Langqiao to bridge community in Vermont

Over a stream running through a forest in West Newbury, Vermont, United States, an eight-meter-long langqiao — traditional Chinese wooden covered bridge — takes shape.

When completed this autumn, the bridge will serve as a public facility that connects people in the community. It is also expected to become the first langqiao in North America.

The project began about two years ago when American timber framer Adam Miller, 44, was editing Timber Framing, a magazine published by the Timber Framers Guild. He came across articles about Chinese langqiao, which fascinated him. He shared the articles with his friend and fellow timber framer, John Nininger, 70.

The two men, who had long enjoyed taking on unusual building projects, began discussing the possibility of constructing a langqiao bridge.

Chinese langqiao have a history stretching back more than 2,000 years. Many are found in the mountainous regions of southern China, particularly in Fujian and Zhejiang provinces.

What distinguishes them is not only their traditional timber-framing techniques, but also the role they have played in community life. Historically, they served as places for people to rest, meet, and take part in rituals.

The United States also has a long tradition of covered bridges. According to American scholar Ronald Knapp, the first documented wooden covered bridge in the country was built in Philadelphia in 1805. Once common across the American landscape, many later disappeared because of natural forces and modernization.

"American and Chinese covered bridges are very different," Miller says. "The United States is a young country, and when we built bridges, we were often thinking about practicality. But Chinese langqiao have something that goes beyond transportation. That's what fascinated me."

Miller eventually contacted Knapp, who has studied traditional Chinese architecture since the 1960s. Knapp then connected the American builders to Liu Jie, a professor of architecture at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and helped them obtain financial support from the Hua Qiao Foundation to cover their travel expenses to China.

In June last year, accompanied by Liu's students, they traveled through Fujian and Zhejiang for 12 days, visiting more than 50 covered bridges and meeting five inheritors of the traditional craft of building Chinese timber arch bridges.

"It's inspiring in its own way," Nininger says. "They were built hundreds and hundreds of years ago over these incredibly dramatic, steep, and dangerous rivers."

During the trip, Miller also noticed how closely the langqiao were integrated into everyday life. On hot summer days, he saw people resting on benches in the shade while water rushed beneath the structures.

"There's an emphasis and focus on the way the bridges fit into the landscape," he says. "The community shares them."

At nearly every bridge they visited, the first thing the two Americans did after exiting the car was walk underneath and study how the wood was assembled.

Traditional Chinese timber arch bridges use a distinctive woven-timber technique. Multiple wooden members are fit together in interlocking layers, relying on the structure's weight and compression rather than modern steel fasteners.

UNESCO inscribed the traditional design and practices for building Chinese wooden arch bridges on its List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding in 2009 and transferred the item to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2024.

The craftsmanship has traditionally been passed down through generations and master-apprentice relationships. For Miller and Nininger, learning enough of it to build their own bridge was a far greater challenge.

Back in Vermont, Miller and Nininger studied engineering papers, consulted engineers, and built a scale model before beginning construction. "We couldn't strictly reproduce the design and layout process," Miller says. "In fact, we did some original research as we were building it."

Even so, the builders have sought to preserve key characteristics of Chinese langqiao. The main structure is made entirely of timber, and benches will be installed under the cover. Their friends have also carved decorative elements for the bridge.

Nininger brought a model he had built himself to community events to explain the project and raise money, echoing how villages in China once worked collectively to build bridges.

"When I showed them the drawings and the model, they were like, 'Why go to all this trouble to build this thing? It's beautiful, but it's going to cost too much.' But now those same people are saying, 'This is amazing,'" Nininger says.

The bridge will form part of an accessible trail through the town's forest. People out for a walk will be able to cross it, but Nininger hopes it will eventually serve a larger role in community life, perhaps as a venue for weddings.

It took about two months to assemble the main structure. The builders are now working on a green roof, with plans to cover it with soil and plant flowers, clover and sedum.

Liu, who met with Miller and Nininger in June last year, is not concerned about their bridge differing from traditional Chinese covered bridges.

He offered an analogy: Even if a chef in Shanghai prepares a dish from Beijing, it may not taste the same as one made in Beijing.

"That is how cultural exchange works. It changes," Liu says. "The craft of building these bridges has already been recognized by UNESCO, which shows that people around the world can share it."

For Miller and Nininger, the bridge is part of a broader interest in learning from woodworkers worldwide.

"The world is changing in so many ways right now," Nininger says. "But we can do small things that help people live together peacefully. This bridge is a good example."

"When people walk into the forest and see a bridge like this," he adds, "it might make them open their eyes and want to learn something about what is happening on the other side of the world."

baishuhao@chinadaily.com.cn