At that time, Wan 'an Bridge was the largest pier of Donghe River.
Wan 'an Bridge was built in Jiajing period of Ming Dynasty, with a length of 50.5m, a width of 4.7m, an arch height of 5m and a clear span of10.5m.. That was the tallest bridge in the city at that time. The bridge is wide and empty, with many tributaries and many docks.
Wan Wharf plays the role of a waterway hub for the convection of passenger and cargo transportation between north and south: tea, papyrus, yellow wine, ham, flax, brown silk, groceries, cigarettes, rice flour, silk products, sugar and other goods are distributed here.
There are passenger ships day and night. During the day, passenger ships are called speedboats. There are two boatmen rowing, and the other two boatmen are pulling fibers on the shore. Most of them sail in the morning, and the journey is less than 50 miles, and they return the same day.
Night boat, only two boatmen paddle, no shore pulling fiber, leaving every evening, the speed is slow, and the fare is relatively low. Wan 'an Bridge's night boats can swing to Yuhang, Pingyao and further Haining and Huzhou, and also to Fuyang, Zhuji and Shaoxing. The total number of clippers and night boats is more than 2000.
Zhang Dai, a scholar in the late Ming Dynasty, and others specially compiled a reference book named Night Sailing Ship to provide information for passengers on night sailing ships. "Customs Clearance Notes" records: "There are boats in the townships of Linshui County, Zhejiang Province, and men, women and children are mixed. There are many people driving at dusk. When the rope is untied, the gong is sounded as an order to tell the public. " It was a long night on the passenger ship. I talked about everything all the way, killing time and showing off my knowledge.
Zhang Dai once said: "There is knowledge in the world, but it is the most difficult ship to deal with at night."
Basically retained the style of Wan 'an Bridge.