China is full of iconic scenery that has been backdrop to many films such as the Three Natural Bridges, Hongcun Village, and the water town of Xitang. The area around Shijiazhuang, capital of Hebei Province, includes such scenery and outstanding sights including the bridge temple of Cangyanshan, the stone village of Yujia, and the oldest bridge of its kind, the Zhaozhou Bridge.
Cangyanshan
This outstanding scenic spot in the mountains outside of Shijiazhuang played a role in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Two bridges span a chasm. One has an ancient temple on it. The trail leads up through the small canyon these bridges cross. It is a gash in the side of the mountain. At its rear, you ascend up a staircase, through a tunnel, and emerge at a temple gatehouse with its guardians protecting the entrance. You’ve already seen the bridges from below seemingly defy gravity, but up here, you see the temple on the bridge in its glory. It is a beautiful, albeit worn, temple building, and the Buddha statues and other artwork inside are exquisite works of art. Built in the Sui Dynasty, this bridge temple is more than 1,400 years old.
This scenic area has several other temples to explore too. Some are ancient like the one on the bridge. One has a tomb and spirit walk. They all have fabulous art and artefacts and are worth your time.
Yujia Stone Village
Four thousand stone buildings, thousands of stone-paved streets and alleys, hundreds of stone wells, and many stone furnishings comprise the small village of Yujia. If you’re familiar with the Hannah-Barbara cartoon The Flinstones, then you might feel like you’ve walked into a village near Bedrock. For being made almost entirely out of stone, it feels quite warm and welcoming. The Locals have great smiles, and the lanes are extremely photogenic. My favorite features were the open-air, raised stables. They looked like little stages, and have probably been used as them from time to time. The residents of Yujia village go on with life very similar to how it has been for many, many years.
A fun little treat, while we were waiting to leave, we ran into a travel writer for Lonely Planet. It was fun to talk to one of the people who wrote the guide I’ve used hundreds of times to explore China.
Zhaozhou Bridge
Zhaozhou Bridge boasts two honorifics: the oldest single spandrel bridge in the world and the oldest standing bridge in China. Built during the Sui Dynasty, roughtly 1,400 years ago, this engineering masterpiece technically rivals the bridge at Cangyanshan where a sign says despite Zhaozhou’s claim, it was built first. Either way, they were both built around the same time and are equally magnificent in their history and engineering to have lasted this long.
Zhaozhou Bridge or Anji Bridge is not as spectacular to look at though, and you can tell that although the bridge may have been standing that long, it has been repaired many times. Some of the stones are not as original as the others. Other than some lovely stone carvings and the history, it is just a bridge.
To get to any of these outstanding sites, you’ll need a car or to arrange a driver or tour. They are not in the city of Shijiazhuang and not super common destinations for foreign tourists. You do not need to speak Chinese to enjoy these places, but getting there and back would be more difficult.
