Artisan builders in Ningde City, south China's Fujian Province, are using their traditional craftsmanship to preserve a centuries-old Chinese wooden arch bridge, a feat of ancient engineering now recognized on UNESCO's list of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
On Thursday, UNESCO added traditional design and practices for building Chinese wooden arch bridges to its Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Among all Chinese wooden arch bridges, the 1,000-year-old Wan'an Bridge in Changqiao Village of Pingnan County stands out as the largest and longest-surviving such bridge in China, with a length of 98.2 meters. "The most remarkable aspect of Chinese wooden arch bridges is their structure. Using short wooden pieces to span large distances requires exceptional skill, and multi-span designs like Wan'an Bridge demand greater expertise than single-arch bridges, demonstrating the wisdom of bridge builders," said Lu Zeqi, a local rural revitalization officer.
In 2022, an devastating fire once again tested the resilience of Wan'an Bridge. Huang Minhui, an inheritor of wooden arch bridge construction whose family has a century-long connection with the ancient bridge, led the restoration efforts.
"The most important aspect of restoring Wan'an Bridge is its wooden arch. The arch's woven wooden structure is central to traditional wooden arch bridge building techniques. Parts are held together by mortise-and-tenon joints, without the use of nails or metal materials. The structure resembles a upside-down woven basket, which makes it very stable," said Huang.
Local preservationists and craftsmen face high demands as they seek to help the iconic bridge better withstand the forces of nature, including floods, fires, and natural erosion.
"Our biggest challenge was staying true to our ancestors' techniques in the recent restoration work. All our meticulous efforts are to restore the original appearance of Wan'an Bridge," said Huang.
From the ashes of disaster to the UNESCO stage, Wan'an Bridge reflects the spirit of resilience, tradition, and progress—a true cultural treasure bridging the past and the future.
Fujian artisans safeguard centuries-old Chinese wooden arch bridge
China's two major power grid operators -- the State Grid Corporation of China (State Grid) and China Southern Power Grid (CSG) -- reported a surge in investment in the first quarter of 2026, underscoring efforts to strengthen infrastructure construction and support high-quality socioeconomic development in China.
The State Grid said it completed fixed-asset investment worth 129 billion yuan (about 18.77 billion U.S. dollars) in the first three months of this year, up 37 percent the corresponding period of the previous year. The spending has driven more than 250 billion yuan (36 billion U.S. dollars) of investment across the wider industrial chain.
Key projects such as the Panxi ultra-high-voltage (UHV) alternating current (AC) line and the Anhui-Hubei back-to-back direct current (DC) project have seen ground broken for their construction, while several west-to-east power transmission projects have been upgraded.
Investment in connecting renewable energy generation to the grid was reported to have exceeded 10 billion yuan (1.45 billion U.S. dollars) from January to March, a year-on-year rise of more than 50 percent.
The CSG also reported robust growth in investment in the three-month period, with fixed-asset investment reaching 38.45 billion yuan (5.58 billion U.S. dollars), up about 50 percent from a year earlier.
Among its achievements, the company completed and commissioned 80 key projects, including the 220 kV cross-sea power grid interconnection project, which was officially put into operation on March 20. The project ended years of grid isolation on the Weizhou Island in south China by linking it to the main power system of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
The construction of 17 other major energy projects, including one linking the power grid of the Xizang Autonomous Region in southwest China with that of Guangdong Province in south China, is advancing rapidly. These projects are expected to bolster regional industries, the maritime economy, digital collaboration and the transition to green energy.
"By accelerating major project construction, investment during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030) is expected to approach 1 trillion yuan (145 billion U.S. dollars), driving a further 2 trillion yuan (290 billion U.S. dollars) of investment across upstream and downstream industries," said Dong Yanle, deputy general manager of the Engineering Construction Department under the China Southern Power Grid.
China ramps up power grid investment in January-March to boost growth
