Baodai Bridge, reputed as the “No. 1 Bridge in Suzhou”, lies by the Tantai Lake (澹台湖) in Wuzhong District. It’s the longest ancient multi-arch bridge (316.8 meters) with most bridge openings (53 openings) in China and one of the major historical and cultural sites protected at the national level.
The bridge was temporarily closed in September last year for repair and renovation. Now, through nearly a year of hard work, the “No.1 Bridge” has passed the acceptance check and is scheduled to be reopened before June.
Apart from reopening, great changes are taking place near the bridge as the work on new venues and transport facilities is already in progress.
Suzhou Cultural Industry High-quality Development Conference was held earlier this year on January 12 and Baodai Bridge was included in the “Ten Sceneries of Canal” project launched during the conference.
Suzhou will put more effort into the repair and renovation of Baodai Bridge, coordinate the development and protection of Baodai Bridge and Tantai Lake, accelerate the construction of Tantai Mieming Academy and Tantai Memorial Hall, and build Baodai Bridge into a core scenic area by the Grand Canal.
*Tantai Mieming, also known by his courtesy name Ziyu, was a major disciple of Confucius. He started his own school in the Jiangnan area, and became a major transmitter of Confucian thoughts in the area following Yan Yan, another disciple of Confucius. It’s said that today’s Tantai Lake is the place where Mieming built a house and lived in.
Suzhou is planning to finish the infrastructure construction in 2021, the protection and construction work for historical sites and scenic areas by the end of 2022, and the building of National Local Chronicles Museum Suzhou Branch in 2023. The new branch museum involves a total investment of RMB300 million yuan and sits right to the east of Wuzhong Museum. It’s worth a visit, too.
Baodai Bridge is reachable by Suzhou Rail Transit Line 2 and 3 and there are multiple bus stops surrounding the Tantai lake. In the future, Suzhou will continue to improve the public transport and parking resources near the area.