When I was collecting wind in Dingyuan County, Chuzhou, I accidentally found an ancient bridge in the Ming Dynasty in a place called Chihe Town. It is almost difficult to connect this bridge with ancient times if it is not introduced by peers. Because this bridge has a brand-new guardrail, if it is not because of the low water level, you can clearly see the pier at the bottom, and no one will care about its existence.
This bridge is called Chihe Taiping Bridge, which is located in the west of Chihe Town Street, on the official road and across the winding Chihe River. This bridge is a masonry structure, which looks magnificent from a distance. The total length is about 150m, the width is 1 1m, and there are bridge holes 1 1. Pier is unusual, because the sand and gravel at the bottom of the river is thick, and the piles under each pier are based on dense piles, which are called "eternal piles". This dock is made of large stones.
According to folklore, the reason why such a huge bridge was built here was mainly to facilitate Zhu Yuanzhang's return to Fengyang from Nanjing to visit relatives. In the early Ming Dynasty, Nanjing was the capital and Fengyang was the hometown of Zhu Yuanzhang. There are frequent exchanges between the two places, but the existence of the pool river greatly hinders the traffic.
So in the eighth year of Hongwu (1376), the construction of this bridge began. It is said that the original appearance of the bridge is a masonry structure, with white stone railings and 18 stone lions carved at both ends, which is extremely magnificent and beautiful. 1938, when Guangxi troops retreated from Chuxian to the west, Taiping Bridge was bombed in the middle to stop the Japanese army from chasing the road, and the beautiful stone lion on the bridge disappeared.
After the founding of New China, it was repaired many times in the local area, and the bridge deck was rebuilt only in recent years. So the pier of this bridge is still old, but the deck and guardrail are new. The old bridge of Chihe River is gone, and the local people are very dissatisfied with the rebuilt bridge.
Because the old bridge has many people's memories, in the sixties and seventies of last century, it was a fair market, and it was very prosperous as an ancient road. In modern times, everyone who goes out to work and goes home doesn't really feel at home until he sees the Taiping Bridge on this pool river. Today, this brand-new look has made many people uncomfortable.
As the sun sets, people walk on the modern Taiping Bridge. I don't know how many people will pay attention to it. Keep telling those old stories.