Follow Damilola as she explores the lounge bridges in Taishun county, Wenzhou, Zhejiang province. [Video/Wenzhou Overseas Media Center]
Ajayi-Olowo Precious Damilola, a Nigerian living in Wenzhou, East China's Zhejiang province, recently got the chance to visit Taishun, a county best known for its lounge bridges.
The exquisite craftsmanship of these wooden arch bridges saw the craft being inscribed on the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage list in 2009.
Damilola followed the guidance of Zeng Jiakai, 48, a master bridge builder who has been engaged in the craft since he was a child. Zeng has built 16 such bridges and repaired five ancient ones to date.
During the visit to Taishun, Damilola and Zeng visited Xidong Bridge, a famous wooden arch bridge which was built in the late Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and has become a county landmark.
"I've heard that every lounge bridge in Taishun is a work of art and I'm happy to see them with my eyes. I'm also proud of Chinese people's creativity," Damilola said.
The lounge bridge, also known as the gallery bridge, has covers that can shade it from the sun and rain. The bridge is also used as a place for rest and gatherings. There are several variations to the bridge, including wood arch ones, stone arch ones, wooden flat ones, and pavilion style ones.
Wooden arch bridges are mostly found in the mountainous border areas of Fujian and Zhejiang provinces, especially in Zhejiang's Taishun and Qingyuan counties, which are known as "The hometown of China's lounge bridges". More than 100 ancient lounge bridges still exist nowadays.
