Taishun is a pure mountain land in the west of Wenzhou. It is located in the mountainous area, where the She people live in compact communities. The regional altitude is relatively high. There are 179 peaks with an altitude of 1000 meters. The mountains are complex, the streams crisscross, the annual rainfall is more, and high-level flash floods often occur. Therefore, in the local area, long-span wooden covered bridges are often built at the height of river canyons, and covered bridges become the characteristic buildings of local traffic. Even now, many Taishun covered bridges still have night lights, and you can enjoy the landscape of the covered bridges here at night.
Taishun has more than 30 covered bridges in Ming and Qing Dynasties, Mu Ping covered bridges and stone covered bridges, and more covered bridges have been built in modern times. Among them, the most famous and representative wooden arch bridges in Taishun are Sixi Sister Bridge (Beijian Bridge and Dongxi Bridge), Sankui Xuezhai Bridge, Xianju Bridge, Kuaicun Wenxing Bridge and Sanjiao Bridge. These bridges have their own characteristics, and they are all unique buildings built according to local conditions.
The so-called "covered bridge" is a bridge with eaves, and more rain pavilions are built on Taishun's bridge. This form of architecture can protect bridges built of wood from the sun and rain. The bottom structure of Taishun Covered Bridge is very similar to the Bianshui Hongqiao in Zhang Zeduan's Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival in the Northern Song Dynasty. This kind of wooden bridge is called "stoplog arch bridge in southern Zhejiang" by bridge experts. The technology of building this bridge originated from the Central Plains, and it is a living fossil of the ancient wooden arch bridge in China.
The top of the covered bridge is not only beautiful and rainproof, but also the extra bridge weight of the rain pavilion can strengthen the strength of the wooden arch bridge. Just as the outer side of the egg shell is stronger and easier to break from the inner side of the egg shell, the outer arc of the arch building has higher compression resistance and the pressure can be decomposed downward. The high water level of the flood raised the buoyancy at the bottom of the covered bridge, making the wooden arch bridge more vulnerable to damage. On the contrary, proper bridge top counterweight can make the wooden arch bridge structure more solid.
When the flood strikes, local villagers will also press the covered bridge with heavy objects to prevent the bridge from being washed away. The weight increases the compressive friction between the wood of the wooden arch bridge, and the bridge members become more and more compact, making the covered bridge more stable. Although the bottom of the covered bridge does not need riveting, this simple structure has been very practical for thousands of years. These details are the charm of Taishun covered bridge.
Taishun's covered bridge is not only durable, but also easy to rebuild after being damaged. This kind of bridge has the characteristics of good repeatability and maintainability. Typhoon Moranti caused a flood of 20 16, and the flood caused by typhoon with extremely high water level destroyed many covered bridges in Taishun. As a result, all the covered bridges have been repaired in less than a year, and you can't tell that the bridge has been repaired, because the main components of the bridge have been recovered from the flood.
Taishun, a wooden arch bridge, has a long span, but the length of the wooden beam is not high. It can be built with short wood, which overcomes the shortcoming that large bridges must find giant wood. These used short wood can be used to build bridges through simple wood processing, with simple process and low cost. Short wood is not easy to be damaged when the bridge is destroyed by flood, but it is just washed away.
Therefore, after the flood recedes, a large amount of wood and wooden beams can be recycled downstream. Even if some wooden beams are damaged and unusable, those intact wooden beams and boards can still provide the length and regular data of bridge repair. According to the original length and appearance, some new materials can be added. Because of the simple structure of the bridge, the arch structure can be clearly seen from the bottom of the bridge, so even without drawings, the bridge can still be repaired quickly and almost exactly the same. I didn't expect Taishun covered bridge to have this advantage.
The essence technology of Taishun covered bridge wooden arch bridge can be seen by the eyes under the bridge, and the bottom structure is ingenious. The bottom structure of this wooden arch bridge is called "centipede structure". According to the direction of the bridge, a large number of longitudinal beams and transverse beams are combined to form a splayed arch bridge structure, and the transverse beams are sandwiched in the longitudinal beams at intervals to form a stable river-crossing main structure. This scientific structure can provide high bearing capacity and greatly improve the transportation capacity and durability of the bridge.
The upper wind and rain bridge of Taishun Covered Bridge will be built on the wooden arch beam with centipede structure. In addition, the bridge deck support will be built with cross beams to form the road support of the bridge, and then the wooden bridge deck will be laid on it. Finally, the bridge roof with barrel structure will be covered to form the whole covered bridge. It is indeed very lucky that this ancient skill of China, which has been passed down for thousands of years, can be preserved so completely in Taishun, which is the inheritance and development of ancient China civilization in the Central Plains.
Taishun covered bridge is not a so-called man-made scenic spot. It is a spectacular building with historical and cultural stories and knowledge. Inside the covered bridge house, it is a corridor-like passage, and even a place where vendors set up stalls for a long time. Some covered bridges have shrines for offering sacrifices and worshipping Buddha, which have many functions and belong to very popular public buildings.
When there is no flood, the rivers in Taishun are all green and flow slowly. The local natural environment is primitive, with covered bridges, hot springs, ancient villages and many historical and cultural heritages. It is a small tourist destination like paradise, and it is also a destination that will not disappoint people.
Taishun is a mountainous area, where she people live in compact communities. There are many bends in the mountain road, and many sections are steep. Many covered bridges don't have much space to park buses, so there are few large tour groups in the area, most of them are go on road trip or people who take photos. Therefore, the proper way to travel here is go on road trip. Because of the tourism development in Taishun in recent years, the local road conditions are good, and the whole journey is cement road. Using navigation software to drive by car, you can easily find these covered bridges with a unique sense of historical vicissitudes.