In 1607, during the thirty-fifth year of the Ming Dynasty's Wanli reign, builders in Fengxi Village anchored the Chaoyang Wind-and-Rain Bridge directly into the creek's natural bedrock. They laid masonry stone abutments to support a single stone arch spanning 1.9 meters. Across this gap, they placed massive fir logs, each measuring twenty to twenty-two centimeters in diameter, to carry the wooden deck 3.26 meters above the riverbed. Above, they raised a five-bay wooden corridor and pavilion using a traditional column-and-tie frame, capping it with small green ceramic tiles and horse-head walls at each entrance. The entire structure stretches 16.26 meters long and 3.9 meters wide, covering a footprint of 67.8 square meters.

This bridge is a physical record of Yao community life. Outside, the village lanes slope steeply, paved with river pebbles and blue flagstones. Villagers carved deep pockets into the stone drainage channels running past their doors to wash vegetables and rinse laundry. They placed whetstones along these channels to sharpen their farm knives before heading into the mountains. At the lane intersections, stone blocks used by ancient silversmiths to beat ornaments still sit in the shade.

The Chaoyang Bridge stands as one half of a pair, facing its sibling, the Fushou Bridge, across a pebble-paved plaza. Between them sits an ancient theatrical stage and the ancestral halls of the Jiang, Chen, Cen, and Zhai families. The peak of the Chaoyang pavilion rises 5.85 meters, catching the mountain wind. Inside, the scent of aged fir wood lingers. The bridge remains a functional crossing, sheltering travelers from sudden downpours just as it did four centuries ago.