Jianshui Twin Dragon Bridge

Sites like the Jianshui Twin Dragon Bridge are becoming rarer every year. This is the type of place that you have to take the local mini-bus to get to and then show its name written in Chinese to the driver. When he stops to let you off, he needs to point you in the right direction to find it.

When you arrive, there’s no ticket gate or entrance fee, you’re just free to wander around as you please. They’re usually kids playing around the site and local people use it as they always have. Men carry loads of produce balanced over their shoulders. Rice paddies and fields surround it. Water buffalo rest near the river, eating grass when they’re hungry.

The Twin Dragon Bridge is among the 10 oldest in China and features 17 arches. It’s no minor attraction in my mind. But I’m admittedly bridge obsessed.  (See Singapore’s Henderson Waves Bridge)

If you’re in Yunnan Province, make it a point to visit Jianshui, about three hours south of Kunming. It’s a friendly little city of traditional architecture, with the beautiful Chaoyang Gate, the Zhu Family Gardens, and the huge Confucian Temple. The bridge is located 5 km west of Jianshui.