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That is No. 1 Fishing Village Bridge.
There was a golden dragon passing over the bridge；it was made up of the waving arms of a group of dancers. Its body was long and slender, you could only see its head but not its tail；the way it went around in a circle was exceptionally exquisite and brought a lively mood.Perhaps it was the fact that snowflakes fluttered over Yingxiu in the background that made the dragon look so splendid, colourful and dazzling.This was part of a traditional Chinese festival celebration.The dancing dragon was the eyes of a festival, as well as its climax.
I saw heartfelt joy and happiness shining all around people's faces like colourful clouds. I saw them jumping and dancing with such light steps and finesse.I saw their eyes, so bright and so happy.
The joyous crowds went away. And then I saw a whole new view of the bridge that appeared in front of me.
Wide, strong and spacious, it attracted attention with its unique railings, whose fine embellishments had elements of the Qiang and the Tibetan people, stylish and quaint：it was a work of art among the sun and the skies, mountains and rivers.
The bridge was reconstructed by Dongguan workers；it was 66. 04 meters long and the deck had an area of 1，150 m2.Its construction started from scratch and was completed in only three months, which was the shortest recorded time of the construction for a bridge of such scale.
In total, there are three bridges of that type, No. 1，No.3 and No.4 Fishing Village Bridges.They were a turnkey project of the Dongguan's reconstruction project.The bridges connect both sides of the Fishing Village River like artificial rainbows.
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An initial reconstruction plan included four bridges：the aforementioned three ones and No. 2 Fishing Village Bridge which would have been next to the Xuankou High School.However, that plan was later changed as the Sichuan Provincial Government took a decision to preserve the ruins of two domitory buildings and turn them into a memorial；thus, No.2 Fishing Village Bridge was never built.
All of the three bridges are designed differently：both No. 1 and No.4 allow for cars and pedestrians to cross in both directions.The distinctive feature of No.1 is that it allows pedestrians to conveniently cross the river；it is located between the north and the south areas of Yingxiu and connects the residential areas of the west bank of the Minjiang River with the south part of Fishing Village.It provides a very comfortable and convenient way for residents to cross the river.
Bridge No. 4 is longer than bridge No.1；its length is 126.04 meters and it has a deck area of 1，570m2.Its design is unique and modern, combining structures of iron and glass and lines in the style of Chuan Dou[31]to decorate black rails covered with fluorocarbon；that gives it a neat, yet solemn and uplifting look.
Structures in the style of Chuan Dou are characterised by wooden columns and pillars connected into larger structures and such design is prevalent among residential buildings in Sichuan. Their prominent use here demonstrated the style of local architecture and created a sense of modernity.
In addition to serving an aesthetic purpose, the use of such structures also aimed at decreasing the required construction time while maintaining their efficiency. Meanwhile, a strong focus was placed on the seismic resistance of the bridge.
Bridge No. 3 could be seen as a sightseeing spot；its style is typical for a covered bridge and has a design with strong local and natural characteristics.
There are no vertical tiles covering the frame of the bridge；instead, there are two beautiful pavilions painted in a coalescence of white and grey and decorated with dark brown embellishments, revealing partly their meaningful beauty. Inside the pavilions, there is one main pillar, surrounded by four decorative ones, the roof is made of transparent laminated glass mosaic and if you look up, you can see how the breeze swirls white clouds across the bright blue sky behind the thin decorative stripes.
Although both the pavilions and the bridge railings are made of steel, at first glance it seems like they were made of local cedar wood because of their fluorocarbon graining. That prevents corrosion on the outside of the material and prolongs its use；besides, its appearance also reflects the region's culture and locals feel a sense of familiarity when they look at the bridge.In various elements, there are drips and drabs of details that reflect humanity：for instance, the favourite colours of Tibetans such as black and brown were used for the No.1 Fishing Village Bridge so that it could give the people who cross it a sense of returning home.
The choice of steel instead of wood was also related to the weather conditions；Sichuan is humid and rainy all-year-round, and wooden structures would easily deteriorate which means they are not weather-resistant in the long-term.
The common feature of all three bridges at Fishing Village was that their seismic design category was B[32]，which meant they would withstand earthquakes with an intensity of 8 and a magnitude of 9[33]，as well as extreme water levels which would be seen perhaps once in a century；these structures were designed to last for a hundred years.
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Since then, Yingxiu has been proud that these bridges were a part of its landscape.
Yingxiu had had bridges before the earthquake as well, and their number was exactly the same before and after reconstruction；the old bridges were named Hundred Flowers Bridge, Bridge of Solidarity and Scenic Bridge. The Scenic Bridge was replaced by the No.1 Fishing Village Bridge.The Bridge of Solidarity is still standing over the Minjiang River near Maple Scent Tree Village.It was severely damaged by the earthquake, as well as by mudslides；although its maintenance and repair were attempted, the deck is tilted and crossing it is unsafe.The Hundred Flowers Bridge used to be over 500 meters long and it used to be the longest one in Yingxiu before the earthquake.It connected the towns of Xuankou and Yingxiu and was often referred to as the“neck”of Yingxiu.That bridge was built along the mountain and its reflection in the water seemed like a shiny moon crescent made of jade or like a clean, white hada floating on surface of the water：it created a beautiful landscape along the Minjiang River.
On May 12，the Hundred Flowers Bridge was sentenced to death by the calamity.
Two bridge decks and two piers collapsed during the earthquake, while the remaining ones were cracked, tilted or broken in half. Successive post-earthquake aftershocks caused the Hundred Flowers Bridge to shake randomly whenever landslides collapsed, which posed great threats and security risks for residents and traffic in the area.On May 28，two weeks after the earthquake, the Disaster Relief Headquarters decided to arrange its explosive demolition.
However, it did not completely disappear：one line of text was engraved in red on the remaining pieces of broken bridge deck. It read：“May 12 earthquake ruins.Do not damage.”It served as a mark of the great disaster which struck the land.
The name of the bridge was handed down to the New Hundred Flowers Bridge nearby which was also built across the Minjiang River and it was just as solid.
The construction of the New Hundred Flowers Bridge officially started on December 27，2008 and took eight months before it was officially opened. It is 470 meters long and 9 meters wide with a main span of 50 meters；tall and lofty, its grand spirit could equal that of the Old Hundred Flowers Bridge.
The New Flowers Bridge could still be seen as Yingxiu's“neck.”If you drive slowly through it, you can see the newly reconstructed Zhangjiaping and Huangjia Villages, their white walls, red roofs and upturned eaves nestled in the shadow of the mountain like a pastoral painting of a natural landscape. A glance at the side reveals the ruins of the old bridge and that one line in red, written with blood and tears, stood as a sign of eternal memory and vigilance.
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When I looked at the landscape from No. 1 Fishing Village Bridge, I could not help but think of one woman in particular：Liu Yuelan, senior engineer from Dongguan City Construction.The bridge reconstruction process was stressful at the time of work.
She was in charge of bridge construction engineering.
Turnkey engineering tasks were allocated to the Engineering Administration Department of Dongguan City Construction Engineering. The first group of workers and technicians came to Yingxiu at the end of June 2009，led by Deputy Secretary Zhu Limin.Liu Yuelan arrived about half a year later with the second group.There were only three women from the Engineering Administration Department of Dongguan City Construction who fought for Yingxiu.Liu Yuelan was one of them：she worked day and night, through wind and rain along with the men, and stayed until the end of each work day encouraging the workers with her loud voice.
There were no holidays or weekends：working times went on day and night on a“5+2”day week but Liu Yuelan was not interested in discussing such topics；all she would ever talk about was the design and the embellishments of the bridge. The three Fishing Village bridges were designed to suit different parts of the river and their surroundings, as each bridge was a part of a larger landscape.Their lightning design was of a certain standard：lamp posts created efficient light at night.All facilities and decorative ornaments followed 5A category standards：handrails were designed to be convenient for passengers who could lean on them and stop to rest, as if they were sitting in a chair.
The embankment construction was also reinforced as a part of the“turnkey”project and the three Fishing Village bridges were included in the plan for reconstruction of water resource facilities.
Yet, they were fundamental to the reconstruction of Yingxiu. Since it was a town located near water, a strong embankment was crucial for the safety of its people.After the May 12 earthquake, most facilities on both sides of the Minjiang River and the Fishing Village River were severely damaged or destroyed which caused the collapse of the embankment and clogged the river.Their quick repair was crucial to ensure that the town reconstruction would run smoothly and that it would take place as scheduled.
Minjiang River is known for its fast water flow and its large impact force：although the river is only 735 kilometers long, its impact force is twice as strong as that of the Yellow River, as its elevation drops 3，560 meters. As already mentioned, within the 1，200-meter scetion in Yingxiu, its elevation already drops 26 meters.Liu Yuelan said that an experiment was done and after a piece of iron weighing over 15 kilograms was dropped down from the bridge, the current immediately took it more than thirty meters down the stream and it would not sink to the bottom at all which made the construction of the embankment unimaginably difficult.Therefore, after a lot of consideration, engineers came up with an effective, scientific way to prevent floods：they used anchor drilling at the lowest level of the embankment to carry out consolidation grouting and to set up rock solid foundations.
Carrying out such work in this raging torrent would leave most people terrified！
Liu Yuelan says that the embankment of this section of the Minjiang River is about 2，000 meters long；about 500 meters of it were completely destroyed and had to be fully reconstructed while the remaining 1，500 meters needed to be repaired and reinforced. Gravity retaining walls were used for the reconstructed part, and the same method had to be combined with additional steel support for the rest of the embankment.Liu Yuelan was glowing and her eyes were shining like diamonds；everyone could see that her heart was full of pride, joy, sweat and the blood that the reconstruction workes spread for it.
Although reconstructing the embankment of Fishing Village River might have initially seemed to be slightly easier, it proved to be a daunting task since the flow of the water has an impact force which is just as strong：within 1，350 meters, the river's elevation drop is 26 meters which makes it good for rafting. Its embankment is 2，700 meters, longer than that of the Minjiang River, and it also had to be rebuilt on both sides of the river.Engineers here sought inspiration from the ancient Dujiangyan Water Conservancy Project.The low parts of the embankment were protected by slopes, filled up with pebbles which acted as a buffer zone；that way, even if huge stones roll downstream, the slopes might be slightly damaged but the impact on the embankment would be significantly weakened and that was a good purpose that the slopes served.
The lower part of the embankment had advanced design which retained the water, while allowing for emergency rescue：blocks, embedded in the wall could be climbed.
The embankments on both sides of the Fishing Village River were marvelous：the colors of their grey bases and their crimson bodies were vivid and matched perfectly. These structures looked like two ribbons which wrapped up the clear and turbulent water.Like all beautiful places in the world, one word in particular was standing behind the deep beauty of that landscape：difficult.
Liu Yuelan came to Yingxiu on November 4，2009；she went back to her hometown on December 28，2010，aged 41. During her time at Yingxiu, she was mainly responsible for water resource projects and for the management of urban reconstruction.
