2 . One of the longest ancient wooden bridges in China, located in Fujian province, collapsed on Saturday night after a fire broke out. No casualties(伤亡)or injuries were reported. Wan’an Bridge, which has a history of more than 900 years, in the village of Changqiao in Pingnan county caught fire at around 9:10 pm. The blaze was put out by 10: 45 pm, according to the local emergency management bureau.

There are more than 50 wooden arch bridges in Pingnan. Measuring almost 100 meters long and 5 meters wide, Wan’an Bridge is the oldest and longest wooden bridge in the country. A fire broke out on the bridge in the Qing Dynasty(1644～1911)and it was rebuilt in 1742. It was listed as a key national cultural relic in 2006. The construction of wooden arch bridges uses the most sophisticated techniques among all wooden bridges in China, and the techniques themselves were listed as an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO in 2009.

Although uncommon, fires at cultural sites around the country do happen. In 2014, a fire destroyed around 300 houses in Dukezong township in Shangrila county of Yunnan province. Dukezong, established more than 1, 300 years ago, is known for its Tibetan-style architecture. The fire burned nearly a fifth of the ancient town’s core preservation area.

In 2019, the National Cultural Heritage Administration and Ministry of Emergency Management issued a guideline on improving fire safety for cultural relics. It required museums and institutions with cultural relics to conduct fire safety check every two hours when open to the public.

According to China News Service, Pingnan county has set up special working groups to look into the incident and to try to restore the bridge. The local authorities are looking into the cause of the incident and the public security bureau has started an investigation.