Fang Minke, Class 7, Senior 1, Shenzhen Foreign Languages School Instructed by Liu Xin

I never imagined that one day I would be able to become a bridge constructor and designer.

It was an ordinary day, in an ordinary class, when we were required to build a wooden bridge out of sticks and, at the same time, make sure that it had the strongest bearing capacity.

We were eager to finish the task. However, it was not as easy as it looked. My partner and I had absolutely no idea what to do with the fragile sticks at first. The materials were simply too hard to operate with. They were so easy to break that it seemed impossible to make them load-bearing. When we were at a loss, the famous works of ancient Chinese constructors gave us a clue. A thought of building a steadier arch bridge, totally different from the teacher’s sample, came to me.

Gently curving the sticks and adding supporting structures, a graceful mini arch bridge was born beneath our hands. During the process, our hands often got stuck by the glue, and we had to make sure every tiny piece was in place. Nevertheless, it was well worth the time we devoted. My partner and I were excited to test its capacity. Staring at the testing machine anxiously, we discovered in surprise that our bridge has the best bearing capacity!

With elegance and functionality in one, this small handcraft completely designed and created by ourselves gave me a great sense of accomplishment. This one and only experience I had added another brush of color to my high school life. Though the memory may fade, the interesting moments I enjoyed will certainly linger on.