The four most famous bridges in China are Zhaozhou Bridge in Hebei, Luoyang Bridge in Quanzhou, Fujian, Guangji Bridge in Chaozhou, Guangdong, and Marco Polo Bridge in Beijing.
Zhaozhou Bridge, also known as "Anji Bridge", is located 2.5 kilometers south of Zhao County, Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province. It spans the north and south banks of the Mishui River and was built during the Daye Period of the Sui Dynasty (605-616). , built by the famous craftsman Li Chun, has a history of more than 1,300 years. Because the bridge is entirely built of stone, it is commonly known as the "Big Stone Bridge".
The Zhaozhou Bridge has a novel structure and beautiful appearance, with a total length of 50.82 meters, a width of 9.6 meters, and a span of 37.37 meters. It is a single-hole arc bridge composed of 28 independent arches. There are two small circular arches in the spandrels on the left and right sides of the roof of the bridge, which are used to speed up flood drainage, reduce the weight of the bridge body, and save stone materials. This is a pioneering work in the history of bridge construction. The railing pillars on both sides of the bridge are carved with various exquisite patterns, with vigorous knife skills and vivid shapes. Structurally, the arc-shaped flat arches and small open-shouldered arches give people a sense of movement, lightness and leaps and bounds. The lines are soft in their strength, light in their weight, and meaningful in their majesty. Zhaozhou Bridge is known as the "No. 1 Bridge in the World" and "The Miracle of the World" for its extraordinary features.
Luoyang Bridge: formerly known as "Wan'an Bridge". The earliest existing cross-sea beam-type large stone bridge in my country is located on the Luoyang River in the eastern suburbs of Quanzhou, Fujian Province. It is the beginning of the raft foundation of bridges in the world and is a national key cultural relic protection unit.
Luoyang Bridge, Cai Xiang, the prefect of Quanzhou in the Song Dynasty, presided over the bridge construction project. From the fourth year of Huangyou (AD 1053) to the fourth year of Jiayou (AD 1059) in the Northern Song Dynasty, it took seven years and 14 million taels of silver to build this large stone bridge across the river and the sea. According to historical records, when it was first built, the bridge was 360 feet long and 15 feet wide, with warrior statues on both sides. The bridge building project is huge. The structural craftsmanship is superb and famous all over the world.
Guangji Bridge is located outside the east gate of the ancient city of Chaozhou City, Guangdong Province. Commonly known as Xiangzi Bridge. Across the vast Hanjiang River, it is an important transportation hub between Fujian and Guangdong. With its unique style of "Eighteen shuttles and twenty-four continents", it was praised by the famous bridge expert Mao Yisheng as "the world's earliest opening and closing bridge". This bridge integrates beam bridge, arch bridge and pontoon bridge, and is an isolated example in the history of bridges in my country. There are 24 pairs of pavilions and pavilions of different styles built on the piers, which also serve as scripture shops. Therefore, it is known as "Twenty-four pavilions and twenty-four types" and "One mile of bridge and one mile of city".
Lugou Bridge, also known as Lugou Bridge, is located on the Yongding River in Fengtai District, about 15 kilometers southwest of Beijing. Named after it crosses the Lugou River (i.e. Yongding River), it is the oldest existing stone arch bridge in Beijing. The Marco Polo Bridge is 266.5 meters long, 7.5 meters wide, and 9.3 meters wide at its widest point. There are ten bridge piers and a total of 11 bridge holes. The entire bridge body is a stone structure, and key parts are connected with silver ingots and iron tenons. It is the longest ancient stone bridge in North China. On July 7, 1937, Japanese imperialism launched a full-scale war of aggression against China here. The Chinese garrison in Wanping City rose up to resist, which was known in history as the "Marco Bridge Incident" (also known as the "July 7th Incident"). The Chinese anti-Japanese army fired the first shot of the all-out war of resistance at Marco Polo Bridge.