Zhaozhou Bridge, also known as Anji Bridge (named by the Emperor of the Northern Song Dynasty), is located in the south of Zhao County, Hebei Province. A stone bridge flies across the Jiaohe River. Because Zhao County was called Zhaozhou in ancient times, it is commonly known as Zhaozhou Bridge. There are historical records: "Zhaozhou Bridge" Li Chun, the craftsman of the Jiao River stone bridge in the county, also made strange things in his work, and people don’t know why.”
On the banks of Dianshan Lake in Shanghai lies the famous Jiangnan ancient town Zhujiajiao.
There are 36 ancient bridges scattered throughout Zhujiajiao, where rivers and ports intersect. The most famous one is the Fangsheng Bridge.
The Fangsheng Bridge, which was built in the fifth year of Longqing in the Ming Dynasty (1571 AD), is located in the east of Zhujiajiao Town. It is the largest five-hole stone arch bridge in East China, including Zhouzhuang, Wuzhen, Tongli, etc. It is the only large-scale ancient bridge among the "Top Ten Famous Towns in the South of the Yangtze River".
The Fangsheng Bridge has a total length of 70.8 meters, a width of 5.8 meters, and a height of 7.4 meters. The largest aperture in the middle of the bridge body is 13 meters, and the apertures on both sides are 10 meters each. Meters up and down.
The load-bearing structure adopts ultra-thin piers with a thickness of about 100 cm.
The bridge is beautiful in shape, spectacular yet exquisite. It has been well preserved despite hundreds of years of vicissitudes.
The Fangsheng Bridge is as long as a jade belt and shaped like a rainbow. Viewed from a distance, under the reflection of the calm, mirror-like river water, the five semicircular bridge holes turn into complete round holes, which contrast with each other and form a unique cave; it was formerly known as "Well with Changhong" is one of the famous "Ten Scenes" in the local area and is also a landmark building in Zhujiajiao, a famous historical and cultural town.
Some stone arch bridges in Jiangnan Ancient Town are steep, making crossing the bridge feel like climbing a mountain, which is very strenuous.
The movement of the Fangsheng Bridge is gentle and comfortable. Its steps are extremely thin, with the thickness at the thinnest point being only 3 centimeters and generally no more than 8 centimeters. Therefore, crossing the Fangsheng Bridge is like walking on flat ground.
The total number of steps on the north and south sides of Fangsheng Bridge reaches 122.
Such a large number of levels is very rare among Jiangnan stone arch bridges, which shows the ingenuity of ancient bridge builders and their humanistic care for passers-by.
The Fangsheng Bridge is huge and looks like a giant dragon, giving people a very "big" feeling.
Its architectural skills and style are "big" but not "coarse", reflecting delicacy, detail and thoughtfulness everywhere.
Walking up, the steps appear wide and flat. The nearly 60 cm high stones that make up the bridge railings are closely connected along the slope. They are seamless and very strong, becoming a barrier to ensure the safety of pedestrians; the gantry on the top of the bridge There are eight coiled dragons slightly protruding from the stone bridge surface, with a dazzling pearl in the middle, which is meticulously carved with extraordinary craftsmanship. Four stone lions "crouch" symmetrically on the top of the bridge railings on both sides of the center, which are small, exquisite and graceful in shape.
Origin of the name During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, on every first day of the lunar calendar, local monks would hold a grand ceremony on the top of the bridge and release live fish into the river to show their respect for life.
This is where the name "Fangsheng Bridge" comes from.
Couplet Looking carefully at the shore, there is a couplet engraved on the pillar stone of the west bridge: "The sail shadow chases back and locks the Yushan clouds, and the tide makes a noise and moves away from the horse Pingxi Zhupu River with thousands of waves."
The profound cultural heritage and exquisite construction craftsmanship, integrated with the magnificent ancient bridge, complement each other, making Fangsheng Bridge famous far and wide, and it brings joy to people near and far.
The name Baodai Bridge comes from the fact that the bridge looks like a belt! Baodai Bridge is an ancient Chinese stone bridge with thin piers and arches.
It is located beside the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal in Changqiao Town, Wuzhong District, Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province, China, across the Daidai River at the mouth of Tantai Lake, and has been passed by towpaths of all ages.
The bridge is 317 meters long and 4 meters wide.
It was first built in the 11th to 14th years of Tang Yuanhe (816-819) and has a history of thousands of years. Since Wang Zhongshu, the governor, presided over the construction, in order to raise funds for the bridge construction, Wang Zhongshu took the lead in investing his own money. The treasure belt was donated, and the name of the treasure belt bridge came from this.
It is also said that the bridge got its name because it looks like a treasure belt floating on the water.
It was rebuilt many times in the following dynasties. A 53-hole stone arch bridge was built in the Ming Dynasty. The existing bridge was rebuilt in the 11th year of Tongzhi in the Qing Dynasty (1872). It was repaired in 1956 and restored to its original appearance.
Baodai Bridge is built of hard and simple Jinshan stone. The bridge is 316.8 meters long and has 53 holes. It is the longest porous stone bridge among the existing ancient bridges in my country.
The Baodai Bridge we see now was rebuilt during the Zhengtong period of the Ming Dynasty.
During the Xianfeng period of the Qing Dynasty and the Anti-Japanese War, due to the destruction by British imperialism and Japanese invaders, the damage was quite serious.
After liberation, the People's Republic of China renovated this ancient bridge according to the scale and shape of the Ming Dynasty.
The Baodai Bridge not only improves the traffic conditions between the Grand Canal and Tantai Lake, but also because of its exquisite construction and the surrounding green mountains and green waters, it is like a bridge floating in the wilderness of the water town. The treasure belt makes it even more beautiful and colorful.
Among them, the three-hole joint arch is particularly high to pass through the large ship. The pavement of the arches on both sides gradually drops to form a bow-shaped arc.
The whole bridge has a complex yet light structure, a magnificent style, and many ingenious features, making it a scenic spot in the south of the Yangtze River.
On June 25, 2001, Baodai Bridge, an ancient building from the Ming Dynasty, was approved by the State Council to be included in the fifth batch of national key cultural relics protection units.
The origins of the bridge's name are varied.
Some are named after their location, such as Zhaozhou Bridge; some are named after their shape, such as the Key Bridge in Zhouzhuang, where two adjacent bridges exactly form the shape of a key, and the Baodai Bridge in Suzhou , because the bridge looks like a belt; the Free Life Bridge in Zhujiajiao, Shanghai, is named after the custom of people releasing fish and shrimp at the bridge head.
There are different opinions on how the Broken Bridge in West Lake got its name. One says that the road to Gushan ends here; another says that Duanjiaqiao is called Duanqiao for short, which is homophonic to Broken Bridge; another says that the heavy snow has just stopped, and one can climb the gem. Looking south from the mountain, the white embankment is as white as a chain.
In the sunrise, the snow on the Broken Bridge melts toward the sun, revealing a trace of brown bridge deck, as if the long white chain has been interrupted here, so it is called Broken Bridge.