Gongchen Bridge · Qiaoxi Historic Block
The landmark bridge marking the southern terminus of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal: this three-arched stone bridge, built during the Chongzhen reign of the Ming dynasty, has spanned the canal for four centuries; "Gongchen" means "bowing in welcome to the emperor"
Visitor info
- Opening hours
- Open all day
- Ticket
- Free
Price is indicative — final quote on inquiry.
The landmark bridge marking the southern terminus of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal: this three-arched stone bridge, built during the Chongzhen reign of the Ming dynasty, has spanned the canal for four centuries, and "Gongchen" means "bowing in welcome to the emperor"; the former factory buildings along Qiaoxi Zhijie have been converted into Yunhe Tiandi (Canal World), where the three museums — Knife, Scissors & Sword, Umbrella, and Fan (free, closed Mondays) — cluster with the Hangzhou Arts and Crafts museum group. Free and open all day, with direct access via Metro Line 5, Grand Canal Station; the canal cruise dock is here, and the lit-up banks at dusk are best for photos.
Getting there: Metro Line 5, Grand Canal Station
Photos
More in Hangzhou
- Xixi National Wetland
Boat maze of reeds and water villages west of the city.
- West Lake
UNESCO lake of pagodas, causeways and arched bridges; boat or bike the shoreline.
- Lingyin Temple
Buddhist temple founded 326 AD amid grottoes of Song-era rock carvings.
- Longjing Tea Village
Terraced Dragon Well tea fields; tastings at family farms.
- West Lake Loop
A World Heritage Site (inscribed in 2011): an urban lake with misty hills on three sides and the city on the fourth, dredged in succession by two of its governors, Bai Juyi and Su Dongpo; Su Shi's verse "wishing to compare West Lake to the beauty Xi Shi" made it a byword for Eastern aesthetics
- Su Causeway & Bai Causeway
Su Causeway, 2.8 km long, was built from dredged silt when Su Shi dredged West Lake; six bridges span the lake, with peach trees and willows lining both banks—"Misty Willows over Six Bridges" is the top spring scene