Laoren Bridge was built by the people of the Seventeenth Capital during the Ming Dynasty in memory of Elder Qiu Fu, and it remains well preserved to this day. The bridge sits facing southwest to northeast. It is a curved ancient wooden bridge spanning over the stream and pond, presenting a rather grand scale.
The bridge is 30.8 meters long and 8 meters wide. The main body (bridge frame) is constructed with five segments and three layers intersecting and connecting each other, using 135 whole wooden logs (excluding the horizontal frame logs), among which the four “ground dragon logs” at both ends have a diameter of 85 centimeters. On the top of the bridge frame, sleepers are laid and deck boards are nailed onto them. Above this, a bridge pavilion is built with 56 vertical pillars. The entire outer side of the bridge is covered with wooden planks nailed on to protect it from wind and rain. The design is reasonable and the construction is firm.
The bridge pavilion is shaped like a long corridor. In the center, there are two shrines. One enshrines three stone statues of Sizhou Buddha, the Great Official of Water, and Emperor Zhenwu, each with exquisite carving and lifelike expressions, with a stone incense burner placed in front. According to investigation, these stone statues and the incense burner were moved from Pankeng Bridge (located opposite Qiantou Shop, now no longer existing) when Laoren Bridge was completed.
The other shrine enshrines Elder Qiu. Inside the shrine is a gilded wooden memorial tablet with a carved relief of two dragons playing with a pearl, bearing the inscription “Spirit of Master Qiu Fu Who Resolved Disputes in the Ming Dynasty.” In front of it is an ancient stone incense burner engraved with the words “Elder Qiu Gong,” with a damaged gap on the back edge, said to have been knocked off when it was thrown into the pond during the Cultural Revolution.
As for the deeds of the elder, the “Local Gazetteer” compiled by County Magistrate Huang Dinghan during the Guangxu reign of the Qing Dynasty records the following: “Qiu Fu, a native of Wayang, was a man of virtue and advanced age. For decades, he resolved disputes for people far and near. There was a certain man whose wife was extremely shrewish, and a minor quarrel led to a lawsuit. Qiu Fu tried to persuade them but was not listened to. Feeling ashamed of his own weak virtue, he drowned himself. The neighbors, moved by his sincerity, built a bridge and set up a shrine to worship him. To this day, it is called Laoren Bridge.”
