The old water town of Zhujiajiao has a bridge with 5 arches

I was walking around Zhujiajiao near Shanghai last month and kept seeing this one bridge everywhere in photos. It's called Fangsheng Bridge and it's got five stone arches, which is pretty rare. The guide told me it was built during the Ming dynasty, so it's been there for over 400 years. Has anyone else visited and know why they built it with five instead of the usual three?

3 comments

3 Comments

terry_butler2mo ago

Did your guide mention if five arches meant something special back then?

mary_knight802mo ago

Ever notice how we always group things in fives now too?

oliver_mitchell1mo ago

Our guide was pretty vague about it actually. She just said five was a common number in old stonework around here, nothing too deep. Would have loved a bit more detail though, it's the kind of thing that sticks in your head.

-1