Early concrete bridges in China as (dissonant) modern heritage: A case study of the double-curved bridges in Nanjing

Abstract

This research aims to explore early concrete bridges in China, especially those from 1950s to 1970s, as a form of modern heritage. It asserts that there are inherent contradictions in how these bridges were perceived over half a century later. Although this may affect their listing as cultural heritage, it also makes them a representative case for a decentered approach to modern heritage not only at an international level, but also within a particular national context. In a country still building concrete bridges of ever-increasing scales, early concrete bridges in China, despite their age, are seldom considered as cultural heritage. However, while historically and technologically these bridges were close to the everyday lived experiences, they are often more difficult to research than older, pre-1949 buildings and structures. This is not only because of the lack of readily available archives, but also that these bridges, especially the iconic “double-curved” bridges, which were politicized during the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (1966–1976), represented an important period in modern Chinese history that is still politically sensitive and contested, possessing cultural values that mean vastly different things for different people. This is illustrated by the case study of three bridges in Nanjing: the Yangtze River Bridge of Nanjing, arguably the most famous Chinese bridge in the twentieth century; the Little Egret Bridge (Bailu Bridge), an early double-curved bridge, which is said to be a prototype of the former; and the Xiaolingwei Experimental Bridge, an important landmark in the development of the double-curved bridge but entirely forgotten after the beginning of the Cultural Revolution in 1966. Accounts from before, during, and after the Cultural Revolution provide very different narratives about the process of their design and construction. Their different geographical locations and different associations with this turbulent and contested period of modern Chinese history also affects their conservation status today. All these factors combined make these bridges an exemplar of dissonant modern heritage that, although situated in a Chinese context, has important lessons globally for our understanding of the impact and legacies of modernity.