Xianrenqiao (Immortal Bridge) Village is located in the southeast of Shiqiao Town, Jiahe County. It is so named because a natural stone bridge in the village spans the Chunling River, presenting a constantly changing panorama.

 

Legend has it that long ago, the three daughters of the Dragon King of the East China Sea were so bored with their lonely lives in the Dragon Palace that they secretly came to the human world for fun. 

 

One day, they flew near the Luojia Village in the Zhongshui River and saw people burning incense and ghost money by the river, which was an extremely bleak scene. They asked what was going on and found out that there was no bridge over the river and people had to cross the river by wooden boat. When heavy rains caused flooding, the boats were often overturned, and many ferrymen died in the flood. 

 

Therefore, whenever the river floods, people will burn incense and ghost money by the river to pray to the Dragon King for safety. 

 

The three sisters felt sorry and sympathetic, and after deliberation, they decided to use their fetiches to build a bridge.

 

No sooner said than done, each of them selected a location to build a bridge at the same time. During the bridge building process, the youngest sister chose Luojia Village, and her bridge was built the fastest. 

 

 

When she had finished, she imitated the crowing of a rooster three times, but the voice caused all the roosters in the neighbouring villages to crow in response. Thinking it was dawn, the three fetiches flew back to the East China Sea, leaving the two elder sisters’ bridges half-built.

 

The next morning, the villagers of Luojia Village were overjoyed to see a bridge across the river. They all said that their prayers had indeed been heard and that the bridge has been built by immortals. 

 

People saw a bright stone mirror on the bridge with three girls riding on clouds inside, and one of them waved to them. She was the youngest sister. To express their respect for the “Three Sisters,” the local villagers named the bridge Xianrenqiao (Immortal Bridge) and changed the name of Luojia Village to Xianrenqiao Village. 

 

Stone dragon temples have been built at either edge of the bridge, with grey bricks covered with reliefs of flowers and animals. The temple houses statues of Buddha, including the Monkey King. 

 

 

To the right side of the temple is a smooth stone tablet known as the “stone mirror,” which can reflect the shadows of people. If you look diagonally to the right of the stone mirror, you can see a corner of Xianjiang Village. Next to the bridge arch is a natural stone with the words “Taoyuan Dong” inscribed by Lei Dehuan, a senior licentiate in the feudal Qing County.

 

Xianrenqiao was rebuilt as a highway bridge in 1962, serving as an important way to Shiqiao Town, Jiahe County, Guiyang County and other places. 

 

Today, Xianrenqiao Village is one of the fourth batch of Chinese traditional villages, the prototype and filming location for the Mao Dun Literature Award-winning masterpiece “Bloody Luoxiao” and the classic movies “The Lotus Town” and “The Lotus Ferry.” 

 

The ancient buildings in the village are well preserved, which witnessed the glorious history and vicissitudes of the Qing Dynasty from the 27th year of the Qianlong era to the 20th year of the Daoguang era.