The Guyue Bridge () is an

arch bridge An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either side. A viaduct ...

located in

Yiwu Yiwu () is a county-level city under the jurisdiction of Jinhua in Central Zhejiang Province, East China. As of the 2020 census, the city had 1,859,390 inhabitants and its built-up (or metro) area, joined with that of the neighboring Dongy ...

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Jiang ...

province, China.

Introduction

The bridge is located in Chi'an Town (), and it's about 100-meter western of the Yazhi Street (雅治街). It goes across the ''Dragon Creek'' (traditional Chinese: 龍溪, simplified Chinese: 龙溪, pinyin: Lóng Xī). It is a single span arch bridge. The design is very special: more precisely, its structure feature is girder-arch, and the

girder A girder () is a support beam used in construction. It is the main horizontal support of a structure which supports smaller beams. Girders often have an I-beam cross section composed of two load-bearing ''flanges'' separated by a stabilizing ' ...

s are arranged like ribs. Such a design can be found in the famous

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...

Along the River During the Qingming Festival ''Along the River During the Qingming Festival'' (''Qingming Shanghe Tu'') is a handscroll painting by the Song dynasty painter Zhang Zeduan (1085–1145) and copied many times in the following centuries. It captures the daily life of people and ...

'' of

Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

Zhang Zeduan Zhang Zeduan (; 1085–1145), courtesy name Zhengdao (), was a Chinese painter of the Song dynasty. He lived during the transitional period from the Northern Song to the Southern Song, and was instrumental in the early history of the Chinese l ...

. The bridge was completed in 1213, the sixth year of the Jiading Era (),

Southern Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

. Since then it has never been rebuilt or repaired. On the body of the bridge are engraved 12

Chinese character Chinese characters () are logograms developed for the Written Chinese, writing of Chinese. In addition, they have been adapted to write other East Asian languages, and remain a key component of the Japanese writing system where they are k ...

s: ''Huangsong Jiading Guiyou Jiqiu Runyue Jianzao'' (), which literally means: Constructed in Autumn September Imperial Song Jiangding Era the Year of Guiyou ("''Huang''" means Imperial. "''Song''" reveals Song dynasty. "''Jiading''" is an era 1208-1224 of the Emperor Ningzong of Song. "''Guiyou''" is the year 1213, it's the

Sexagenary cycle The sexagenary cycle, also known as the Stems-and-Branches or ganzhi ( zh, 干支, gānzhī), is a cycle of sixty terms, each corresponding to one year, thus a total of sixty years for one cycle, historically used for recording time in China and t ...

-way to record years in traditional

Chinese calendar The traditional Chinese calendar (also known as the Agricultural Calendar ��曆; 农历; ''Nónglì''; 'farming calendar' Former Calendar ��曆; 旧历; ''Jiùlì'' Traditional Calendar ��曆; 老历; ''Lǎolì'', is a lunisolar calendar ...

. "''Jiqiu''" means the late autumn period of a year.

References

External links

Detailed descriptions on the Guyue Bridge
, including photos (from Hudong.com)
A blog describing Guyue Bridge in spring
{{Yiwu Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in Zhejiang Arch bridges in China Bridges in Jinhua Stone bridges in China Buildings and structures completed in 1213 Song dynasty architecture Bridges completed in the 13th century

Introduction

See also

References

External links