The Shunji Ancient Bridge, located outside the Deji Gate at the south gate of the ancient city of Quanzhou, spans both sides of the Jinjiang River. It is the unspeakable "broken dream of a broken bridge" in the hearts of many people in the ancient city.

　　In the fourth year of Jiading in the Southern Song Dynasty (1211), Quanzhou County Governor Zou Yinglong presided over the construction of a beam-type stone bridge at the intersection of the river and the sea in the Jinjiang River Basin. The bridge body runs northeast-southwest, and the east bridge head points to the direction of Deji Gate, which is the Shunji Bridge. The bridge is located in the Haiguo Chongqu, a dangerous place in Jiangcheng. It connects Guangdong in the lower part and Jiangsu and Zhejiang in the upper part. After its completion, it together with Luoyang Bridge and Anping Bridge formed a major coastal channel in Quanzhou during the Song and Yuan Dynasties. The Fumei Wharf not far from Shunji Bridge was Quanzhou's cargo distribution center during the Song and Yuan Dynasties. Foreign merchant ships carrying rare treasures took advantage of the high tide to enter the wharf along the Jinjiang River. All kinds of spices, jewelry, medicinal materials, and silverware were transported there. Go ashore.

　　The construction of Shunji Bridge absorbed the bridge construction method of Luoyang Bridge and adopted the "raft foundation" method. The entire river bed was filled with stones to form a structural foundation, on which dry strips of stone were laid to form piers, and the upper part was a stone beam structure. The existing bridge pier is about 8.5 meters long and 3.5 meters wide.

　　For the next 795 years, this 338-meter-long cross-river bridge has been one of Quanzhou's most important transportation arteries until it collapsed in 2006, ending its mission. Its replacement is the Shunji New Bridge running parallel to it.

　　Today, standing on the shore of Jinjiang River, you can only see a few huge bridge piers left by it. The middle section of the old bridge has basically sunk into the river. Under the setting sun, the dilapidated bridge piers look even more weathered, while the new bridge on one side welcomes the city's rush hour. The bridge is bustling with traffic, as if two parallel times and spaces are happening every day on the endless Jinjiang River.

Editor in charge: [Ren Shuai]