Anping Bridge () is a

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 res ...

stone

beam bridge Beam bridges are the simplest structural forms for bridge spans supported by an abutment or pier at each end. No moments are transferred throughout the support, hence their structural type is known as '' simply supported''. The simplest beam ...

Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its ...

province. It is long. Fu et al (2002), p. 185 Mao (1978), p. 6 The bridge is also known as the Wuli Bridge (, literally ''Five Li Bridge'') because its length is about 5 '' li'', where a ''li'' is about 500 meters or 0.3 miles. Ministry of Culture of the People's Republic of China (2003) It is a nationally protected historic site registered with the National Cultural Heritage Administration. The bridge lies in the

prefecture-level city A prefecture-level city () or prefectural city is an administrative division of the People's Republic of China (PRC), ranking below a province and above a county in China's administrative structure. During the Republican era, many of Chi ...

Quanzhou Quanzhou, alternatively known as Chinchew, is a prefecture-level port city on the north bank of the Jin River, beside the Taiwan Strait in southern Fujian, China. It is Fujian's largest metropolitan region, with an area of and a popul ...

, crossing what originally was a tidal

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...

of the

Shijing River The Shijing River () is a small river in Fujian Province of China. The tidal estuary it forms when entering the Weitou Bay of the Taiwan Strait is known as the Anhai Bay (). Most of the Shijing River's basin is within the Prefecture-level city of ...

that separates the town of

Anhai Anhai is a town in southern Fujian province, People's Republic of China. It is located in the far southern suburbs of the Quanzhou metropolitan area. and is separated by Weitou Bay () from Kinmen, which is controlled by the Republic of China ...

(in the

county-level city A county-level municipality (), county-level city or county city, formerly known as prefecture-controlled city (1949–1970: ; 1970–1983: ), is a county-level administrative division of the People's Republic of China. County-level ...

of Jinjiang) east of the river, from the town of Shuitou (in the county-level city of Nan'an) west of the river. The bridge is named after Anhai, which was formerly known as Anping. Anping Bridge consists of 331 spans of granite beams resting on top of stone piers, the largest beam weighing 25 tons. The width of the bridge varies from . It originally had five pavilions where travelers could rest; however, only one pavilion (Shuixin Pavilion) still exists. In 2021, Anping Bridge was inscribed on the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

World Heritage List A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

along with other Song dynasty sites around Quanzhou because of its importance to medieval maritime trade in China and the exchange of cultures and ideas around the world.

History

Construction of the bridge started in 1138 during the Southern

and lasted until 1151. It was originally 811 '' zhang'' [] long and 1.6 ''zhang'' [] wide, with 362 spans.#tongji, Tongji University (2000) Upon completion, it was the longest bridge in China until 1905, inspiring the local description, "No bridge in the world is as long as this one" (). There have been six major repairs since its opening, and the bridge is now shorter due to silting of the estuary. During the Song and Yuan periods (10th to 14th centuries), this bridge connected sites of ceramic and iron production in the hinterland to Quanzhou, where the items would be sold around the world.

Current conditions

The estuary of the Shijing River has mostly silted up in this area, and the remaining river channel under the bridge is fairly narrow. Consequently, the bridge now mostly crosses what amounts to a sequence of lakes or ponds, separated by wetlands. A modern public highway crosses the Shijing River a few hundred meters south (downstream) of the historical Anping Bridge over a fairly short bridge. The areas around the bridge are being developed into parks.

Notes

References

* * * * {{Fujian topics Buildings and structures completed in 1151 Bridges in Fujian History of Fujian Song dynasty architecture Stone bridges in China Bridges completed in the 12th century Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in Fujian

History

Current conditions

See also

Notes

References