Xijin Bridge

Xijin Bridge
西津桥

Xijin Bridge in 2007
Crosses Yongkang River
Locale Yongkang, Jinhua, Zhejiang, China
Characteristics
Design Covered bridge
Total length 166 m (545 ft)
Number of spans 13
History
Construction begin Ming Dynasty (wooden)
Qing Dynasty (stone piers)
Construction end 1718

Xijin Bridge (simplified Chinese: 西津桥; traditional Chinese: 西津橋; pinyin: Xījīn Qiáo; literally: "West Ferry Bridge"), is an ancient Chinese covered bridge or lángqiáo (廊桥) located in Yongkang, Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, China. It is the largest covered bridge in Zhejiang Province, and one of the largest in China.

History

The bridge was constructed during the Ming Dynasty as a wooden bridge.[1] In the 57th year of the Kangxi Era (1718), the bridge was rebuilt, and in the early period of the Yongzheng Era, the bridge's piers were replaced with stones to improve its load capacity.[2] At the beginning of the Qianlong Era, the construction of the bridge was finished. During the Jiaqing Era, the bridge was repaired once and in the 12th year (1807), a stone stele (cenotaph) was erected to praise bridge builders and to summarize the history of the bridge. The inscription on the stele is known as Xijin Qiao Zhi (traditional Chinese: 《西津橋志》, simplified Chinese: 《西津桥志》, pinyin: Xī Jīn Qiáo Zhì, literally meaning "the inscript of the Xijin Bridge").[3]

Structural parameters

The bridge is a mixed stone and wooden bridge; the piers are made of stone and its upper structures are mostly wooden. When it was a completely wooden bridge, it had a length of 206.3 meters distributed over 15 piers and 16 spans.[3] After the piers were replaced with stone, it was changed to 12 piers and 13 spans and shortened to 166 meters.[2] Each pier has a length of 5.6 meters, a width of 3.3 meters, and height of 4.6 meters. Between every two piers, there are 6 or 7 girders spanning the tops of piers. Each girder has an average length of 13 meters.[1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "西津桥 (Xijin Bridge)" (in Chinese). 中国园林网 (Chinese Garden - the category of ancient structures). 2008-06-25. Retrieved January 1, 2010.
  2. 1 2 "西津桥 (Xijin Bridge)" (in Chinese). Hudong.com Chinese Encyclopedia. Retrieved January 1, 2010.
  3. 1 2 "西津桥 (Xijin Bridge)" (in Chinese). 金华旅游景点,联合网 (Tourism sites in Jinhua, Associated Websites). Retrieved January 1, 2010.

Coordinates: 28°53′43″N 120°01′34″E / 28.895353°N 120.02601°E / 28.895353; 120.02601

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