History
Before bridges were built over the Suzhou Creek (then known as the Wusong River), citizens had to use one of three ferry crossings: one near Zhapu Road, one at Jiangxi Road, and one near the mouth of the Suzhou River. These crossings (du in Chinese) were the only way to ford the river, until the construction of a sluice gate built in the Ming Dynasty, later known as "Old Sluice", where the current Fujian Road bridge is located. During the Qing Dynasty, another sluice bridge ("New Sluice") was constructed during the reign of Emperor Yongzheng (1723–1735), near the location of today's Datong Road bridge.
With Shanghai becoming an international trade port through the Treaty of Nanjing in 1842, and foreign powers being granted concessions in the city, traffic between both sides of Suzhou River soared in the 1850s, increasing the need for a bridge close to the mouth of the river.
Read more about this topic: Waibaidu Bridge
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