The American novel “Bridges of Madison County” and the movie        based on it have touched many young hearts.  In part because of this, covered bridges and corridor bridges are seen today to have a special beauty and romance.
    Taishun County, situated at the southern tip of Zhejiang Province, has always been known as the land of “nine mountains with half farmland and half streams.”In its territory rolling mountains with an average elevation of 500 to 700 meters are crisscrossed by many streams and brooks.  There are 179 mountain peaks over 1,000 meters above sea level with 75% forest coverage.Its annual average rainfall is 199 centimeters.  In 1452, the third year of Jingtai Emperor's reign in the Ming Dynasty, Taishun County was established.  Its name means “a prosperous country with people living in peace and contentment.”
    The Home of Corridor Bridges
    In the past few years the discovery of arched wooden corridor bridges in Taishun County has caused a sensation not only in China but worldwide.  They are described as "the most beautiful corridor bridges in the world."  The large number of bridges, coupled with their artistic and scientific value, have given Taishun County a reputation as "the home of corridor bridges."  After on-site investigations, Chinese bridge building experts made the shocking discovery that the corridor bridges in Taishun look identical to the rainbow bridge in the renowned ancient Chinese painting titled, The Scene of River in Early April.  This famous artwork was painted over a thousand years ago by Zhang Zeduan, a painter in Song Dynasty.  The rainbow bridge in his painting has attracted the attention of many bridge scholars for generations and enticed them to search for more like it all over China.  But in fact, rainbow bridges have long vanished from the Central Plains of China.  So, it is considered a miracle by the experts that bridges with similar structural designs are found in the southern region of Zhejiang Province.
    Currently in Taishun County, there are 958 bridges of various design and shape, 248 are Shidingbu (primitive form of bridges), including six wooden arched corridor bridges, 22 wooden covered bridges, and several dozen stone corridor bridges.  It is often referred as the "Museum of Chinese Corridor Bridges."  They are distributed over the villages of Sixi, Youcun, Xian Nian, and Sanguizheng.  The characteristics of wooden arched corridor bridges in Taishun are:  a single arch span with a bridge rooftop; and bridge trusses constructed with gigantic logs in equal size crisscrossed in both vertical and horizontal directions.  The logs support one another while spanning out section by section thereby forming a complete wooden support system.  The wooden covered bridges, in contrast, generally have stone columns with a double arched framework, and are mostly found in Zhejiang and Fujian Provinces.
    The corridor bridges have two basic functions:  to serve as passages, and to serve as a shelter for such purposes as avoiding rain, worshipping gods, and recreational uses.  Why are there so many corridor bridges in Taishun County?  There are actually many reasons.  First of all, because there are so many mountains, valleys, and stream, residents have difficulty building easy passages so it's necessary to build bridges.  Secondly, due to the fact that Taishun County is rich with thick forests, there are abundant raw materials for wooden bridge construction.  Third, due to its tropical rainforest climate with abundant rainfall, there is a need for covered corridor bridges.  Many covered corridor bridges are built in remote countryside or between mountain peaks.  Santiao bridge in Zhouling township, for example, is built far away from the residential areas and not close to any commercial establishments either.  It is simply built so the mountain residents can take shelter from rain or the summer heat.