霁虹桥 was once the most important Mekong crossing, it is mentioned in the 《manshu》. The historic bridge was swept away in the 1980s (?) and replaced with a small road bridge. Then, after the construction of a dam downstream the historic site was flooded. The bridge houses have been reconstructed and a number of historic wall reliefs have been move to a higher location. 

The advantageous location is underlined that it is the crossing of the gas pipeline from Burma to Anning as well as the high-speed railway between Kunming and Ruili.