The Bund closing beauty Waibaidu Bridge (Garden Bridge)

In the mind of many local citizens, the honor of Shanghai’s brand bridge should be awarded to the Waibaidu Bridge spanning the Suzhou Creek, despite the construction of the giant Huangpu and Yangpu Bridges. It is in the same breath as the Tower Bridge in London and the Golden Bridge in San Francisco.

Back to mid 1850s when there was no bridge across the Suzhou Creek, ferries were the only means of transportation. The place where the bridge stands used to be the outermost of the ferry crossings on the creek. After the established of the British and American concessions on both sides of the creek, the ferries fell short of the increasing demand for transportation. In 1854, a British businessman names Wells established Suzhou Creek Bridge Company and got the ratification from the Shanghai Municipal Council for the construction of a bridge across the river. Then, a 120-meter-long wooden bridge was built. But later, locals soon found that the toll was only charged for Chinese and no money was charged for Westerners so that another one was built by Chinese.

Until 1906, those two bridges were both dismantled to make way for a steel bridge in accordance with the city plan. The completion ceremony was held a year later together with the celebration of the first trolley car open to traffic. Locals called the new bridge “Waibaidu Bridge”, meaning the outermost free bridge. The new bridge was 60 feet wide, and every form of conveyance could be found crossing it. Foreigners used more frequently its official name “Garden Bridge” because it was only a stone’s throw to he Public Garden, now Huangpu Park.

Silently witnessing the city’s vicissitudes in the passing years, the bridge is growing old. The largest-scale face –lift in the middle of 1999 has brought about its revitalization. With full glory, beauty and strength, it stands out prominently at the confluence of the Suzhou Creek and Huangpu River, beckoning the tourists from afar and gearing up to endure the weathering of the heavy traffic.

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