Shanghai, China (photo)

Garden bridge shanghai. Suzhou Creek, Waibaidu (Garden) Bridge, illuminated at night, Shanghai, China. The Waibaidu Bridge, 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, adjacent to the Bund in central Shanghai, 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. Its modern and industrial image may be regarded as the city's landmark bridge. 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. Before bridges were built over the Suzhou Creek (then known as the Wusong River), citizens had to use one of three ferry crossings: one near Zhapu Road, one at Jiangxi Road, and one near the mouth of the Suzhou River. These crossings (du in Chinese) were the only way to ford the river, until the construction of a sluice gate built in the Ming Dynasty, later known as "Old Sluice", where the current Fujian Road bridge is located. During the Qing Dynasty, another sluice bridge ("New Sluice") was constructed during the reign of Emperor Yongzheng (1723–1735), near the location of today's Datong Road bridge. With Shanghai becoming an international trade port through the Treaty of Nanjing in 1842, and foreign powers being granted concessions in the city, traffic between both sides of Suzhou River soared in the 1850s, increasing the need for a bridge close to the mouth of the river.