Completed in 1997, the Shuikousi Bridge, aka Shuikousi Overpass, quickly found itself at the center of an unusual residential project. Faced with a shortage of available land for affordable housing, the authorities of Guyiang City decided to use the space under the bridge to erect a number of apartment buildings.
The idea of building right under the Shuikousi Bridge was to take advantage of unused land near the center of the city, instead of expanding outwards on the outskirts. This way, residents could have easy access to the city center. But there was obviously a compromise. The over a dozen apartment buildings rising up all the way to the bridge would be affected by traffic noise and vibrations.
Two years after the completion of the bridge, about 10 residential buildings were erected as low-rent housing as well as resettlement housing projects, and gradually, more buildings were added on the remaining vacant land under Shuikousi Overpass.
As expected, the constant traffic noise and the vibrations from the passing vehicles overhead became a daily presence in the lives of the thousands of people occupying this unusual residential complex, but few of them complained. The advantages far outweighed the disadvantages, so people just adapted and started considering the noise and the shaking as part of the charm of their unique residence.
To improve living conditions, authorities eventually banned heavy semi-trucks from using the bridge, which somewhat reduced the noise and shaking. It’s still not the quietest or most comfortable place in Guyiang, and there is not a lot residents can do to keep the dust from the road from entering their homes, but it’s cheap and close to the city center.
Today, the community under the Shuikousi Bridge is regarded as an innovative way of managing urban density in a city of over four million people, where available land is very scarce.
For more unique Chinese urban planning, check out this train line that passes straight through apartment buildings in the city of Chongqing.
