Waibaidu Bridge
Riveted steel camelback truss bridge over Suzhou Creek, China's first all-steel span, born from a toll dispute.
Location
About this audio guide
Waibaidu Bridge in Shanghai carries a name born from a grudge: in 1856 a British trader named Charles Wills threw a wooden bridge across Suzhou Creek and charged tolls that Chinese residents paid while foreigners, it seemed, crossed free. The guide follows the fight that toll sparked, doubled rates, rival free ferries, and years of standoff between merchants and the bridge's owners, before turning to the all-steel span that eventually replaced it. Listen for how the crossing earned the name that stuck.
This audio guide was created using AI.
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