Talk:Waibaidu Bridge
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[edit] Research Issues
In short -
- Name of the original bridge builder: Wills or Wales
- Corrobation for second Wales Bridge
- Pictures of Wales Bridge(s)
- Since when was the bridge called "Free Ferry Bridge"?
- Meaning of "Waibaidu Bridge"
[edit] Name of the British Man
[1] calls the name "Wales", [3] "Wills" and [4] "Welles". I'm sure the man is the same and two of the names are spelling mistakes. --Bluebird47
[edit] Number of Bridges
[1] is a post only existing in Google Cache anymore that tells the history of the bridges in great detail:
The dates of the first Wales and two Garden Bridges are corrobated by [4] and [2], which also confirms the alternative name "Free Ferry Bridge" for the 1873 Garden Bridge. This page also includes the measures of all but the current bridge. However the iron bridge from 1871 that collapsed is only mentioned by the first source. --Bluebird47
[edit] The name "Waibaidu"
[1] and [4] claim the name "wai baidu" refers to the location of the bridge, the outermost ferry crossing.
[3] claims that the name was only used for the bridges after 1873, which were free of charge for everyone and (supposedly) the outer bridge of the two bridges (Wills/Wales bridge and Garden Bridge). The former would make sense in light of the additional information of the 1873 bridge also being called "Free Ferry Bridge" ([1] and [2])
Other sources associate the name with the fact that only foreigners could cross for free, which would also fit the Chinese name for the Bund (Waitan=Foreigner's beach/water front).
- I checked Chinese Wikipedia, and it seems to suggest that originally the bridge was called "wai baidu" as in "outer ferry crossing", but this changed to "foreign free cross" after it became free. But the CHinese wikipedia page also lacks sources :S. --Sumple (Talk) 01:56, 9 April 2006 (UTC)
I think this makes very much sense, especially since Chinese terms are often ambiguous and may even contain wordplays. I have incorporated the general idea of double meaning in the text for now without making things too complicated. [1] suggests the whole story is in the Shanghai History Museum (supposedly the one in Oriental Pearl Tower?), maybe anyone in Shanghai could look it up ;) --Bluebird47
[edit] The name "Garden Bridge"
[1] is incorrect in stating that the name Garden Bridge was only used for the wooden bridge (1873-1906), and that the name has been forgotten ever since. Labelled postcards and maps from after 1907, as well as current English language material on Shanghai all mention Garden Bridge.
[4] states the bridge was called "Park Bridge" by foreigners because of the nearby Huangpu park, which is most likely a mistake since it was called "Public Garden" at that time.
[edit] Sources
Located over the confluence of Huangpu River and Suzhou Creek, Waibaidu is the biggest steel bridge in Shanghai Proper. Waibaidu Bridge was originaly named Garden Bridge, the change of its name into Waibaidu contains some stories. When there was no bridge over Suzhou Creek, ferries were indispensable. There were three ferries located near Zhapu Road Bridge, Jiangxi Road and the confluence of Suzhou Creek and Huangpu, they were called, respectively, the first ferry, the second ferry and the outer ferry. However, the three ferries could not meet the demand for transportation since the southern bank and northern bank of Suzhou Creek was designated as British Concession and American Concession. Thus a British man named Wales organized the "Archtecture Company of Suzhou Creek Bridge" and built a huge wood bridge in 1856 at the location of Waibaidu which costs $12,000. These $12,000 was divided into 125 stock shares in the hands of 12 stock holders headed by Wales, hence it was named Wales Bridge. Due to its position in Waibaidu, local Shanghainese called it Waibaidu Bridge. The bridge was 450 feet long and 23 feet wide. When huge ships sailed across it, a board in the middle of the bridge would be elevated and traffic over the bridge would be paused, and resumed after the ships passed. Wale made a good fortune out of the bridge. He claimed that Shanghai authority granted him 25-year patent of the bridge, all passerbys payed a toll of two wen and double for cars. But people found that only Chinese payed the toll. They protested and boycotted. In 1871 Wales began building an iron bridge to deal with the situation. But it was poorly constructed and sunk into Suzhou Creek. As the people protested, the authority built, in August 1873, a wooden bridge called Garden Bridge which was 100 metres long, 12 metres wide and was located tens of metres west of the Waibaidu Bridge. Garden bridge opened to public in Sep, 1873 and was free, consequently people called it Free Ferry Bridge which has the same pronounciation as Waibaidu Bridge in Chinese. In October, the same year, Wales sold the original Waibaidu Bridge to Chinese authority and it was destroyed soon. In 1906, Shanghai authority began building an iron bridge and it was finished the next year. During the construction of the new bridge, the wooden Waibaidu Bridge was demolished and people called the new iron bridge Waibaidu. The name Waibaidu has been used for nearly a hundred years while the original name Garden Bridge has been forgotten. Only the memorial bronze board, in showcase in Shanghai History Museum, recorded the history of this huge bridge over Suzhou Creek."
[2] http://en.structurae.de/structures/data/index.cfm?ID=s0007629
[3] http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Asia/China/Shanghai_Shi/Shanghai-1003464/General_Tips-Shanghai-The_Bund-BR-6.html "There is good old Shanghai history of the bridge. Intially a wooden drawbridge, the bridge can be opened to let boats pass through. The builder Wills also collected toll from people and cars crossing the bridge. And people protested over it. Years on, the Shanghai Council built a free bridge side by side to the Wills bridge. It was called Wai Bai Du Bridge from then on...which means Outer Free Ferry Bridge. "
[4] http://app1.chinadaily.com.cn/star/history/00-02-22/c14-bridge.html
