Zhaozhou Bridge Guide

Zhaozhou Bridge, also known as Anji Bridge which is Safe crossing literaly, is the oldest and best preserved open-spandrel stone segmental arch bridge in the world. The bridge is located in the Zhao County in the southern part of Hebei Province. It was credited that the bridge was designed and constructed by the architect Li Chun in the years 595-605 during the Sui Dynasty (581–618). The Zhaozhou Bridge is near fifty meters long with a central span of 37.37 meters on the Xiao River. In 1991, the Zhaozhou Bridge was awarded to be one of the twelve milestones in the civil engineering

history and set up a bronze monument at the northern end of the bridge. Due to the innovative design, the whole construction saved about 40﹪ in materails. The central arch is made of 28 thin, curved limestone slabs joined with iron dovetails which allows the arch to adjust to shifts in its supports, and prevents the bridge from collapsing even when a segment of the arch breaks. The bridge has two side arches on each side of the main arch which reduce the total weight of the bridge by about 15﹪ or 700 tons and the forces on the structure of the bridge when there're floods. Scholars in Ming Dynasty

compared the bridge to 'a new moon rising above the clouds' and 'a long rainbow hanging on a mountain waterfall'. The bridge survived at least eight wars, ten major flood and numerous earthquakes in the next 1400 years. The Zhaozhou Bridge is still in good shape and serving for the transportations. Therefore, it's a great choice to travel to Zhaozhou Bridge to witness the wisdom of human. Some guide information of Zhaozhou Bridge.         Location: Over the Xiaohe, Zhao County, Hebei Province         Opening hours: 09:00-16:00         Tickets: RMB30/Person          Contact number: +86 10 85968802

• Zhaozhou Bridge