The bridges over the waterways in Suzhou all have large arches

Bridges in water channel in Suzhou — Shot in Suzhou, China

Suzhou is a city with a long history and was the capital of Wu during the Spring and Autumn period. The Spring and Autumn period is almost the same as the time when Gautama Siddhartha lived in northern India, and in Japan, even the first emperor, Emperor Jinmu, had not yet become emperor.

Such a historic town prospered as a water town, with waterways running throughout the town. Since waterways were an important infrastructure for transporting goods, the bridges are impressive with their large arches that allow ships to pass underneath. This was done so that pedestrians crossing the waterways would not have a negative impact on the operation of the ships.

However, the waterway, which was an important infrastructure, now seems to have completely fallen into disuse, and there are hardly any people who use the water transportation even if you look around. There is a sense that it has become a part of the landscape. In such a situation, I found this part of the landscape troublesome as I wandered around the town. As I walked along, I frequently came across waterways. This meant that I had to cross bridges frequently. Each time, I had to walk up and down the large arched bridge to cross it.

Comment via

日本語