Blurred Old Photos Restore Tianqiao's Original Appearance

　　The original site of Tianqiao was located at the intersection of Qianmen Street and Tianqiao South Street, from which “Tianqiao” got its name. Later, due to urban road widening, the original stone bridge disappeared, and Tianqiao began its history of being “famous in name but without a bridge”.

　　In 2012, the Office of the Beijing Famous City Committee identified four famous city protection projects, among which the Tianqiao landscape restoration was included.

　　Commissioned by the Office of the Famous City Committee, Wang Shiren, an expert in cultural heritage protection and ancient architecture, participated in the research on the Tianqiao landscape restoration.

　　Wang Shiren recalled that at the time, he collected books about Tianqiao and some people's memories of Tianqiao. There were very few historical photos of Tianqiao; he only found two.

　　“Both photos are quite blurry. One is from the Qing Dynasty, showing an arch bridge; the other is from the Republic of China period, roughly showing the style of the railings.”

　　New Bridge Position Shifted 40 Meters South

　　According to the reconstruction plan for Tianqiao published on the website of the Municipal Planning Commission at the end of May 2012, the original site of the old Tianqiao will be marked with an “imprint”, and the stone arch bridge and steles will be moved to the front end of the green belt on the south side. The historical and cultural landscape will be extended into a landscape belt, serving as the starting point of the entire Tianqiao Performing Arts Area. Since the site of Tianqiao is now a busy intersection, the position was shifted 40 meters south during reconstruction.

　　“Building on the original site is impossible; it is the center of the road and would have too great an impact on traffic.” Wang Shiren revealed that before the plan was published, experts of the Famous City Committee generally agreed to move the bridge south, since it would still be on the central axis.

　　Later, in order to make the reconstruction of the old Tianqiao more authentic, Wang Shiren also found some books on Qing Dynasty bridge architecture as references for the reconstruction.

　　Wang Shiren said he had seen the “New Tianqiao” unveiled recently and was personally quite satisfied. The new bridge was basically rebuilt according to the original appearance.

　　Tianqiao Archives

　　Tianqiao is located south of Zhushikou and north of Yongdingmen on the central axis of Beijing. After the Temple of Heaven was built in the 18th year of the Yongle reign of the Ming Dynasty (1420), a single-arch high bridge was built at the intersection of the central axis and the river. The entire bridge was built with white marble stone. The bridge is about 8 meters long and 5 meters wide, with a splayed bridge foundation. It was officially named Tianqiao during the Yongzheng reign of the Qing Dynasty.

　　In the 32nd year of the Guangxu reign of the Qing Dynasty (1906), Tianqiao was rebuilt into a low stone bridge. In 1929, because trams could not pass conveniently, the bridge body was leveled, but stone railings remained on both sides. In 1934, when the road from Zhengyangmen to Yongdingmen was widened, all the stone railings on both sides of Tianqiao were removed, and Tianqiao ceased to exist.

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　　Opening of Old Tianqiao Evokes Citizens' Memories

　　The newly restored Old Tianqiao of Beijing is located at the intersection of Qianmen Street and Tianqiao South Street, with two steles and an arch bridge standing in the middle of a green belt.

　　Last week, a reporter from The Beijing News saw at the site that both ends of the arch bridge were blocked with chains; citizens could only view it from below and could not go onto the bridge.

　　Several elderly citizens took out their mobile phones to take photos of the newly restored Tianqiao as a memento. Aunt Wang, who lives nearby and is 72 this year, has often come to stroll around the newly restored Tianqiao with her neighbors these days. “I have never seen the old Tianqiao since I was born,” she said, but she had heard that the old bridge was quite dilapidated and different from the current one.

　　Aunt Ding, 81 this year, remembers seeing the real old Tianqiao when she was a child. “At that time, there was a stinking ditch under the bridge, and I often played on the bridge.” The elderly woman pointed to the northeast location of the newly restored Old Tianqiao.

　　Liu Qiang, deputy director of the Industry Promotion Division of the Tianqiao Performing Arts Area Construction Headquarters, said that the Old Tianqiao has been opened to the public. Although the underground passage has not yet been completed, he said that the underground passage is only a supporting facility for the landscape here and does not affect the opening of the overall landscape. “Just like subway construction, sections are opened as they are completed.”