If you have free time at noon, take a stroll leisurely. I know that there are four stone bridges built during the Republic of China near Gutang Road and Huadong Road in Tang Town, Pudong, Shanghai. Although the weather was a little hot in early summer, I still took advantage of my lunch break to visit them on May 22, 2020.

Arriving at Gutang Road and Tanglong Road, when you get off the bus, you will see Zhenghe Bridge, which crosses Shensha Port from north to south, not far from the west side of Gutang Road. There is also Rainbow Bridge nearly 200 meters north of it.

I continued northbound along Gutang Road to see the Rainbow Bridge first.

The Rainbow Bridge, with its poetic name, is a single-span double-jointed stone beam bridge. It is located on the west side of Gutang Road and spans a small river called "Sanlinpu" from north to south.

Sanlinpu is an ancient river course that flows westward from the small bay on the old Hutang to the Huangpu River. The eastern section is called Sanlinpu, and the western section is wider and called Sanlintang. When the Chuanyang River was excavated in 1977, Sanlinpu was separated on the north and south sides of the Chuanyang River. Most of the rural rivers in Pudong are named after Pu, Tang and Hong Kong. Pudong is formed by alluvial sediment from rivers and seas. Although the terrain is gentle, the terrain is still high and low. The sediment deposition in low-lying areas leads to poor drainage and is prone to floods. In ancient times, in order to obtain relatively flat saltworks and paddy fields that were not afraid of floods, the "Hengtang and Longitudinal Pu" artificial drainage and irrigation system was excavated to form a tight water network. Among them, the artificial river excavated vertically from north to south is called "Pu", the one horizontally from east to west is called "Tang","Five or seven miles a vertical Pu, seven miles or ten miles a horizontal pond", and the "vertical" and "horizontal" are connected. "Hengtang and Longpu" make the water flow gentle and convenient for storage, irrigation, drainage and inter-section transportation. In addition to Sanlintang, Yantietang, Shenzhuangtang, Zhouputang, etc., the east-west rivers also have 18 east-west rivers. Zaomen Port,"one tide connects hundreds of ports", ultimately leads to the sea through the Huangpu River. In the early Ming Dynasty, Gu Yu wrote the first bamboo branch poem,"The tide connects to the branch port at night, so merchants can sail and farmers can cultivate." These criss-crossing winding rivers on Pudong have benefited generations of Pudong villagers. Unfortunately, now, whether Sanlinpu, Sanlintang, or other ancient rivers in Pudong, most of them have become small rivers in the fields.

The name of the "Rainbow Bridge" and the patterns on both ends engraved on the bridge stone of the Rainbow Bridge are relatively clear. There are also bridge stones on the bridge seat, which are of fine workmanship.

The two bridge stones of Rainbow Bridge are very thick, perhaps because the bridge stones are too thick, and it feels like the stone bridge is sinking a little. The bridge seat has also collapsed some, and the bridge is already in danger.

Only four words can be seen on the water surface of the bridge bridge on the east side. The north side of the bridge is "Inscribe Poetry and Stay in Si", and the south side is "Accept Shoes and Give Gold". There should be three words each underwater. It is a complete couplet. Of course, it is also possible that the bridge is a four-character link. Judging from the above-mentioned bridge, it is obviously not an idiom, but a quotation, but the words seem inaccurate. "Inscribe poems in Si" is probably a reference to the seven-character quatrain of Meng Jiao's "After Ending the Science" of the Tang Dynasty,"When the spring breeze is full of horses and horses, you can see all Chang 'an flowers in one day", and "Taking shoes and giving gold" is probably a reference to the late Qin Dynasty Huangshi Gong Gao, but it should be "awarding books" rather than "awarding gold". Judging from the meaning of the word, the Rainbow Bridge is intended to encourage and educate local children to study hard and achieve success.

There is also a bridge on the west side of the Rainbow Bridge. Because of the small miscellaneous trees growing in the cracks in the bridge, the writing cannot be seen clearly.

There is no relevant written information on the Rainbow Bridge, so it is impossible to know the exact time when the bridge was built. Judging from the situation of the Rainbow Bridge, it seems that it is a building during the Republic of China. It cannot be considered an ancient bridge, but it is also an old bridge that has experienced decades of vicissitudes.

Leave the Rainbow Bridge and head south along the field path to Zhenghe Bridge.

Zhenghe Bridge, like Rainbow Bridge, is a single-span sloping stone bridge, but it is wider than Rainbow Bridge. It is a three-piece bridge stone bridge that spans Shensha Port from north to south, and the north end of the bridge is the back house of the Sun family in Tangsi Village.

Different from Caihong Bridge, Zhenghe Bridge is an immovable cultural relic protection site in Pudong New District. It is also recorded in the "Chuansha County Annals" of the Republic of China edited by Huang Yanpei: It was built in the 23rd year of the Republic of China (1934), with a project cost of more than 560 yuan. The donors were Zhang Jieyu, Sun Daben, Huang Hexiang, etc.

From the perspective of location, Rainbow Bridge and Zhenghe Bridge are on the same north-south rural road. The two should be built roughly at the same time. It has been nearly eighty-six years since then and can be called an old stone bridge. Of course, this rural road that has been used for decades has now been reduced to a ridge path, and the Rainbow Bridge has become a nearly abandoned agricultural bridge with few pedestrians. As a village bridge, Zhenghe Bridge is a bridge where people come and go, and its role remains the same.

Leaving Zhenghe Bridge and heading east back to Gutang Road, I saw that Gutang Road had filled the river and cut off Shensha Port. An ancient river running east-west was cut in two. It was a bit simple and crude, and it was advisable to build a bridge on a highway. Not far south, there is a Gutang Road Highway Bridge named Shensha Port Bridge. However, there are no rivers on the east and west sides of the bridge and there are empty bridges. Why is this bridge not built directly on the real Shensha Port? It is inexplicable.

Arriving at Chuangxin Middle Road Station on Shanghai Metro Line 2, I wanted to leave the station from Exit 4 to the nearby Taoqi Bridge, but found that although Exit 4 was on the map, it was not actually used. Exit the station from other entrances and go around to a small river called Nanxingou, where you see the Taoqi Bridge built with piers and single-hole stone slab bridge.

Taoqi Bridge spans Nanxingou from north to south and was built in the 18th year of the Republic of China (AD 1929).

Tao Rangqing, the person who funded the construction of Tao Qi Bridge, was a social figure in the Chuansha area during the Republic of China. This bridge is naturally the seventh bridge he funded.

The bridge next to the bridge name engraved in the stone of the Taoqi Bridge is engraved with the names of three bridge builders, including Tao Rangqing, in the 18th year of the Republic of China. After ninety years of wind and rain erosion, the writing has become a little blurred."Tao Qi Bridge" The name of the bridge is still clear.

In ancient times, it was a good act of infinite merit to raise funds to build bridges and roads. Some wise, wealthy businessmen and officials were also willing to do this to benefit Sangzi. This tradition of benefiting the countryside and being passed down to future generations was inherited and carried forward during the Republic of China, but unfortunately it is no longer there today.

There is a small section of neat bluestone stone revetment on the west side of the north bridge of Taoqi Bridge. There are also two granite stones anchoring ships along the revetment. You can imagine the scene of ships leaning against the bridge and busy land and water. Today, Nanxingou is an ordinary house river in front of Feijia House in Jikou Village, Tang Town.

There is also a single-span stone beam bridge more than a thousand meters south of Taoqi Bridge, called the "Gongji 11th Bridge". The Gaode map shows that there are field paths leading to the 11th Gongji Bridge, but when you visit the site, you will find that they have been blocked by the bridge, road and construction wall. Go west to the Yupu Tao Bridge on Huadong Road, and the 11th Gongji Bridge is not far away. I wanted to visit the bridge closer, but I saw that there were few roads leading to the stone bridge. Given the time constraints, I had to wait until I visit it again in the future.

With my unfinished wishes in mind, I revisited the 11th Gongji Bridge in the afternoon of May 26 in the misty rain.

Walking through the muddy fields after the rain, I came to the bridge.

As the name suggests, the 11th Gongji Bridge was the 11th bridge built under the auspices of the Gongji Bridge Association in Chuansha Region during the Republic of China. According to records in the "Chuansha County Annals" of the Republic of China, the 11th Gongji Bridge was built in the 22nd year of the Republic of China (AD 1933). The project cost 500 yuan. The donor contributed 250 yuan from the Gongji Bridge Association. The rest was raised by Lu Wenmei Jing.

Yu Putao, a small river under the bridge, has a strange name. Maybe it should be "Yu Putao".

The bridge name and pattern are engraved on the stone of the 11th Gongji Bridge. The bridge is named "Gongji 10th Bridge".

The 11th Gongji Bridge does not seem to have been repaired, and it basically remains as it was decades ago. Judging from the existing surrounding situation, the 11th Gongji Bridge has been abandoned. From the perspective of the direction, this bridge connects the Taoqi Bridge from north to south, and even the Zhenghe Bridge and Rainbow Bridge that I have visited before may have been connected in series on the same rural road back then, but now this road has long been annihilated and isolated.

There were originally farmhouses north of Gongji's 11th Bridge, but they were empty. The word "Demolition" is written on the wall. Several nearby farmhouses are already being demolished. The vegetable seedlings in the farmhouse in front of the farmhouse are still there. It seems that the farmhouses have not been moved away for a long time, and it is estimated that this area may be developed soon.

Qiaonan is a company. There are one or two foreign waste pickers picking up and growing vegetables in several small and scattered fields near the river outside the company's wall.

In the misty rain, the distant shadow of the 11th Gongji Bridge was silent, seeming to have a touch of sadness and loneliness.

The rainbow lies on the clear waves, the bridge stone has experienced vicissitudes, and the scenery of the ancient stone bridge always makes me stop. The four Tangzhen stone bridges we visited have the same shape and are all single-span stone beam bridges with piers; they were built in similar times, and it was the last time of stone bridge construction in China. Eight or ninety years have passed in a hurry. Although the four stone bridges are not ancient bridges, they are also getting older. Some, such as the Rainbow Bridge, are almost dangerous because they have not been repaired, some, such as Zhenghe Bridge and Taoqi Bridge, have been repaired in previous years, and some, such as the 11th Gongji Bridge, have gradually become abandoned. These stone bridges have different experiences, but they have all been welcomed and sent to Huili on a journey. They also embody the fragrance of the bridge builders. After years of ups and downs, they have witnessed the changes and vicissitudes of personnel. They are natural scenery and traces of humanity.

Stop by the bridge and stroll on the bridge. The sky is full of clouds and clouds, and the weather is both sunny and rainy. Look at the low water flow, feel the breeze blowing on your face, distinguish the gradually weathered characters and patterns engraved on the mottled bridge stone, sigh the rush of life and the bridge stone. Long lasting, there are many things in ancient and modern times, and countless people come and go. At this time, who will look at it carefully?