Marco Polo Bridge

A long stone arch bridge over a river in the southwestern outskirts, first built in the twelfth century and famous for the hundreds of carved marble lions crowning its balustrades, each posed differently. Praised in the account of a medieval European traveler, whose name it now carries in English, it served for centuries as a main southern gateway to the capital. It is also remembered as the flashpoint of a 1937 clash that escalated into wider war. Its graceful spans and weathered lions make a compelling day trip.