Construction at the main venue of the 2024 Chengdu International Horticultural Exhibition is in full swing. The three landscape bridges spanning the Jiangxi River—Moon Bridge, Bamboo Weaving Bridge, and Yufu Bridge—have all begun to take shape. What are the highlights of the designs of these three landscape bridges? The reporter interviewed Du Pan, bridge designer for the 2024 Chengdu International Horticultural Exhibition and head of bridges at the Third Design Institute of Chengdu Design & Consulting Group · Municipal Engineering Design Institute.

A crescent moon rises from the water, sharing the moon's beauty afar

Over the Jiangxi River in the central part of the park, smooth curves outline a real yet illusory "Mount Emei moon," forming the exquisite form of the Moon Bridge. Beside the bridge, clusters of red plum blossoms bloom like mist and rosy clouds; not far away, the Sanhua Tower at the highest point of the park stands magnificent, complementing the Moon Bridge and forming a breathtaking picture.

Rendering of the Moon Bridge

"As its name suggests, the Moon Bridge takes 'a crescent moon rising from the water' as its theme, creating a 'crescent' shape." Du Pan explained that by capturing the moving moment of the bright moon emerging from the mountains, it creates a serene and elegant mood. At the same time, using the internal structure of the "crescent" and the space on the bridge, the Moon Bridge can also be equipped with a numerically controlled water curtain combined with water-screen projection to create diverse application scenarios.

Photo of the completed Moon Bridge

"When visitors pause to admire the moon, we hope to evoke the resonance of 'May we all be blessed with longevity, though far apart, we share the beauty of the moon.'" Du Pan said.

Bamboo leaves floating on the Jiangxi River

Following the Jiangxi River to the northwest side of Mohe Lake, the Bamboo Weaving Bridge comes into view, its light and concise form resembling a bamboo leaf floating on the water.

Rendering of the Bamboo Weaving Bridge

"We have turned the entire pedestrian bridge into a large bamboo weaving artwork on the Jiangxi River to highlight Chengdu's distinctive bamboo culture." Du Pan explained that the body of the Bamboo Weaving Bridge is not the more common straight-line form; instead, the light form of bamboo weaving and the dynamic lines of bamboo strips are integrated into the form design of the pedestrian bridge, turning the bridge body into a dynamic curved form and outlining a slender, tension-filled shape that combines strength and grace.

Photo of the completed Bamboo Weaving Bridge

On site, one can see that the bridge decorations, using bamboo strips and bamboo weaving as design elements, connect the two ends of the bridge like ribbons and form an arched sunshade in the center of the bridge, creating a warm and natural atmosphere while matching the image of "Tianfu Chengdu."

Yufu skims the water without a trace

The Yufu Bridge is located in the northwest corner of the main venue park. Its structure is an elegantly shaped cable-stayed bridge; the concise V-shaped piers blend harmoniously with the Jiangxi River, as if growing naturally from the water, light yet full of strength.

Rendering of the Yufu Bridge

Inspired by the ancient Shu Yufu culture, the Yufu Bridge's form is abstractly evolved from the yufu (fish hawk), with graceful posture and simple colors that blend harmoniously with the surrounding environment, outlining a beautiful picture of "the yufu skims the water without a trace, ripples brush the shore reflecting light mist."

Du Pan said that with the bridge as a carrier, the yufu is no longer a mysterious symbol left among the people but a vivid historical memory, with fresh life and multi-dimensional connotations, reproducing a brilliant pearl of Tianfu culture.

It is understood that according to the transportation plan of the 2024 Chengdu International Horticultural Exhibition, the main venue has established a transportation system of "dual rings in parallel, separation of fast and slow," including an outer sightseeing vehicle road and an inner slow-traffic dedicated lane. Among them, the Moon Bridge and Yufu Bridge are sightseeing vehicle bridges, while the Bamboo Weaving Bridge is a pedestrian bridge; they are important components of the main venue park's ring-line connectivity and slow-traffic system.

Photo of the completed Yufu Bridge

"At present, the main structures and most of the exterior decorations of the three landscape bridges have been completed, and the bridge forms have begun to take shape." Du Pan explained that next, finishing work will be carried out, including exterior surface coating, installation and debugging of light strips, and slope greening on the bridge sides, with the complete effect expected to be presented in early March 2024.