People's Movement Bridge

The People's Movement Bridge, built in 1951, spans Baoluan River in Baoluan Town, Fengdu County, Chongqing. Locally known as the Wooden Bridge, it follows the traditional Chinese wooden-beam corridor bridge design, combining strength with aesthetic appeal.

Entirely constructed from wood, it uses mortise-and-tenon joints, with no nails or metal fastenings. Eight large beams, each over 60 cm in diameter, support the bridge, while the pillars are nearly 40 cm thick. The 20-meter-long beams were transported from nearby forests using pulley carts and custom lifting tools. The bridge is 30 meters long, 5.5 meters wide, and 4.5 meters high, featuring double-eaved gable roofs with green fish-scale tiles.

A stone tablet at the southern end commemorates the bridge's completion, with inscriptions from the Second District Farmers' Association of Fengdu County, praising “the Power of the People” and encouraging "Increased Production, Thrift, and Support for the Great Construction of Our Motherland".

The northern end connects to the old town street of Baoluan, while the southern end rests on a 15-step, 2-meter-high stone platform, linking homes and farmlands along the riverbank. The bridge continues to provide shelter for locals in all weather.

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Wu Weiping (Instagram @wp_bridges_hunter)

Wu Weiping, co-photographer of Fantastic China: 

20 years, 400,000+ kilometers, 100,000 photos...  for capturing the remnants of ancient Chinese Covered Bridges.