Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge

Completed in 1968 as China's first self-designed and self-built double-decker rail-and-road bridge (the road-rail "Bridge of Pride"); magnolia-shaped street lamps and bridgeheads bearing three red flags; glass walkway views at Nanbao Park. Built in an era of scarcity entirely by Chinese designers and builders, the bridge shattered the claim that "the Chinese could not build large bridges on their own"; the three red flags and worker-peasant-soldier sculptures on the bridgeheads became the collective memory of a generation. The glass walkway in Nanbao Park stretches out over the river: trains thunder through the steel girders beneath your feet while 10,000-ton freighters pass under the bridge arches — this "double-deck crossing" spectacle is the best spot for viewing the bridge, and the bridge history exhibition hall tells the stories of its builders.

Getting there: Bus / by taxi (Nanbao Park)