China's traditional folk customs "2018 Jushui Spring Society Bridge Walking Meeting"

The bridge-walking fair is a large-scale local traditional folk cultural activity spontaneously organized by people in Chengdu and Mianyang, Sichuan Province to make spring trips and worship bridges. It is held once a year and is scheduled as the annual Spring Society Day (the fifth day after the beginning of spring, also called Fengshe). It has been held for more than 200 years. This year's Spring Society Bridge-walking event is today (March 17, 2018).

The bridge

step on is called Taiping Bridge, which is also called Suishui Arch Bridge by locals. It is located at the foot of Hutou Mountain in Suishuiguan, Jushui Town, An County, Mianyang. It is a huge single-hole arc-shaped stone arch bridge known as the "crown of western Sichuan." The bridge was built in the 4th year of Jiajing of the Qing Dynasty (AD 1799). It is 24 meters long, 7.8 meters wide and 8 meters high. There are thirty-six stone steps at each end of the bridge, and there are also stone railings on both sides. The railings are engraved with sitting statues of animals. Slate are inlaid between the railings. The stone slabs are carved with simple embossed flower and bird patterns. The bridge body has a single hole and a round shape. The bridge and water reflect each other like a full moon. The craftsmanship is exquisite, magical and charming. A couplet is engraved on the bridge head: "Half a moon hangs in front of Yudong Mountain, and a rainbow can be seen under Hutou Rock", depicting the geographical location of the bridge and the magnificent natural landscape. This bridge is entirely made of bluestone. Although it has experienced many vicissitudes, it is still as strong as ever.

Since the completion of

website, tens of thousands of people from An County and adjacent Mianyang City, Beichuan County, Deyang City, Guanghan City and even Chengdu have helped the elderly and young, and spontaneously flocked to the Taiping Bridge in Suishui to participate in the "Bridge-Walking Event." The number of participants has increased year by year, and the scenes have become more and more lively, which has become a highlight of traditional folk activities in western Sichuan.

At the peak of the activity, we saw country roads, river dams and fields, bridges and bridges, and crowds. People went up and down from the right side of the bridge deck in turn, resulting in a waterfall-like flow of people, forming a beautiful scenery. Following the instructions of "fortune-tellers", young parents searched for "blessed" adults for their minor children in the crowd, and worshipped them as "godfathers and godmothers." They pray for their children and bless them with peace and happiness throughout their lives.

Some people

the

squeezed onto the top of the bridge and threw the dilapidated clothes they had brought from their homes from the bridge into the river. Some even threw down the small banknotes and coins together, implying "Abandon evil, eliminate disasters, and avoid diseases." Looking towards the river, I saw debris floating on the water and polluted the river, which was terrible. Under the bridge, a group of people holding fishing nets also appeared in the river. They were fishing for what they needed.

There are also various legends about the origin of

stepping on a bridge,"but the traditional folk customs of" walking back and forth three times "," paying homage to godfather ", and" losing medicine money "to eliminate disasters and avoid difficulties, and to ensure peace in the coming year have been passed down to this day and have endured forever. In recent years,"stepping on the bridge at midnight","lion dance to pray for blessings","red lines linked to good luck","colorful boats and immortals", and "worshiping at the reclining Buddha Temple" have quietly emerged in bridge-stepping activities.

at the Taiping Bridge in Jushui, An County. It attracts much attention for its annual folk tradition of "Bridge-Walking Meeting." In March every year, more than 100,000 people come from Chengdu, Mianyang and other places gather here to step on the bridge. The 2011 bridge-walking meeting was attended by 100,000 people from Mianyang, Deyang, Chengdu and other places in Sichuan. It was interrupted for two years due to the "5.12" Wenchuan earthquake. 2011 was the first bridge-walking meeting after the earthquake.

"May 12" earthquake damaged the temple across the road from Taiping Bridge and many surrounding houses. This old bridge with a history of more than 300 years has experienced two earthquakes in the 1930s and this time. After a total of two earthquakes, it still stands miraculously and has a flat wife.

yesterday in Jushui Town, An County, has gradually returned to its tranquility before the earthquake. With the help of the local government and local support units, local residents began to harvest ripe wheat one after another. On a stone table at the bridge of Taiping Bridge, villagers were receiving distributed pork in an orderly manner, without any panic.

Speaking of the Taiping Bridge behind him, villager Huang Laohan was a little excited. He said that this 300-year-old ancient bridge has withstood the test of two major earthquakes. The 1933 earthquake in Mao County also affected Jushui and the surrounding areas, but there was no damage to the Taiping Bridge. This earthquake was more serious than it was in the last century. Temple houses near Taiping Bridge were damaged in many places, and residential houses also collapsed seriously. Some local residents have long since moved to a safe area far from the foot of the mountain. Even this Taiping Bridge still stands, except for small cracks in the stone-piled fence beside the bridge.