Under your feet is Wànníng Bridge, which Beijingers call the “back gate bridge” because it stood north of Di'anmen, the rear gate of the Imperial City. It looks like any bridge on the avenue, but it is more than seven hundred years old.

1Where the Grand Canal ended

It was rebuilt in stone in 1285, when Beijing was Dadu, the capital of Kublai Khan. A few years later the engineer Guo Shoujing linked the Shichahai lakes to the Grand Canal, and barges laden with grain arrived here from southern China. This bridge marked the entrance to the city's great inland harbour.

2The water beasts

Look over at the banks: you will see dragon-headed stone figures staring at the canal. They are guardians against floods. And there is an old saying: “Beijing lies under the back gate bridge.”

It is said that when the canal was dredged in 1950, a stone stake turned up under the bridge carved with a mouse and the word “Beijing”, marking the city's north–south axis.

Nothing of that stake can be seen today, and the story is not documented.

3The temple against fire

Beside the bridge stands the Temple of the True Lord of Fire Virtue. Tradition dates it to the year 632. What is on record is that in 1605, after several fires in the palace, the Wanli Emperor enlarged it and granted it glazed tiles to “put out” the fire.

4What to look for

  • The stone beasts on the canal banks.
  • The marble balustrades of the bridge, carved with lotus flowers.
  • The yellow and green roof of the Fire God Temple gate.
The red gate of the Fire God Temple, with a roof of yellow and green tiles
The gate of the Fire God Temple, next to Wanning Bridge.

Documented

The bridge was built in stone in 1285, was part of the Grand Canal system and was inscribed as World Heritage in 2024 with the Beijing Central Axis.

Oral tradition

The mouse stake with the word “Beijing” under the bridge and the founding of the Fire God Temple in 632 belong to tradition.

Sources and credits

UNESCO, listings for the Grand Canal (2014) and the Beijing Central Axis (2024); Hou Renzhi, studies on the historical geography of Beijing; Chinese Taoist Association, information on the Di'anmen Fire God Temple.

Photos:

  • The canal under Wanning Bridge, with stone embankments and willows: そらみみ, CC BY-SA 4.0.
  • The red gate of the Fire God Temple, with a roof of yellow and green tiles: そらみみ, CC BY-SA 4.0.

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