The Precious Belt Bridge () or Baodai Bridge is a stone

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 ...

near Suzhou,

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its ca ...

Province, China. The Precious Belt Bridge is located at the intersection of the Grand Canal and Tantai Lake, about 2.5 kilometer south east of Suzhou.

History

The first construction of the bridge dates back to the year 816 AD, during the mid

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdom ...

. According to written accounts, the bridge derives its name from the local prefect Wang Zhongshu, who in a selfless act had sold his precious belt in order to help finance its construction. Since then, it has been reconstructed several times. The current structure of the Precious Belt Bridge is a

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peo ...

era reconstruction of 1446 AD,Needham, Volume 4, 174. during the reign of the

Zhengtong Emperor Emperor Yingzong of Ming (; 29 November 1427 – 23 February 1464), personal name Zhu Qizhen (), was the sixth and eighth Emperor of the Ming dynasty. He ascended the throne as the Zhengtong Emperor () in 1435, but was forced to abdicate in ...

. John Barrow, while attached to the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

Macartney Embassy The Macartney Embassy (), also called the Macartney Mission, was the first British diplomatic mission to China, which took place in 1793. It is named for its leader, George Macartney, Great Britain's first envoy to China. The goals of the missi ...

in 1793, visited the Precious Belt Bridge during the diplomatic mission to China. He accurately described the bridge's length and the central arches being of greater height than the rest. The bridge was included on the list of national monuments (resolution 5-285) in 2001.

Dimensions

The bridge's span is long and has a width of , with a total of 53 arches in its span. The three central arches are enlarged to allow for the passage of – by historical standards – larger river vessels without masts. The average span of each arch is .

Notes

References

*Needham, Joseph (1986). ''Science and Civilization in China: Volume 4, Part 3''. Taipei: Caves Books, Ltd.

External links

China.org.cn
Deck arch bridges Bridges completed in 1446 Bridges in Suzhou Stone bridges in China Ming dynasty architecture Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in Jiangsu 15th-century establishments in China 1446 establishments in Asia 1440s establishments in Asia {{Suzhou-stub

History

Dimensions

See also

Notes

References

External links