pass through here, the Tonghui River is not only built by Kublai Khan's decree, but also the name of the Tonghui River is also Kublai Khan's Wanning Bridge, it is also the bridge that Kublai Khan must walk in and out of Beijing. Wanning Bridge spans the mouth of the Shichahai River into the Jade River, which is the starting point of the Grand Canal in the Yuan Dynasty. There is a sluice under the bridge, and the sluice is lifted and released to stop the water by crossing the boat to ensure that the grain ships from the south sail directly into the capital. Ships coming from the north of the river can go straight to Haizi and moor. At that time, the residents of Dadu also called this place the Haizi Gate, which was later renamed the Clarification Gate. At that time, the water surface of Jishuitan was very large, and all the ships entering had to pass under the Wanning Bridge, which played a huge role in ensuring the food supply of the Yuan Dadu, and was a physical witness to the history of Beijing's Caoyun. Therefore, after the successful application of the Grand Canal for World Heritage in 2014, a "heritage area boundary post" was erected at the northwest corner of Wanning Bridge.
Wanning Bridge is a single-hole white marble arch bridge, more than 10 meters long, nearly 10 meters wide, the bridge deck is paved with stones, and the middle is slightly arched. On both sides of the bridge, there are white marble guardrails, carved with lotus vases and other patterns. The Ming and Qing dynasties have repaired the Wanning Bridge many times. The stone bridge is characterized by a stone carving of a water-absorbing beast above the east and west stone arches. The stone revetments on both sides of the bridge have a deer antler water divider on each side.
The water beast of Wanning Bridge Town
In the early years, the scenery of Wanning Bridge was beautiful, the west of the bridge was a pool of water with rippling blue waves, and the dense boats from the south were moored on the wide water surface; on both sides of Di'anmen Street in the south of the bridge, the high willows and giant acacia were swaying in the wind; not far to the south, there was the splendid imperial palace; and the east of the bridge was a small bridge and flowing water. There is a business and there is a city, the establishment of Jishuitan Caoyun Wharf has contributed to the formation of the "commercial center" around Jishuitan to the Bell and Drum Tower, around the Wanning Bridge at that time, there are camel market, cattle and horse market, goose and duck market, sheep market, rice market, noodle market, silk market, fur market, hat market...... The pomp and circumstance is unprecedented. In the following hundreds of years, the commercial boom and decline of the Wanning Bridge changed, but the Wanning Bridge remained intact and the river channel under the bridge still existed.
In 1955, the road was expanded on Di'anmen Outer Street and the river channel was changed into a culvert. In 1999, Beijing repaired the Wanning Bridge and renovated its surroundings. During the renovation and repair, unexpectedly dug out 6 dragon body dragon claws of the water stone beast under the bridge, among them, the one on the northeast bank of the bridge was engraved with the words "to the fourth year of September", which proved to be the thing of the Yuan Dynasty, and the other 5 were the relics of the Ming and Qing dynasties. After the restoration, the bridge deck is about 17 meters wide and 34.6 meters long, the bridge hole is about 7.2 meters wide and 3.5 meters high. The guardrail of the bridge is based on the old components of the Wanning Bridge in the Yuan Dynasty and the replacement of the blue gravel in 1955, and the white marble railing and the pillar components are newly added. In addition, the six stone town water beasts on the east and west sides of the bridge, as well as the north and south banks, have also been restored. At the same time, the original bridge name "Wanning Bridge" was restored, and a monument was built on the side of the bridge.
Boundary pillars of the cultural heritage area by the Wanning Bridge
Starting from Yongding Gate, Qianmen, Tiananmen, Wumen Gate and Shenwu Gate of the Forbidden City, and even Jingshan and Di'anmen, until the Bell and Drum Tower, form the north-south central axis of Beijing with a total length of 8 kilometers. On this central axis that traverses ancient and modern times, the Wanning Bridge is an indispensable link, which echoes the Jinshui Bridge inside and outside Tiananmen Square, and can be regarded as a "brother" in terms of construction time.
(Source: Beijing Social Science Popularization Series "Illustrating the Cultural Belt of the Grand Canal in Beijing"; Author: Li Jianping, Yang Wenli; Image source: original article with pictures)