Taishun Covered Bridge - Photo by Ji Haibo of Xue Zhai Bridge

Ji Haibo and the inheritor of traditional wooden arch bridge construction skills at the restoration site of Wenxing Bridge. Photo courtesy of Ji Haibo

　　China News Service, Wenzhou, September 18th, Question: Zhejiang Culture Observation: How to "prolong life" by the national treasure Taishun Covered Bridge?

　　Reporter Wang Titu

　　From the bridge at the entrance of the house to the covered bridge in Taishun, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, Ji Haibo's change in the name of the national treasure-level covered bridge Xue Zhaiqiao reflects the change in his awareness of the protection of covered bridges, and also becomes a microcosm of the enhanced awareness of the protection of historical heritage. .

　　Taishun is the "Hometown of Covered Bridges in China". There are 32 ancient covered bridges in the Taishun area, 15 of which are listed as national key cultural relics protection units.

The thousand-year-old Taishun Covered Bridge is known as the "living fossil" in the history of bridges in the world with its ancient and unique bridge style of "building a bridge on the river, building a gallery on the bridge, protecting the bridge with a gallery, and integrating the bridge and gallery".

　　Ji Haibo is the deputy director of Wenzhou Museum and has participated in the repair work of Taishun Covered Bridge for many times.

As a native of Taishun, he told reporters that the covered bridge was a later name.

When he was a child, Xue's House Bridge was just a bridge next to his home, a place for him and his friends to play, enjoy the cool air, and shelter from the rain.

He also gradually increased his awareness of protecting Taishun covered bridges such as Xue Zhai Bridge after taking part in the work.

　　It is reported that from the 1990s to August 2016, Ji Haibo's lens has recorded countless covered bridges at various distances and angles.

What he didn't expect was that these pictures taken out of interest would come in handy later.

　　During the Mid-Autumn Festival in 2016, the typhoon "Moranti" hit, the stream surged, and the three national treasure-level covered bridges of Xuezhai Bridge, Wenzhong Bridge and Wenxing Bridge were washed away by the flood.

At that moment, Ji Haibo, director of the Taishun County Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center, cried.

"It was also at that time that everyone's awareness of the protection of covered bridges exploded." Ji Haibo said.

　　Saving bridges is like saving people. An operation of tens of thousands of people looking for the wooden components of covered bridges started quickly under his advocacy.

Fortunately, in the upsurge of saving bridges by all people, on the 10th day after the disaster, more than 90% of the large and medium-sized components of the three destroyed covered bridges were miraculously recovered.

　　"When I looked at the recovered components, the word that came up most frequently in my mind was 'screening and relocation', and I thought to hurry up and dig out the photographic works of documentary covered bridges that I had taken for many years, so as to provide the means for restoration and relocation. A lot of detailed pictures." Ji Haibo looked at the photos of the covered bridge and recalled the scene over and over again.

　　The restoration work of the covered bridge is based on the principle of "repairing the old as the old", trying to restore the texture of the cultural relic itself.

Sometimes, in order to match a black stone on the bridge in the photo, Ji Haibo and the cultural relic workers would even carefully select and compare them from a pile of stones.

　　"In order to be as consistent as possible with the abutment in the photo, the abutment of Xuezhai Bridge was reworked 3 times, and the abutment of Wenzhong Bridge was reworked 5 times. The workers who built the abutment were left a few batches out of anger." Ji Haibo admitted frankly .

　　That year, Ji Haibo traveled to and from the construction sites of the three bridges every day, discussing and checking various details of bridge repairs with the construction team and inheritors.

"It took only 3 months to repair the abutment while it was being screened, but it took a full 6 months for the screening." Ji Haibo said.

　　Not only Ji Haibo and the cultural relic workers are demanding about the restoration of the covered bridge, but also the people around the covered bridge.

　　"Our villagers have helped a lot in the restoration of the covered bridge." Ji Haibo said that at the restoration site, villagers around the covered bridge will also come to see how the restoration is progressing. Help find the correct widget.

　　It is in the "demanding" of such details day after day that in October 2017, three national treasure-level covered bridges in Taishun re-stand on both sides of the stream.

　　It is worth mentioning that the experience of successful restoration of Taishun Covered Bridge has also become the only Chinese case selected in the 2021 Global Cultural Heritage Restoration and Reconstruction Case Conference.

　　Regarding the protection of covered bridges, Ji Haibo said that, in fact, covered bridges listed as cultural protection units in Zhejiang Province have built systematic protection measures, including video surveillance, thermal sensors, fire fighting equipment, etc., and they are also monitored in real time. Yes, whenever the surveillance video finds an abnormality or the sensor is triggered, the system will automatically notify the staff and respond in time.

　　"However, no matter how complete the equipment and measures are, it is inseparable from the civil air defense measures." He said, "It may be that the fire broke out just after the staff turned to leave. More important than the installation of intelligent equipment and intensive inspections, it should be the improvement of cultural protection awareness. It depends on the participation of the whole society.”

　　In order to enhance the public's awareness of cultural protection, in recent years, Taishun has legislated for covered bridges, promulgated the "Regulations on the Protection of Taishun Covered Bridges in Wenzhou City", and launched a cultural heritage supervision platform, which not only protects "bridges" but also "arts". The regulations also encourage hiring The inheritors participate in the repair, relocation and reconstruction of the covered bridge.

　　Without protection, there is no cultural relic.

I applaud Wenzhou's adoption of legislation and other measures to protect the covered bridge, so that it can "prolong life".

(Finish)