Wuhan First Yangtze Bridge over the Yangtze River in Wuhan, Hubei (China)

I often come here, the Hanyang Gate,

When I’m in deep despair
Having nowhere else to go
There're usually many people gathered
Under the bridge to watch the scene
Now as before, the big river flows east
The sound of the waves resonates in me
But few people can hear it

From the poem Spring Comes to Hangyang Gate

by Zhang Zhihao

Painting of the Qiantang River Bridge in Hangzhou, Zhejiang (China)

Great waves roll up like snowbanks white
The river extends till lost to sight
Jewels and pearls at the Fair on display
Satins and silks in splendid array

Poet Liu Young about Hangzhou

Liede Bridge over the Pearl River in Guangzhou (China)

These indistinct pains at the city’s margins
like light from inlaid faux pearls, they are not mine
perhaps they belong to you, left behind by the whore called Bella.
These exquisite nights recalling sugarcane groves or thin palmettos
breathing Pearl River mist, they are not mine
perhaps they belong to you, hidden behind the back of the moon.
These plains that have never been marked on any map
and on which only half-built constructions rise, they are not mine
but belong to him and her, masked mendicants with silver bowls.

Poem by Liu Waitong

Bakkerbrug over the Oude Gracht (Old Canal) in Utrecht (Netherlands)

Ik ga jou vertellen dat het anders kan,
het is veel mooier dan Amsterdam
recht in het midden van ons kleine land,
daar zit je dicht bij goud!

I'm gonna tell you that it can be different,

it's much more beautiful than Amsterdam

right in the middle of our small country,

there you're close to gold!

Beginning of the song Utretcht
by Benr

Huangsi Bridge over the Tuojiang river in Fenghuan Ancient Town, Hunan (China)

 
The bird Fenghuang is made up of the beak of a rooster, the face of a swallow, the forehead of a fowl, the neck of a snake, the breast of a goose, the back of a tortoise, the hindquarters of a stag and the tail of a fish. The fenghuang's body symbolizes the celestial bodies: the head is the sky, the eyes are the sun, the back is the moon, the wings are the wind, the feet are the earth, and the tail is the planets. Its body contains the five fundamental colors: black, white, red, yellow, and green. It is believed that the bird only appears in areas or places that are blessed with utmost peace and prosperity or happiness.

Decription of legendary bird Fenghuang

who gives name to this village

Bolshoy Kamenny Bridge over the Moskva River in Moscow (Russia)

 

“Moscow was an enormous city, but there was nowhere to go in it.”

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

Nordbrücke (North Bridge) over the Danube River near Vienna (Austria)

There where the Danube broadly sweeps,
Mid islands willow grown,
The City of St. Stephen stands.
An Empire's lovely throne;
While o'er the river, on the plain,
Far battle echoes roll.

German poem

Bridge of the Eastern Gate over a canal in Delft (Netherlands)

If light falls here, it's under a sky

of lead, false glow, late in the day.
Wish I could take the city, set myself up
in the stone circle in the marketplace, and drink
the blooded shadow of town hall
Get your head examined. I pound on the walls;
they go up in dust like ash in a stove in the morning,
as if I exist. Out of the canals rises
a wall of caustic water. Here's where it was,
here's where I sighed for the open polder and fell against
an icy structure. Here's where you trade the trip
for the tight home corner.

Poem by Anna Enquist about Delft

Bridge over the Ariége River in Tarascon, Ariége (France)

"Les Ariégeois dorment sur des trésors et il ajoutait de l’Ariège …c’est à la fois une Suisse pittoresque et un Eldorado inconnu"

1718 , René de Réaumu

Blackfriars Bridge over the Irwell River in Manchester, England (United Kingdom)

“Manchester is in the south of the north of England. Its spirit has a contrariness in it – a south and north bound up together – at once untamed and unmetropolitan; at the same time, connected and wordly.”

Jeanette Winterson

Sant Feliu Footbridge crossing the Onyar River in Girona (Spain)

 Aquell carrer que hi passa un riu pel mig
És la cosa més bella de Girona;
Oh, qui pogués anar-hi, l'endemig,
Cavall d'un barquitxol, damunt de l'ona!
La barca passaria sens trepig
Sota del cel -sota d'un cel de lona-;
No més d'endevinar-ho i de desig
En tot balcó hi hauria alguna dona.
I el nostre anhel, fent un estuf com mai!
Com una aigua que passa per l'espai,
Que ja una gorga de claror l'espera.
I, tot passant, reposarem el rem,
Reposarem el rem, o l'alçarem
Fent d'ell i de l'anhel una bandera.

From Girona, Ciutat de l'Onyar

Joan Badía

Bridge of the Sky Train in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia)

...
Skyscrapers towerin' the masses gatherin' in a city
Of limitless chances and wealth sense shattering
Development materialistic inhabitants
Stressful in their lifestyles
Migrants emergin' from miles apart
Depart from their birthplace to metropolitan KL
...

Excerpt from the lyrics of Kuala Lumpur

by group Poetic Ammo

Benjamin Sheares Bridge over the Marina Bay in Singapore

“Singapore is what your city could become if everyone obeyed the rules, did their jobs diligently, and just shut up. When your city gets to be this paragon of efficiency and discipline, would you still want to live there? Singapore is a model city, which is terrific if you happen to be a model human.”

From Twisted Travels

Jessica Zafra 

Bridge of the International Horticulture Exposition over the Guangyun Lake in Xi'an, Shaanxi (China)

“By leaving behind the obvious typological and historical references to Xi’an’s past, this project is seeking a contemporary authentic expression of China’s current and future ambitions, adding an entirely new layer to the Millenial tapestry of Xi’an. By the same token, Flowing Gardens explores a new syncretic balance between urbanism and landscape with universal relevance. The traditional subordination of ground and landscape by buildings has been reversed to offer a unique symbiotic experience,”

Plasma Studio, desginers of Xi'an Expo 2011 

Borodinsky Bridge over the Moskva River in Moscow (Russia)

Not even a whisper is to be heard in the garden, everything has calmed down until dawn. If you only knew how dear they are to me the evenings near Moscow!The river is moving and (sometimes) not, all made of the moons silver. A song sounds and is not to be heard In those quiet evenings.

Lyrics of Moscow Nights,

Vladimir Troshin

Obervaum Bridge crossing the River Spree in Berlin (Germany)

Ich brauche keine fernen Alpen
Ich brauch kein Haus mit Pool am Meer
Ich brauche auch keine Diamanten,
denn alles was ich brauch hab ich schon hier

Wasser aus der Spree
Wasser aus der Spree nanana

Mein Schicksal liegt in deinen Händen
Ja ich weiß ich bin verloren
Wie oft hast du mich schon betrogen
und wie oft habe ich dir danach verziehen

Wasser aus der Spree
Wasser aus der Spree nanana

Song by Berlin band Trikot

Painting of Westminster Bridge over the River Thames in London (United Kingdom)

"It is difficult to speak adequately or justly of London. It is not a pleasant place; it is not agreeable, or cheerful, or easy, or exempt from reproach. It is only magnificent."

Henry James

Debilly Footridge over the Seine River in Paris (France)

Mais oui, je suis une girafe,

M’a raconté la tour Eiffel.

Et si ma tête est dans le ciel,

C’est pour mieux brouter les nuages,

Car ils me rendent éternelle.

Mais j’ai quatre pieds bien assis

Dans une courbe de la Seine.

On ne s’ennuie pas à Paris :

Les femmes, comme des phalènes, 

Les hommes, comme des fourmis, 

Glissent sans fin entre mes jambes 

Et les plus fous, les plus ingambes 

Montent et descendent le long 

De mon cou comme des frelons. 

La nuit, je lèche les étoiles. 

Et si l’on m’aperçoit de loin 

C’est que très souvent, j’en avale 

Une sans avoir l’air de rien. 

Poem by Maurice Careme

Pont Alexandre III over the Seine River in Paris (France)

"A walk about Paris will provide lessons in history, beauty, and in the point of life."

Thomas Jefferson

Charles de Gaulle Bridge over the Seine River in Paris (France)

Je marche dans tes rues

Qui me marchent sur les pieds

Je bois dans tes cafés

Je traîne dans tes métros

Tes trottoirs m'aiment un peu trop

Je rêve dans tes bistrots

Je m'assoie sur tes bancs

Je regarde tes monuments

Je trinque à la santé de tes amants

Je laisse couler ta seine

Sous tes ponts ta rengaine

Toujours après la peine

...

Paris

Song by Marc Lavoine