廊桥故事/Covered bridges story - 中国廊桥网-廊桥论坛

题图：JieLong covered bridge in Longbei Xi Village, Dikou Town, Jianou County was built in 1917.It is 46 meters long and 4 meters wide. The bridge structure is made of wood and the road is covered with stones from the river or nearby mountains.
位于建瓯市迪口镇龙北溪村的接龙桥始建于1917年，长46米宽4米。桥的主体由木材搭建，地面则铺以附近河里和山上挖来的石块。

联合国教科文组织这样描述廊桥：“当地居民交流信息、娱乐、敬神以及加深交流和交化认同的聚会场所” 。尽管有着如此多样化的功能，廊桥无疑也是风格独具的建筑和当地居民的骄傲。

廊桥的建设是用来防止天气对路面、木构的损害，不过它们迅速涵盖了更多。部分廊桥被饰以寺庙、神龛和壁画，另一些则比较简单，但都有扶手和长凳，供居民避暑以及休息。

作为一位来自美国的观者，我惊喜地发现木质廊桥在福建日常生活中的使用。在我的家乡，爱荷华州，也有不少廊桥，它们同样是当地地标，甚至成为书和电影所描述的对象。比如由梅丽尔·斯特里普、克林特?伊斯特伍德主演的《廊桥遗梦》。

在19世纪的美国，约有超过10000座木质廊桥，现在仅存不到900座。

廊桥在美国有着很长的历史，但它们极大地区别于中国的精密廊桥。它们更多是为抵御雨雪灾害、供农畜车通行而建的功能性建筑。

China’s landscape is dotted with more than 3,000 historic, wooden covered bridges.

UNESCO describes the bridges as, “important gathering places for local residents to exchange information, entertain, worship and deepen relationships and cultural identity.”Although the bridges serve a utilitarian purpose, they are exotic architecture and source of pride to local villagers.

Bridges were covered to protect the roadbed and the structural timbers from the weather, but they soon developed into much more. Religious temples or shrines and paintings adorn some. Others are plain, but have rails or benches where villagers can get out the hot sun and rest.

As a visitor from the United States, I was pleasantly surprised to find wooden covered bridges in daily use in Fujian Province. My home state, Iowa, has several bridges, which are landmarks and even served as the subject of a book and a movie starring Merrill Streep and Clint Eastwood, “The Bridges of Madison County.”

More than 10,000 wooden covered bridges were built in the 1800s in the United States, but fewer than 900 remain today.

Covered bridges have a long history in the United States, but differ greatly from the intricate architecture found in China. They were utilitarian structures covered to keep out damaging rain and snow. They carried farm wagons, but often served as passages for herds of cattle being moved to market.

Scenic view of the Desheng House Bridgeover the Ji River in mountainous JianOu county.

ZhengFuru, 80, walks across a hanging bridge in Zhen Wei Village, Di Kou Town,JianOu County. It crosses the Ji river, asmall branch of the Min River. The bridge wasbuilt 30 years ago but was destroyed in a flood. It was rebuilt in 2011.

80岁的郑福禄正走过位于建瓯市迪口镇郑魏村的一座吊桥。这座吊桥始建于30年前，后由于大水冲毁，于2011年重建

Photographer Zhou jumps to the shore of the Ji River. Jie Long Bridge in background.

Wei Weifeng, 74, prays every day in the Buddhist temple near the JieLong covered bridge in Long BEi Xi Village, Di Kou Town. Bridge in background.

魏卫芬，74岁，每天都到接龙桥旁的寺庙里拜拜。她的身后就是接龙桥

Structure of Jie Long covered bridge in Long Bei Xi Village, Di KouTown, JianOu County was built in 1917. The writing onthe beam says, "the bridge covers the river like rainbow arches theheavens.

Da Yang Ping village, Fujian Province,China-- Villagers around the Zi Sun covered bridge over the North River Branch.

The Roseman Covered Bridge in MadisonCounty, Iowa,USA. Made famous by the movie and book, "TheBridges of Madison County." Photo by Brett Roseman.

位于爱荷华州麦迪逊小镇的罗斯曼廊桥由于电影和书籍《廊桥遗梦》而名声大噪（摄影 Brett Roseman）

The Meems Bottom covered bridge, located in Shenandoah County, Virginia, is the longestexisting covered bridge in the state .The Meems Bottom Bridge was constructed in1892-93 from stone cut and quarried nearby the stone abutments (foreground),which extend 10 feet below the riverbed.

位于弗吉尼亚州谢南多尔县的MeemsBottom桥是保存时间最长的廊桥。它建于1892年至1893年间,石桥头的石材取于附近的采石场，深入河床以下3米（10英尺）（图中前景处）

The curved timbers on the interior of the bridge were salvaged fromthe original bridge. They are called Burr Trusses. The design is quite different than Chinesebridges. American bridges are not ornate. They were built when theUnited Stateswas developing and served a utilitarian purpose.

Meems Bottom桥内部的用的拱木是原旧桥留下的，被叫做“拱桁架”。和中式桥梁不一样，这种构架的美式桥梁并不华丽，因为这些桥建于美国发展时期，是以实用为主要目的

Swimmers, picnickers and fisherman are attracted to the scenicbridge and cool river for recreation.