Luding Bridge is located in Luqiao Town, Luding County, Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, which was built in the 44th year of the Kangxi Dynasty of the Qing Dynasty (1705), and was completed on the fourth day of April of the following year (May 15, 1706). In August of the same year, Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty inscribed the name of the bridge "Luding Bridge". In March 1961, Luding Bridge was announced by the State Council as the first batch of national key cultural relics protection units.
The picture shows the plaque of "Luding Bridge, a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit" Photo: Zhang Yu
The east bridgehead of Luding Bridge erects the "Kangxi Imperial Monument", which records the reason for the construction of Luding Bridge. Before the completion of the Luding Bridge, there were only three ferries along the Dadu River: Shencun, Chuba and Ziniu, and merchants from Sichuan and Tibet could only cross the river by zipline and kayak. In addition, the Dadu River is sandwiched between Erlang Mountain and Gongga Snow Mountain, the water flow is turbulent, and the boat is difficult to travel, which has caused great traffic difficulties to the tea and horse market. After the governor of Sichuan, Nengtai, took office, Emperor Kangxi approved the construction of the Luding Bridge.
The picture shows the content of the "Kangxi Imperial Monument" at the east bridgehead of Luding Bridge Photo: Zhang Yu
The Luding Bridge is 103.67 meters long and 3 meters wide, and the bridge body is composed of thirteen iron chains, including nine bottom chains and four handrail chains on both sides. The thirteen chains weigh 21 tons, and the entire bridge is 40 tons of iron. The chains are hand-forged from 28 mm bars and linked into long buckles, with a total of 12,164 rings on the bridge. The iron ring cast during the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty still retains the seal of the casting craftsman of that year, which is the embodiment of the lifelong responsibility system at that time.
The picture shows the seal of the casting craftsman on the iron chain of the Luding Bridge Photo: Zhang Yu
Today's Luding Bridge is paved with vertical and horizontal planks for tourists to walk in, and you can immediately feel its thrilling wonder when you board the Luding Bridge. Each plank is only wide enough for one foot, so if you encounter a tourist walking in the opposite direction, you can only pass sideways for a while. When crossing the bridge, the bridge body is constantly shaking, and through the gaps between the wooden planks, you can glimpse the Dadu River flowing under your feet, which makes people unconsciously speed up their pace and dare not stop on the bridge more.
The picture shows the view of Luding Bridge at the west bridgehead, with tourists passing through the three planks in the middle, and lifeguards on the planks on both sides to protect the safety of tourists Photo: Zhang Yu
The west bridgehead was one of the main positions of the Red Army when it flew to capture the Luding Bridge. In the early morning of May 29, 1935, the Red Army's advance unit, the 4th Regiment of the 2nd Division of the Red Army, rushed to Luding and occupied the west bridgehead. At four o'clock in the afternoon, regiment commander Huang Kaixiang and political commissar Yang Chengwu personally came to the bridgehead to direct the battle. The old site of the artillery position was still preserved on the hill on the side of the west bridgehead, and it was under the cover of the artillery that the 22 warriors were able to climb over the hot-hot iron chain and rush to the east bridgehead. The great victory in the Battle of Luding Bridge opened the passage for the Red Army to go north, and also made Luding Bridge go down in history.
The picture shows the inscription on the former site of the artillery position of the Luding Bridge Photo: Zhang Yu
Luding Bridge plays an active role in maintaining national unity and promoting the exchanges and integration of the Chinese nation, and is known as "the first bridge in the east of Lushui for 3,000 miles and the first bridge for Yanguan in the west" in the era of tea and horse markets. Ye Dan, deputy director of the Luding County Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, said: "Today's Luding Bridge has experienced more than 300 years of wind and rain history, in order to protect the Luding Bridge, the local people maintain and repair it in accordance with the law of 'a small repair in three years, a major repair in five years'. ”
The picture shows the Luding Bridge taken by a drone Photo: Chen Haoli
In recent years, Luding County has always adhered to the concept of "rural revitalization and transportation first" and promoted the construction of high-speed and national and provincial highways. Through the project of "one center, one line, two axes, seven points, one corridor and one network", the city quality improvement, tourism infrastructure construction and environmental improvement projects will be carried out along National Highway 318, and Luding, the "red treasure land", will be built into a "landscape park city" integrating tourism services, health care and leisure, teaching and research and training functions on the Sichuan-Tibet line.
Source: China Tibet Network