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China: Shanghai, looking south down Suzhou Creek past the Waibaidu Bridge to the Huangpu River. Smoking chimneys and the bulk of the Broadway Mansions building in distance. c. 1935

China: Shanghai, looking south down Suzhou Creek past the Waibaidu Bridge to the Huangpu River. Smoking chimneys and the bulk of the Broadway Mansions building in distance. c. 1935

The Waibaidu Bridge (Chinese: 外白渡桥; pinyin: Wàibáidù Qiáo), called The Garden Bridge in English, is the first all-steel bridge, and the only surviving example of a camelback truss bridge, in China.

The fourth foreign bridge built at its location since 1856, in the downstream of the estuary of the Suzhou Creek, near its confluence with the Huangpu River and adjacent to the Bund in central Shanghai, and connecting the Huangpu and Hongkou districts, the present bridge was opened on 20 January 1908.

With its rich history and unique design, the Waibaidu Bridge is one of the symbols of Shanghai. On 15 February 1994 the Shanghai Municipal Government declared the bridge an example of Heritage Architecture, and one of the outstanding structures in Shanghai. In an ever-changing metropolis, the Waibaidu Bridge still remains a popular attraction, and one of the few constants in the city skyline.

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