A covered wooden bridge built in 1916 without a single nail, in a Dong village of stilt houses and drum towers, two and a half hours north of Guilin near the Guizhou border.
Sanjiang Dong Autonomous County lies in the far north of Guangxi, bordering Guizhou to the northwest and Hunan to the northeast. The Dong people make up more than half of its 300,000 residents, and the Chengyang Wind and Rain Bridge — also called Yongji or Panlong Bridge — is their most famous structure. It was built in 1916 of wood and stone, with the deck paved in wooden boards and railings inlaid on both sides.
The name explains the design: a covered bridge gives shelter from both wind and rain, which is what a "wind and rain bridge" is for in this climate. They double as social space — a place to sit, meet and rest out of the weather, halfway across the river. Across the bridge is Chengyang village, an old Dong settlement of traditional wooden houses, a drum tower and a small square, surrounded by rice fields.
Note that older sources — including our own previous website — quote six or seven hours from Guilin. The Guilin–Sanjiang expressway opened in October 2017 and cut that to about two and a half hours for the 140 kilometres. It is now a comfortable long day out, or an overnight if you want to see the village festivals.
140 km north of Guilin, about two and a half hours by expressway since 2017. It works as a long day trip, but an overnight lets you see the village without rushing.
September to November for the rice fields and comfortable weather. The Dong festivals — March the third, and the Fireworks and Firecrackers Festival — are spectacular but crowded and need booking well ahead.
Fixed price per car, driver waits while you walk.
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