Crossing Tongji Bridge: a Lantern Festival custom in Foshan

Hundreds of thousands of people in Foshan walked across a bridge together for a common cause on Feb 19 during the annual "Crossing Tongji Bridge" event.

People crowded at the front of Tongji Bridge with their friends and family, each of them holding a small windmill. They walked slowly across the bridge saying "Crossing Tongji Bridge, Troubles Go Away" to pray for peace and fortune in the coming year.

The proverb "Crossing Tongji Bridge, Troubles Go Away” is well known throughout Foshan. It means that crossing the bridge can rid one of worries and bring about happier days. The people of Foshan carry windmills, wind bells, lettuce, and other items when crossing the bridge. Windmills symbolize good luck and a carefree life, lettuce symbolizes making money, and wind bells indicate the coming of good news.

A citizen surnamed Li and his wife came to Foshan in the 1990s and cross Tongji Bridge every year. Over the past 20 years, they have formed a loving four-person family. The family is currently crossing Tongji Bridge, as are thousands of other happy families from throughout Foshan.

Li and his family pose for a photo at the annual "Crossing Tongji Bridge" event in Foshan. [Photo/Foshan News]

The small bridge attracts hundreds of thousands of people from throughout Foshan and surrounding areas every year. The tradition has now been spread to other regions throughout Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao, and it attracts many foreign participants as well.

Eli Lipshitz, deputy consul general of the Consulate General of Israel in Guangzhou, walked across the bridge with a group of foreigners and people from Hong Kong and Macao, which was arranged by the foreign and overseas Chinese affairs bureau of Chancheng. This is the first time Eli Lipshitz has participated in a traditional Foshan folk activity.

Matteo Michetti, a visa officer from the Consulate General of Italy in Guangzhou, also participated in the event for the first time. "I know crossing Tongji Bridge can ease your worries and windmills can bring good luck," Michetti said. His first impression of Foshan was that the city is strong in ceramics. He said that Foshan and Guangzhou are closely linked, and he can travel between the two cities by metro in just 40 minutes. He hoped Foshan would continue to improve.

A father holds a windmill symbolizing good fortune and a carefree life. [Photo/Foshan News]

"Crossing Tongji Bridge" is a grand annual cultural event in Foshan. It has been around for more than 400 years, beginning in the late Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and early Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). On every 15th and 16th day of the first lunar month, the people of Foshan would cross the Tongji Bridge with their families.

"Crossing Tongji Bridge", a folk activity that pervades the entire city, is not only attracting an increasing number of Chinese and foreign participants interested in Foshan's unique Lingnan culture, but is also promoting Foshan culture around the world, helping turn the city's traditional culture into its own brand and forging friendships with people and places across the globe.

Eli Lipshitz, deputy consul general of the Consulate General of Israel in Guangzhou, takes a selfie at the event on Feb 19. [Photo/Foshan News]