Zhouzhuang: China's first water-town

Two bridges

Fu'an Bridge

Fu'an Bridge, in which dates back to 1355, is the oldest bridge in the town of Zhouzhuang. It sits astride the Nanbeishi River, to the east of Zhongshi St, and connects Nanshi and Beishi Streets. Its name, literally "Waelth and peace" carries the connotation of a healthy and stable life (after becoming rich).

The bridge has four two-storey towers at each corner, with no stairs inside. One has to take the stairs on the bridge to go up and down.

Some rare paving stones on the bridge are historic, because this "Wukang" stone, from Deqing county, Zhejiang province, is scratch-resistant and has dense, tiny holes on the surface, which keep people from slipping if they cross the bridge on a rainy and snowy day. These stones can avoid wear for hundreds of years. Because of the town’s canals, and the lack of stony mountains or hills, all the stones used for its bridges and buildings were brought in by boat in the old days.