Bridge of Life and Growing

Bridge of Life and Growing

The bridge is one of the infrastructure to facilitate the engineering of human transportation. Built bridges at the location on the river, valley, or the sea that separates it. But somewhere in this world, the bridges that connect the rivers were not built, but alive and growing!



1. Root Bridge in India

In the depths of south-eastern India, in one of the wettest locations on earth, the bridges are made in a very strange and unique.

Grow from the roots of rubber trees, the people using Khasis in Cherrapunjee nut tree, split it and took it to make what is called "pointer roots". When spread and reach the other side of the river, they began to integrate with the roots from the soil. Over time, the bridge is sturdy and life began to take shape.
Root bridges that some anatarnya reach 30 meters, takes 10 to 15 years to be able to function fully, and make it very sturdy. Some can take the weight up to 50 people at once.

One of the most unique structures in Cherrapunjee known as "Double-Decker Umshiang Root Bridge." Consists of two layers of the bridge, above and below
Because these bridges are still alive and continues to grow, making it more robust. Some of the old bridge root has been used every day by people around the village Cherrapunjee since more than 500 years ago.
2. Bridge vines in Iya Valley, Japan
One of the three valleys of "hidden", in Japan, West Iya is the place foggy canyon, the river clean, and the roofs of straw or leaves, as described Japan centuries ago. To cross the river that flows Iya along the slopes of the valley, the robbers, the kstria, and refugees to make a special bridge made of vines.
Below is a picture of a bridge of vines in 1880:
First, the two plants Wisteria - one of the most robust vines - planted for very long from both sides of river. When the plant reaches a sufficient length, and then woven together with the board to make a living botanical engineering, soft but very sturdy.
The bridges had no sides, and a source of Japanese history shows that the bridge is unstable plants, and who tried to cross the first time are often frozen in place, unable to continue any further.
Three of the bridges were still in the valley Yes. Although some (not all) the bridges were reinforced with wire and the sides of the lanes, it is still scary to cross. Longer than 42 meters, with a board that is placed every 6 to 8 inches, and the fact that one fell into the water from a 4.5 story, making it suitable for people with acrophobia (fear of heights).

Some people believe the bridges vines there were first built in the 12th century, which makes some of the examples of architecture in the world's oldest living.