Construction of this bridge began in 1189 and is made of white marble. It is 2665m long, 7.5m wide with 11 arches. Marco Polo wrote in his journals that never had he seen a more exquisite bridge, because of the famous stone lions carved on its balustrades. There are 140 of them in all, and the amazing thing is that no two are alike! Each has a different posture; some has only 1 lion on a balustrade, while others have a female one with a cluster of her youngs, so adorable!
This bridge has been praised by many for its elegant architecture and even Emperor Qianlong (Qing dynasty) wrote a poem 'Lu Gou Xiao Yue', which can be found carved in stone at one end of the bridge.
To some people, this bridge is better known for the site at which China's WWII started. In 1937, the first battle between the Chinese and Japanese took place here, killing many. Not too long after, Beijing fell.
In my frank opinion,do not go out of the way just to visit this bridge. There really is no view to speak of, and the river has long since dried up. The middle of the bridge still has the original stone/marble, and one could see how often-used this bridge was in the past from the worn out stones. You can clearly see the tracks made by bullock carts etc!!!
I came here on the morning of my birthday, and it so happened that visitors could ride on the horses for only 10RMB!!! Since I was born in the year of the horse, and truly love this animal, mum immediately asked me to get on it! It was a black horse, which went well with my red and black overcoat! *wink* Will show you the pictures once I get them scanned!
Beijing | JingShan | TianAnMen Square | Forbidden City (Palace Museum) | YiHeYuan (Summer Palace) | ShiSanNing (13 Tombs of the Ming Emperors) | The Great Wall | LongQingXia (Gorge Longqing) | ShiJieGongYuan (World Park) | BeiHai Park | TianTan (Temple Of Heaven) |