Architectural characteristics of Liuzhou

The most distinctive feature of Liuzhou is the Dong’s Wind and Rain Bridge

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The Dong’s Wind and Rain Bridge

Introduction

In the Dong villages of Guizhou and Guangxi, there are many famous Drum Towers and Fengyu Bridges. These ancient buildings, which flourished from the late Han Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty, have rigorous structures, unique shapes, and are full of national temperament. The entire building does not require nails, rivets or other iron parts. It is all connected with tenons and tenons of durable fir wood and rises from the ground. Fengyu Bridge, also known as Flower Bridge, is one of the most distinctive folk buildings among Dong architecture. Miao villages like to be built near mountains, while Dong villages are mostly built on both sides of rivers and streams, across water. Therefore, stone arch bridges, stone slab bridges, bamboo strip bridges, etc. appeared in Dong Village. The most distinctive one is Fengyu Bridge.

Representative Bridge

Chengyang Bridge, located on the Linxi River in Sanjiang, Guangxi, is the representative of Fengyu Bridge. Because there are corridors and pavilions built on the bridge, it can not only pass people on the bridge in the wind and rain, but also provide shelter from the wind and rain, so it is called the Wind and Rain Bridge. This bridge was built in 1916. It is a four-hole and five-pier outrigger wooden beam bridge. Its structure consists of two parts: bridge piers and bridge body. The bottom of the pier is paved with raw pine wood, and putty-impregnated stone is used to build a diamond-shaped pier seat. Several layers of giant fir logs are laid on top, and then wooden boards are laid out to form the bridge deck. The bridge deck is covered with a tile-roofed corridor. The bridge body is a four-column raised-tower building. On the top of the bridge, there are several tile roofs that are higher than the bridge body. Several layers of cornices and turrets and pavilions are built on the top of the bridge. It is beautiful and spectacular. There are pagoda-shaped and palace-shaped bridge pavilions on each of the five stone piers, which are winding and majestic. There are carvings and paintings on the tile eaves of the corridors and pavilions. The figures, landscapes, flowers and animals are brightly colored and lifelike. They are the crystallization of the wisdom of the Dong people and are also artistic treasures of Chinese wooden architecture.

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Dong Township Fengyu Bridge

Introduction

Dong Township Fengyu Bridge is a symbol of the Dong people and a traditional transportation building . This bridge is also called the "Flower Bridge", named after its ability to shelter from wind and rain and its colorful decoration. It is a bridge building that integrates bridge, corridor and pavilion. It is the crystallization of Dong bridge architectural art. This kind of bridge consists of lower, middle and upper parts. The lower part is the bridge pier, which is surrounded by large bluestones and filled with stone materials. It is a hexagonal column with sharp angles upstream and downstream to reduce the impact of floods. The middle part is the bridge deck, which adopts a dense cantilever bracket simply supported beam system and is entirely made of wood. Bridge spans generally do not exceed 10 meters to accommodate limited timber lengths. The upper part is the bridge deck gallery pavilion, which is connected as a whole using a beam and column system combined with mortise and tenon joints. There are bench railings between the wooden columns of the pavilion, and a layer of weather eaves is projected outside the railings, which not only enhances the overall beauty of the bridge, but also protects the bridge deck and brackets. The bridge frame is placed on the piers of the Fengyu Bridge, and there are no riveting measures between the piers and the abutments. Only the abutments and piers play the role of an elevated platform.

Significance

It reflects that the mechanical level of the Dong people has reached a very high level. The Wind and Rain Bridge is beautiful and strong. It can be used for walking, shelter from wind and rain, and can also be used for people to rest or receive guests. There are more than 330 wind and rain bridges in Dong Township, especially Sanjiang and Longsheng in Guangxi, Hunan Channel, and Congjiang and Liping in Guizhou. According to statistics from relevant departments, there are more than 330 wind and rain bridges in these areas. Only the one near Liping and Zhaoxing There are five wind and rain bridges with different styles on the river.

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The Legend of Wind and Rain Bridge

In ancient times, before Pingping Village was opened, the Dong family lived in a small village on the hillside. More than a dozen families. There was a young man named Buka in a small village who married a wife named Peiguan. The couple is very loving and almost inseparable. When the two of them came back from work, one carried firewood, the other carried grass; the other carried the hoe, and the other led the oxen. They always followed each other. The crown was so beautiful that when the couple crossed the bridge, the fish in the river were so envious that they jumped out of the water to peek at them.

One morning, the river suddenly rose sharply. The Buka couple were in a hurry to go to Xishan to work, so they couldn't care less about it, and walked together to the small wooden bridge at the bend of the river in front of the village. Just as they walked to the center of the bridge, a gust of wind suddenly blew, which made Kabu unable to open his eyes. His wife fell into the water with a "Hey!"

When Kabu opened his eyes, he saw that his wife was not there. Knowing that she had been blown down the river, he carried her into the water and dived to the bottom of the river. But I searched back and forth several times, but there was no trace of my wife. When the villagers found out, they came to help him search for her. After searching for a long time, they still couldn't find his wife. What is going on?

It turned out that there was a crab spirit deep in the bend of the river, and it swept her into a cave at the bottom of the river. All of a sudden, the crab spirit turned into a handsome young man and wanted Pei Guan to be his wife. Pei Guan refused and even slapped him. He immediately showed a fierce look and threatened Pei Guan. Pei Guan cried and cursed loudly, and his cries and curses were heard under the water and reached the ears of a flower dragon upstream.

At this time, it was windy and rainy, and the waves were rolling. I saw a flower dragon in the waves, looking around with its head raised. The dragon's head looked to the left, the waves hit the left, and the landslide on the left; the dragon's head looked to the right, the waves rushed to the right, and the right bank cracked; the small wooden bridge had long been swept away by the waves without a trace. Everyone was terrified! But when the flower dragon came to Buka Beach, the waves calmed down after tapping the dragon's head a few times; then, the flower dragon made a circle on the water and rushed to the bottom of the river. Suddenly, the sound of "Gulu Gulu" continued to be heard from the bottom of the river, and large whirlpools were spinning one after another. Then, a puff of black smoke emerged from the water, rose into the air and turned into a dark cloud; the flower dragon followed closely and rushed into the air, tumbling about, pushing the black cloud down, until it finally revealed its original shape. It turned out to be the black crab as big as the top of the drum tower. The black crab fled in panic and climbed up the cliff three feet high. The Flower Dragon King turned somersaults into the water. The dragon's tail swung and swept the crab into the water. After doing this several times, the crab was exhausted and crawled staggeringly towards the bamboo forest, hoping to use the bamboo forest to block the flower dragon. But the flower dragon leaped into the air, opened its mouth and sprayed water, causing the bamboo forest to collapse one by one, and the crab fell into the river again. After the flower dragon followed closely into the water, the waves rolled and went down the river. At this time, the black crab could no longer be seen. Later, a large black stone in the shape of a crab was revealed not far from the bend of the river. This was the place where Hualong restrained the crab spirit. This big stone was called Crab Stone by later generations.

Wait until the river calms down, then hear a woman’s voice calling out on the river beach opposite. Buka saw that the woman was none other than his wife. Buka called a few people to swim over immediately. After landing, Peiguan said to Buka: "Thanks to Hualong for saving her!" Everyone knew that it was Hualong who saved her, and they were all grateful to Hualong. At this time, the flower dragon flew back upstream, turning around and nodding to people from time to time.

This incident spread from one person to another, and soon the whole Dong Township was changed. Everyone transformed the small wooden bridge near the water into a large wooden bridge like a promenade in the air. They also carved patterns of flower dragons on the four central pillars of the bridge to wish the flower dragons would grow long. After the completion of the large wooden bridge with a promenade in the air, a celebration ceremony was held, with Lusheng played, Ye songs sung, and huge crowds of people making it very lively. At this time, colorful clouds floated in the sky, shaped like a long dragon, and the glow was brilliant. When everyone looked closely, it was the flower dragon coming back to visit everyone! Therefore, later generations called this bridge Huilong Bridge. Some places are also called Flower Bridges, and some places are also called Wind and Rain Bridges because they can shelter from wind and rain.