On the afternoon of May 18, 2020, I came to the old protective pond area of Muzi Bridge in Pudong, Shanghai to search for Dashou Bridge and Julong Bridge.

The old seawall built during the reign of Emperor You of the Northern Song Dynasty, along with the section from Muzi Bridge to Xiaowan and the two sides of the river, is well preserved. To the east is the Yukou River, and to the west is the Yunyan River. It is the place where the ancient water conservancy landforms in Pudong are best preserved and the remains of the ancient seawall are most prominent.

The small river in front of us is the Yukou River, also known as the Dongyun Salt River. The Muzi Bridge, built in the 22nd year of the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty, spans the Yukou River from east to west. Unfortunately, the ancient bridge no longer exists, but the name Muzi Bridge has been passed down to this day.

The exact location of the ancient stone bridge of Muzi Bridge is unknown, perhaps it is by the riverbank in front of me. The section of the Yukou River at Muzi Bridge is now called "Donghetang Port", while the West Yunyan River on the west side of Laohutang is now called "Xihetang Port". Donghetang Port is the boundary river between Heqing Town and Tangzhen Town in Pudong, with Heqing to the east and Tangzhen to the west. The small village east of Donghetang Port is called "Xi Family Mansion", which is said to be a branch of the Xi Family Mansion in Shenshagang, west of Laohutang.

Walking along a north-south village road in the Xi family's residence, I suddenly discovered the Julong Bridge that I was looking for.

This north-south bridge spans a flat stone bridge over a small river called "Tuanlonggang". The bridge is 15.7 meters long and 1.26 meters wide, and the bridge deck is composed of two Jinshan granite rocks that are 6.3 meters long, 0.63 meters wide, and 0.35 meters thick.

The north and south piers of the bridge are made of bluestone blocks, and there are 2.06 meters long, 0.52 meters wide, and 0.3 meters thick stone crossbeams on the piers.

The name of the "Julong Bridge" engraved on the bridge stone is still relatively clear, and there are also inscriptions on the bridge name, such as "Zhongyuan Gengwu" and "19th year of the Republic of China". According to the calculations of "Gengwu" and "19th year of the Republic of China", this bridge was built in 1930 AD, about 90 years ago. However, there is a plaque on the north end of the bridge stating that this bridge was built in the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China, so perhaps Julong Bridge was rebuilt in 1930.

The slope of Julongqiao Bridge is paved with granite stones, and there is a small path relic paved with blue bricks to the south of the bridge, while the road to the north of the bridge has been separated by farmhouses.

The siltation in Tuanlong Port is severe, especially when the farmhouses on the south bank encroach on the river, causing the south end of Julong Bridge to be surrounded by farmhouses on the river, which affects the visibility of the stone bridge.

Leaving Julong Bridge, turn southwest and walk not far to see Dashou Bridge.

Dashou Bridge spans a small river called "Weipu?" in an east-west direction. The two east-west rivers, Tuanlonggang and Weipu Ta, converge with the north-south Yukou River.

Dashou Bridge is a three span flat slope stone bridge, measuring 12.4 meters in length and 1.48 meters in width. The Dashou Bridge was originally supposed to be a double stone bridge, but now it is a triple stone bridge. Obviously, the narrow strip of stone in the middle of the bridge deck was added later.

It is said that the Dashou Bridge was still broken a few years ago, and the stone of the north span bridge collapsed. It has now been fully repaired. The north and south piers of Dashou Bridge are built with bluestone blocks, and the two bridge legs in the river are each composed of two bar stones to form a double wall pier. There is a stone crossbeam on each pier and foot that is 2 meters long, 0.45 meters wide, and 0.3 meters thick. There are two sets of bridge couplets at the foot of the bridge, but unfortunately they are covered with cement.

On both sides of the bridge deck stone, the name "Dashou Bridge" is engraved, with two sections of bridge inscriptions engraved next to the name on the east side. The inscription on the north end of the bridge is "Dingmao Year of the Zhongyuan Dynasty", and the inscription on the south end is "Built by Zhang Guomo". Zhang Guomo, styled Zhuxi. From this, it can be inferred that this bridge was built in 1927, the 16th year of the Republic of China. The "Chuansha County Annals" of the Republic of China recorded that the Dashou Bridge was built in July of the 18th year, with a construction cost of 700 yuan and a donor of Zhang Zhuxi. There were differences in the construction time. Perhaps the Dashou Bridge was opened in 1927 and completed in 1929?

There are many names for stone bridges named "Changshou", but it is rare to use "Dashou" as the bridge name. I wonder why the bridge builders chose "Dashou" when it happened to be the year of Dashou in Zhangzhuxi, the donor of the bridge? Perhaps to distinguish it from the old bridge, the cement bridge newly built on the west side of Dashou Bridge in recent years is named "Changshou Bridge", which seems more convenient.

The 1920s and 1930s may have been the last years of the history of stone bridge architecture, and the steel reinforced cement and even steel frame structures that replaced stone bridges have gradually begun to appear on the land of China. The history of bridges is about to start a new chapter. Perhaps, the Mu Zi Bridge and Xi Family Mansion, two stone bridges from the Republic of China era, present the last image of Chinese stone bridge architecture. Compared to ancient stone bridges, these two stone bridges are undoubtedly young and cannot be called ancient bridges, but can only be called old bridges. The old bridge is not ancient, but it has also gone through nearly 90 years of wind and rain. The bridge deck is mottled, and the stone carvings and patterns on the bridge have gradually worn away. In a few years, it will also enter the ranks of ancient stone bridges.

Looking up, the figure of the Chinese stone bridge is gradually fading away and being cherished.