The bridge, from which this area takes its name, once located near the Tianqiao Department Store, is long gone. Its white marble slabs and carved balustrades were used to span the famous Dragon Beard Ditch (Longxugou). Ming and Qing emperors had to cross it on their way to the Temple of Heaven, thus giving the bridge its name.
More than 600 years ago in the Yuan Dynasty a high stone bridge was built across the river here. To the west was a wall around the Altar to the God of Agriculture, nearby a pavilion. During the reign of Emperor Qianlong, the river which had been filled in during the Ming Dynasty was redredged and rows of willows planted along its banks. The river was filled with red lotuses to create a landscape reminiscent of southern China. As the number of visitors to the district increased, so did the number of shops that served them, and before long the area north of the bridge became known for its wine shops and teahouses.
Emperor Guangxu had the river filled in when the road running between Zhengyangmen Gate and
Yongdingmen Gate (Gate of Eternal Stability) was built. The bridge was demolished and the stone balusters later removed when the road was widened. From then on, only the name remained.
It was after the Revolution of 1911 that the Tianqiao area developed into a market. In1913, the Northern Warlord government demolished Lotus Lane Market outside Zhengyangmen Gate and shopkeepers set up seven alleys in the area around the former Bridge of Heaven. There were shops specializing in imported goods and watches, establishments of astrologers and fortune – tellers, story–tellers and variety shows, seconds–hand clothing shops and teahouses where men practiced martial arts. Small theaters proliferated; the most famous of them, such as the Dangui (Orange Osmanthus), Tianle (Heavenly Happiness) and Xiaotaoyuan (Small Peach Garden) remained open for decades. A popular attraction at the Bridge of Heaven was the “Eight Great Strange Performers,” whose colorful stage names were: Cloud Flyer (Yunlifei), Zhang with His Tube, Big Soldier Huang, Spotted Bear, Little Pigtail Wang, Big Tin Teapot, the Sponge, and Big Gold Teeth.
Yunlifei, surnamed Bai, was the father of the famous cross–talk (xiangsheng) performer Bai Quanfu. In his youth, he and Tan Xinpei performed Peking Opera with the Four Happiness Society (Sixibanshe) troupe where he distinguished himself as an acrobat. When he got too old for acrobatics, he switched to story–telling; he could narrate the entire journey to the West (Xiyouji) from memory. When he came to an episode about the exploits of the Monkey King, he would launch into a display of martial arts. Appreciative crowds gave him the nickname“Cloud Flyer.” Bao San, the most famous wrestler at the Bridge of Heaven, became an official referee after the founding of the People’ s Republic of China. The famous modern Pingju Opera artist Xin Fengxia also performed here.
An old poem goes,“The wine shop banner and the drums in the theaters at the Bridge of Heaven make many a traveler forget his home.”During the“cultural revolution,”the plays and operas, variety shows and wresting were banished. Nowadays, these old arts forms are being revived, and several teahouses are back in business.
