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The Setting-free Bridge (Bridge for Free Captive Animals), built in 1571 by Monk Xingchao of Cimen Monastery with donations. The bridge is about 70 meters (230 feet) long.
Located on the banks of Dianshanhu Lake at the juncture of Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces and Shanghai, it was known as Zhujiacun Village over 1,700 years ago when it was a bustling country market. By the 16th century, it had evolved into a major town in south China.
Covering about 1 square km, the town is crisscrossed by waterways. Ancient slabstone roads are still in the old section of town. North Street, the town's old commercial street, is flanked by high buildings. It is so narrow that, when looking up from this street, one sees only a strip of the sky.
Bridges are an outstanding feature of Zhujiajiao. More than 20 bridges in varied shapes, which were built 400-500 years ago, are preserved. The most unique is the Fangsheng (Free Captive Living Things) Bridge over the Caogang River, sitting astride the town. Some 72 meters long, 7.4 meters high and 5 meters wide, it is the largest five-arched bridge in east China. In ancient times, locals followed the tradition of setting free living things that were being held captive in a certain period each year. When the days came, wood piles were erected in nearby waters on both sides of the bridge, and no one was allowed to catch fish in this area or to anchor boats by the bridge. And that's how the bridge was named.
One terminal of North Street is the Temple of Town God built in 1763. Beside its elegant halls, the complex is decorated with terraces and pavilions, as well as rock formations and ponds. These make the temple distinct from other religious buildings.
Zhujiajiao is an ancient township built on water in Qingpu District, outside of Shanghai.
A commercial center during the Song (960-1279) and Yuan (1271-1368) Dynasties, the township became one of the largest commercial centers on the lower reaches of the Yangtze during the Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368-1911). The streets of Zhujiajiao have retained their original structure and most of the houses are built on water. Zhujiajiao is only 30 km from Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport.
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