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  Created in China>Art Treasures>Ancient Chinese Architecture>Minority Architecural Art
 
 
 
Architecture Art of Dong Nationality

 

Some drum towers neighbor storm-proof bridges, and the combination of the two enriches the village landscape, Such as the Xindi Drum Tower in Guizhou.

Hall-style drum towers are similar to ordinary halls.

The storm-proof bridge

The storm-proof bridge, also called gallery or pavilion bridge, means building a corridor on the wooden cantilever flat bridge and a bridge tower on the stone bridge pier and bridge abutment. The bridge tower looks very much like a drum tower, but its plane is only in a square or rectangular shape, without a polygonal form.

The Dong national district is crisscrossed by streams, so storm-proof bridges can be found almost in every village, and some have more than one. It not only can keep Out wind and rain, but also serves as a gateway to the village, and, all the more, is a place for villagers to rest and discuss matters. On grand occasions, relatives and friends from other villages come for a get-together People of the whole village in their holiday best assemble on the bridgehead to welcome the guests. They sing songs, propose toasts and danceLusheng dances, demonstrating strong national Customs and features. In selecting a site for a storm-proof bridge, great attention is paid to natural scenery, so that it can both decorate the landscape and enable visitors to enjoy the surrounding beautiful scenery.

The largest and most famous storm-proof bridge is the Chengyang Bridge in Maan Village, Sanjiang, Guangxi, which spans the Linxi River. This is 78 meters long and consists of two platforms, three piers and five towers. The middle tower is the highest, capped by a hexagonal finial pavilion. The lower part is square, three-eaved; the left and right towers are also square, four-eaved and finial. The Outermost two towers are rectangular, four-eaved and with a Chinese-hip-and-gable roof. Under the bridge balustrade there is a long, through split eave covering the four-layer wooden cantilever beam under the bridge.

There are also some asymmetrical storm-proof bridges, Such as the Sanjiang Helong (closure or jointed) Bridge with two platforms, two piers and three towers.

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