Beijing, China - March 1982 The 150 meter long 17-Arch Bridge was built in 1750 by the Qing emperor QianLong. It links the eastern edge of Kunmin

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Beijing, China - March 1982 The 150 meter long 17-Arch Bridge was built in 1750 by the Qing emperor QianLong. It links the eastern edge of Kunming lake with the Dragon King Temple on NanHu island. Why 17 arches? Chinese numerology, of course. The number eight is a symbol for luck or wealth for all Chinese. The ninth arch, the largest, is considered the number most auspicious for emperors, thus the Son of Heaven is symbolically positioned in the middle of good fortune, with eight arches either side. Simple. This is a historic image from 1982; today it would be submerged by masses of foreign and domestic tourists. Editor Note: This image is 37 years old. Whilst its quality is consistent with 35mm analogue film technical characteristics and limitations of the early 1980Õs, it is not comparable to the improved image quality obtainable from current high resolution digital sensors.

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Size: 4752px × 7264px
Location:
Photo credit: © Jon Bower / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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