Looking Through the Bridge at Black Dragon Pool 黑龙潭
I was very amused by the elegance of the Five Arch Bridge at the Black Dragon Pool and how it fits in with the rest of the park. Like other Chinese parks, the Black Dragon Pool has a very tranquil park where you can just hang out and relax. There were benches nearby where you can just sit and read a book like some of the locals do. The bridge itself isn’t that spectacular by itself but when taken as a whole, it really makes for a very attractive place.
Climbing the Five Arch Bridge 五孔桥 at Black Dragon Pool 黑龙潭
The bridge itself is decorated with elephants and lions. The Chinese characters for elephants and lions are 象师 xiangshi, and they sound almost like 相思 xiangsi or “missing” as in missing someone. For this reason the bridge is also named Missing Bridge 相思桥. Probably because of the penchant of Chinese to mispronounce things. Another name for this bridge is the Jade Belt Bridge 玉带桥, though I don’t know where it came from. It is beautiful how they come to name this structures. Part of the enjoyment of visiting these places is knowing about these small things. Although I never hire a tour guide whenever I visit these places, there are signs which tell me about the place, hopefully in English.
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