How Beautiful Are China's Ancient Bridges?
(Fenghuang Rainbow Bridge in Fenghuang Ancient Town, Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Hunan Province, photographer @ Shen Xinhong)
(Please view horizontally, Jindai Bridge on West Lake, Hangzhou, photographer @ Hu Han)
On this ancient and majestic land
Like "rainbows," "jade belts," and "crescent moons"
(Distribution of major ancient bridges in China, map by @ Chen Zhihao/Planet Research Institute)
Bridges exist not only in reality
But also form a fascinating
"You watch the scenery from the bridge, while someone watches you from the tower."
(Poem excerpt from Bian Zhilin's "Fragment," below is a stone bridge in Chengkan Town, Huizhou District, Huangshan City, Anhui Province, photographer @ Wang Kunyuan)
"Withered vines, old trees, evening crows; a small bridge over a flowing stream, and a household."
(Poem excerpt from Ma Zhiyuan's "Autumn Thoughts," below is Yadi Bridge on West Lake, Hangzhou, photographer @ Fei Yu)
"Tender as water, the best time is like a dream; how can one bear to turn back from the Magpie Bridge?"
(Poem excerpt from Qin Guan's "Immortal at the Magpie Bridge," below is a stone bridge in Lijiang, Yunnan, photographer @ Liu Zhuming)
Nourishing the spiritual world of the Chinese people
(Ancient bridge in Wuzhen, Jiaxing, Zhejiang, photographer @ Li Liqun)
Ropes or iron chains connecting the two banks
(Single-cable zip line over the Nu River, near Liuku Village, Lushui County, Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan, photographer @ Rui Jing)
(Guangji Bridge in Chaozhou, Guangdong, first built in 1171 during the Southern Song Dynasty as a pontoon bridge, now combining beam and pontoon bridges, with the pontoon section openable for large vessels, below is the assembly of the pontoon section, photographer @ Lin Yuxian)
Even facing super rivers like the Yangtze and Yellow River
Among China's top-ranking giants
(Historical distribution map of some ancient pontoon bridges on the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, now extinct, mapped by Chen Zhihao/Planet Research Institute)
From vast water surfaces to extremely deep river channels
More bridges use beams as the primary load-bearing structure
(Stone bridge at Tianping Mountain in Suzhou, photographed by Zhao Yongqing)
Becoming the preferred material for ancient beam bridge construction
They connected "beams" and "pillars" with mortise and tenon joints
(Shouzhai Bridge in Tang'an Dong Village, Zhaoxing Township, Liping County, Guizhou, photographed by Chen Junyu)
(Please view horizontally, Hongji Bridge in Lishui, Zhejiang, built in the Ming Dynasty, with X-shaped supports beneath, photographed by Lu Wen)
Successfully "unlocked" pile foundation technology
(Illustration of a stone-pier wooden-beam bridge using pile foundation technology, mapped by Wang Shenwen/Planet Research Institute)
(Rainbow Bridge in Wuyuan, Jiangxi, built in the Southern Song Dynasty, partially damaged by floods this year, photographed by Wang Yi)
On stable stone piers and banks
Greatly increasing the spanning capacity of wooden-beam bridges
Supporting the massive bridge structure with a "slender frame"
(Yunlong Bridge in Liancheng, Fujian, built during the Qing Dynasty, photographed by Liu Yanhui)
(Longfeng Bridge in Tuancun Village, Pingluo Town, Kang County, Gansu, photographed by Wu Weiping)
(Cooperative Bridge in Shifang Village, Shifang Township, Wen County, Gansu, photographed by Wu Weiping)
(Yongshun Bridge in Huaban Village, Maoba Township, Lichuan City, Hubei, photographed by Wu Weiping)
(Illustration of wooden arch bridge structure, mapped by Wang Shenwen/Planet Research Institute)
Only appearing in "Along the River During the Qingming Festival"
The remaining figures can be memorialized
Wooden arch bridges still thrive on this land
(Baiyun Bridge in Jushui Township, Qingyuan County, Lishui City, Zhejiang Province, built in the Ming Dynasty, photographer: Wu Weiping)
All are members of the wooden arch bridge "family"
(Ancient bridge in Houlong Village, Zhouning County, Ningde City, Fujian Province, a wooden arch bridge, photographer: Lin Zuxian)
The load-bearing structures and construction techniques of these bridges
Are similar to the Rainbow Bridge over the Bian River in "Along the River During the Qingming Festival"
(Jielong Bridge in Laifeng County, Hubei Province, photographer: Wu Weiping)
The forms of wooden bridges are so dazzling and diverse
But limited by the material properties of wood
Their load-bearing structures have reached the end of evolution
And with the wave of iterative evolution of ancient bridges
They once led the trend alongside wooden bridges for thousands of years
While wooden bridges flourished everywhere
The wooden beams in the original stone-pier-and-beam bridges
(Stone bridge in Jinyun County, Lishui City, Zhejiang Province, photographer: Zhao Yongqing)
(The Nine-Bend Bridge in Shanghai's Yuyuan Garden after snow, photographer: Shi Tianjin)
(Jade Belt Bridge on West Lake in Hangzhou, photographer: Hu Han)
In terms of construction techniques and length
The earliest surviving cross-sea bridge in China
After the ancient people completed the construction of the bridge piers
using the adhesive bodily fluids secreted by oysters
(Luoyang Bridge in Quanzhou, Fujian, initially built during the Northern Song Dynasty, photographer @ Wuyuchuan)
The longest surviving ancient bridge in China
Deliberately built with five pavilions on the bridge
"A long white jade embankment road, a small painted boat with a black awning"
(Anping Bridge in Quanzhou, Fujian, initially built during the Southern Song Dynasty, photographer @ Jiang Qingfang)
Under prolonged real-world testing
It generally begins to deteriorate from the middle of the beam
Transforming vertical pressure into lateral thrust
(Force analysis of an arch bridge, illustration by @ Chen Sui & Wang Shenwen/Planet Research Institute)
(Bridge in Anchang Ancient Town, Shaoxing, Zhejiang, photographer @ Lu Wen)
The arches of southern bridges are often tall and slender
As if nestled between the mottled stone bridge and the deep blue water
(Yong'an Bridge in Xikou Village, Ningde, Fujian, photographer @ Lin Wenqiang)
(Please view horizontally, Inner Golden Water Bridge in the Forbidden City, Beijing, initially built during the Ming Dynasty, photographer @ Liu Yedao)
But once formed, it developed rapidly
Some construction methods of stone beam bridges
Possessed relatively mature construction techniques
(Structural diagram of a stone arch bridge, illustration by @ Wang Shenwen/Planet Research Institute)
The upturned eaves and ridges of the roof reach for the sky, showcasing a unique style
(Taiping Bridge in Ganzhou, Jiangxi, built in the late Ming Dynasty, photographer @ Milan's Vision)
(Please view horizontally, Gongchen Bridge in Hangzhou, photographer @ Jiangnan Jun)
Huangyaguan Water Pass of the Great Wall in Ji County, Tianjin
(Five-Arch Bridge at Black Dragon Pool in Lijiang, Yunnan, photographer @ Liu Zhuming)
(Zhusheng Bridge in Zhenyuan Ancient Town, Guizhou, built during the Ming Dynasty, photographer @ Li Yunpeng)
There is also the Lugou Bridge with eleven connected arches
The Seventeen-Arch Bridge in the Summer Palace with seventeen linked arches
(Seventeen-Arch Bridge in the Summer Palace, Beijing, built during the Qianlong era of the Qing Dynasty, the largest stone bridge in the Summer Palace, photographer @ Qingxin Cao)
(Please view horizontally, Baodai Bridge in Suzhou, Jiangsu, built during the Tang Dynasty under the supervision of Suzhou Governor Wang Zhongshu. The name "Baodai" (Precious Belt) reportedly comes from Wang donating his belt to fund the bridge's construction, or because the bridge resembles a floating belt on water. Image source @ VCG)
(Modern bridge at Tiger Leaping Gorge, where the open-spandrel arch technique is still used today despite the dominance of reinforced concrete bridges, photographer @ wzkdream)
The design of adding smaller arches on the "shoulders" of the main arch
As the world's earliest surviving open-spandrel arch bridge
(Please view horizontally, Zhaozhou Bridge in Zhao County, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, photographer @ Shi Yaochen)
Ancient Chinese bridges in terms of mechanics and technology
Ancient bridges evolved from purely mechanical engineering
"The chilly water carries frosty winds, further enhanced by the night scene on the bridge"
(The above is quoted from Du Mu's "Autumn Night in Luoyang." Below is the Long Bridge of West Lake in Hangzhou, photographer @ Zhang Shengdong)
"Gazing at the thousand-zhang rainbow bridge, subtle and vast, where sky and clouds merge with flying towers"
(The above is from an inscription on Cangyan Mountain. Below is the Bridge-Tower Hall on Cangyan Mountain in Jingxing County, Hebei, photographer @ Wu Weiping)
The ancients explored natural beauty through man-made stone bridges
"Though man-made, as if divinely crafted"
(Wanlang Bridge at Yuantouzhu, Taihu Lake, Wuxi, Jiangsu. Yuantouzhu is a famous private garden, and Wanlang Bridge adorns the Taihu Lake scenery. Photographer: Zhu Jinhua)
"A rainbow drinking from the stream", "A crescent moon emerging from clouds"
"A jade belt floating on water", "Spring Dawn at Su Causeway"
"Lingering Snow on Broken Bridge", "Morning Moon over Lugou Bridge"
(Buying Bridge in Shanggantang Village, Jiangyong County, Hunan, built during the Ming Dynasty. Photographer: Deng Fei)
Even successfully "representing" the image of Jiangnan
Lingering in dreams, never forgotten
"At Yangzhou posthouse, I dreamed of Suzhou, dreaming of its flower bridges and waterside pavilions"
(From Bai Juyi's poem "Dreaming of Suzhou Waterside Pavilion, Sent to Attendant Feng". Jade Belt Bridge, West Lake, Hangzhou. Photographer: Zhu Luxiang)
Ancient bridges capture their essence vividly
(Detail from Wang Ximeng's "A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains" of the Northern Song Dynasty, now housed in the Palace Museum)
All have left a profound mark
(Ancient stone bridge in Songzhuang Village, Sandu Township, Songyang County, Lishui, Zhejiang. Photographer: Li Weilin)
And legends whisper in the misty waters of ancient bridges
When floods came, he clung to the bridge pillar and perished
"If water comes, I'll wait for you in water; if fire comes, I'll wait for you in ashes"
(Quoted from Luo Fu's "The Dialectics of Love". Below: Stone bridge at Slender West Lake, Yangzhou. Photographer: Qingxi)
"A long bridge lies across the waves—no clouds, yet how comes the dragon? A gallery walks in the void—not rainbows, yet what arches the sky?"
(Please view horizontally, the verse is from Du Mu's "Ode to the Epang Palace," Taiping Bridge in She County, Huangshan, Anhui, photographer @Tang Shao)
"Tiny streams trickle like tears, at dusk, sorrow lingers by the small bridge."
(Verse from Bai Juyi's "Willow by the Little Bridge," image below shows the Humble Administrator's Garden in Suzhou, Jiangsu, photographer @Fang Thomas)
"Beneath the heartbroken bridge, spring waves gleam green, once reflecting the fleeting grace of a swan."
(Verse from Lu You's "Two Poems of Shen Garden: No. 1," Jindeng Bridge in Lili Town, Suzhou, Jiangsu, photographer @Zhao Yongqing)
"Distant mountains under water, clouds like snow; by the bridge, flat shores veiled in misty grass."
(Verse from Liu Yuxi's "Playful Allegory After a Drunken Visit to Nanzhuang with Prime Minister Niu, Presented to Letian," image shows a stone arch bridge in Qingshuitang Village, Gaoluo Township, Xuan'en County, Hubei, photographer @Wen Lin)
"Love alone has no end—why call this bridge 'Love's End'?"
(Please view horizontally, the verse is from Yong Tao's "Inscription on Love's End Bridge," image shows the Sister Bridges in Anzhou District, Mianyang, Sichuan, photographer @Wu Weiping)
"Water flows through jade rings; men walk on the back of a blue dragon."
(From Liu Baixi's couplet, image shows a farmer leading an ox through a ruined bridge in Wang Village, Duanxin Township, Wuyuan County, Shangrao, Jiangxi, image source @VCG)
"Spring winds blow everywhere in spring, yet most tender by the willows of Lake Bridge."
(Verse from Lu You's "Willows," image shows Stone Lake in Suzhou, photographer @Wu Minjun)
"On the Twenty-Four Bridges under moonlight, where does the jade beauty teach the flute?"
(Verse from Du Mu's "To Han Chuo, Judge of Yangzhou," image shows Yadi Bridge on West Lake, Hangzhou, photographer @Fei Yu)
Prof. Li Yadong, School of Civil Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University
Prof. Chen Baochun, School of Civil Engineering, Fuzhou University
Prof. Mu Xiangchun, Senior Engineer, Beijing Municipal Engineering Design & Research Institute Co., Ltd.
China Communications Press Co., Ltd.
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