A view of Sanyuan Bridge. [Photo/WeChat account: chongchuanonline]

Sanyuan Bridge in Chongchuan district of Nantong, East China's Jiangsu province, was established in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and used to be a three-hole stone arch bridge.

In the 600 to 700 years from the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms (907-960) to the end of the Ming Dynasty, a meager lot literati in Nantong succeeded in the national-level recruitment exams for officials. Even though a few did secure an official position, they were demoted several times.

A person fishes from the Sanyuan Bridge. [Photo/WeChat account: chongchuanonline]

To turn the tables, Nantong native Zhang Yuanfang funded the establishment of a bridge called Sanyuan, expecting Nantong locals would get the highest scores at three levels of such examinations in succession.

Since then, nearly 100 successful candidates in the recruitment exams have come from Nantong, and in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) two zhuangyuans who took the top spot in the annual national-level exams were Nantong natives.

In 1962, Sanyuan Bridge was reconstructed into a reinforced concrete bridge with a broader bridge floor.

A pond to the east of Sanyuan Bridge. [Photo/WeChat account: chongchuanonline]

Chongchuan residents prefer wandering along the riverbanks under the bridge after dinner or fishing from the bridge.

East of Sanyuan Bridge sits the five-layer Wenfeng Tower and north of the bridge is a pond where people can admire willows in spring and blooming lotus flowers in summer.