The bridge’s opening is arc-shaped, like a rainbow. Ancient myths say that the rainbow after the rain is the "bridge between earth and heaven", and one can reach the sky through the rainbow. Chinese poets like to compare arch bridges to rainbows, say arch bridges are "lying rainbows" and "flying rainbows", and describe arch bridges on the water as "long rainbows lying on waves".
Stone arch bridges appeared relatively early in the history of world bridges. This kind of bridge is not only beautiful in form, but also structurally strong. It can span rivers for decades, hundreds or even thousands of years, playing a role in transportation.
my country’s stone arch bridges have a long history. The "Traveller's Bridge" mentioned in "Shui Jing Zhu" was built around 282 AD and may be the earliest recorded stone arch bridge. Stone arch bridges can be found almost everywhere in our country. These bridges come in many sizes and forms, and many are stunning masterpieces. The most famous among them are the Zhaozhou Bridge in Zhao County, Hebei Province, and the Marco Polo Bridge in Fengtai District, Beijing.
The Zhaozhou Bridge spans the Mihe River and is a world-famous ancient stone arch bridge. It is also the oldest stone bridge that has been in use until now. This bridge was built around 605 AD. It has been more than 1,300 years ago and still maintains its original majestic appearance. By the time of liberation, the bridge was somewhat damaged. Under the leadership of the People's Government, after thorough renovation, the ancient bridge regained its youth.
The Zhaozhou Bridge is very majestic, with a total length of 50.82 meters, a width of 9.6 meters at both ends, and a slightly narrower middle section of 9 meters wide. The design of the bridge is completely in line with scientific principles, and the construction technology is even more ingenious. Zhang Jiazhen of the Tang Dynasty said that it was "strangely made, and people don't know why." The characteristics of this bridge are: (1) The whole bridge has only one large arch, which is 37.4 meters long. It was the longest stone arch in the world at the time. The bridge opening is not an ordinary semicircle, but resembles a bow. Therefore, there is no steep slope on the road above the large arch, making it easier for horses and cars to get on and off. (2) There are two small arches on each shoulder of the big arch. This creative design not only saves stone materials and reduces the weight of the bridge body, but also increases the water flow in the bridge hole and reduces the impact of floods on the bridge body when the river water surges. At the same time, adding arches to the arches makes the bridge more beautiful. (3) The large arch is made up of 28 arch circles, just like so many bows of the same shape put together to form an arc-shaped bridge. Each arch ring can independently support the weight above it. If one arch is broken, the other arches will not be affected. (4) The structure of the whole bridge is well-proportioned and harmonious with the surrounding scenery; the stone railings on the bridge are also carved in a simple and beautiful way. Zhang Jue of the Tang Dynasty said that looking at the bridge from a distance is like "the clouds are rising in the early moon, and the rainbow is drinking from the stream." The high technical level and immortal artistic value of Zhaozhou Bridge fully demonstrate the wisdom and strength of our country's working people. Li Chun, the main designer of the bridge, was an outstanding craftsman, and his name is engraved on the inscription at the head of the bridge.
The Marco Polo Bridge on the Yongding River was built between 1189 and 1192 AD. The bridge is 265 meters long and consists of 11 semicircular stone arches. The length of each stone arch varies from 16 meters to 21.6 meters. The bridge is about 8 meters wide and the road surface is flat, almost parallel to the river. There are stone piers between every two stone arches, connecting the 11 stone arches into a whole. Because the arches are connected, this kind of bridge is called a combined-arch stone bridge. When the Yongding River floods, it is very strong. In the past, the embankments on both sides of the river were often washed away, but this bridge has never had any accidents, which shows its strength. The bridge deck is paved with stone slabs, with stone railings and pillars on both sides. Each pillar is carved with a lion in different postures. Some of these stone lions are hugging each other, some are whispering to each other, some are like listening to the sound of water, and some are like watching passers-by. They are all different and lifelike.
As early as the 13th century, Marco Polo Bridge was world-famous. At that time, Marco Polo, an Italian, visited China. In his travel notes, he highly praised this bridge, saying that it was "unique in the world." He also particularly admired the lions carved on the bridge railings, saying that they were "* **Together they constitute a beautiful spectacle.” Domestically, this bridge has always been praised by people. It is located on the main thoroughfare and has beautiful architecture. "Lugou Xiaoyue" has long been one of the scenic spots in Beijing.
The Marco Polo Bridge is also worth commemorating in the history of our people’s resistance to imperialist aggression. On July 7, 1937, the Chinese army fought against the aggression of Japanese imperialism here, marking the beginning of the Anti-Japanese War.
Why do our country’s stone arch bridges have such glorious achievements? First of all, it lies in the diligence and wisdom of our country’s working people. Their craftsmanship in making stone is extremely exquisite. They can cut the stone into whole large stone tablets and carve the stones into various images. There are many creations in construction technology, and even more unexpected methods in lifting and hoisting. For example, the Jiangdong Bridge in Zhangzhou, Fujian Province was built 800 years ago. Some of the stone beams weigh more than 200 tons each. How they were installed is still not completely known. Secondly, my country has a fine tradition in the design and construction of stone arch bridges. The completed bridges use less materials, have clever structures and high strength. Secondly, our country is rich in various stones for construction, which makes it easy to obtain materials locally, which also provides favorable conditions for building stone bridges.
Over the past two thousand years, our country has built countless stone arch bridges. After liberation, various types of road bridges and railway bridges were built on a large scale across the country, including many stone arch bridges. In 1961, Yunnan Province built the world's longest single-arch stone bridge, called "Changhong Bridge", with a stone arch length of 112.5 meters. On the basis of traditional stone arch bridges, we have also built a large number of reinforced concrete arch bridges. Among them, the "double-curved arch bridge" is a new creation of our country's working people and the only one in the world.
In recent years, more than 200,000 meters of this kind of arch bridge have been built across the country, the largest of which is 150 meters long. The rapid development of my country's bridge industry demonstrates the incomparable superiority of my country's socialist system.