Rickshaw traffic on Jingang bridge (金鋼橋), with (大胡 [Da Hutong]) in the background, Tianjin

University of Bristol - Historical Photographs of China reference number: FB02-15. This photograph seems to have been taken from a horse drawn vehicle. The characters on the arch at the end of the Jingang bridge are, from right to left: 大胡 [Da hutong], meaning Big Alley or Big Hutong. This is the name of a major shopping street in Tianjin, also known as 大胡同 (Dahutong) or 河北大胡同 (Hebei Hutong), or just Hutong – a street which can be seen in the background of this photograph. The Jingang bridge (金鋼橋 Jingang qiao, Golden Steel Bridge) was known, in French, as Ponte de Huen-Chi-kai (Heuen Chi Kai, Yuan Shikai) and also later as King Kong Bridge. Yuan Shikai was responsible for building the steel bridge in 1903.