The Garden Bridge: Misunderstanding, War, and a Century’s Worth of History

The 1908 Garden Bridge (Waibaidu Qiao 外白渡桥) is that rarest of Shanghai historic treasures: an original structure that is still being used for the same purpose for which it was built. And it’s got quite a story.
Before bridges spanned the river, ferry crossings were the only way to traverse the waterway. Traffic increased after Shanghai became an international treaty port in 1842, and the first wooden bridges were constructed (1853, the Fujian River Bridge). In 1856, the precursor to the Garden Bridge went up: the controversial Wills Bridge.
Bridge of Misunderstanding: The Wills Bridge

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