Luoyang Bridge

Luoyang Bridge in Quanzhou is a masterpiece of ancient Han bridge architecture. Located on the Luoyang River in the northeast of Quanzhou, Fujian Province, it was built in 1053 and 1059 respectively. It took six years. The bridge is 834 meters long and 7 meters wide, with 46 piers, all made of huge stones. Strong structure, beautiful shape, with a high level of bridge engineering technology and art, reflecting the ancient Han working people's high wisdom.

Luoyang Bridge

Luoyang Bridge, formerly known as "Wan'an bridge", is a bridge connecting the Taiwan investment zone and Luojiang District in Quanzhou City, Fujian Province, China. It is located on the river channel of Luoyang. It is also a famous big stone bridge with sea crossing beam. It is known as "the first bridge in the sea" and one of the "four famous bridges" in ancient times.

During the Qingli period of Song Dynasty (1041-1048), a floating bridge was built on the Luoyang River, which was often broken down by wind and waves; in the fifth year of emperor you of Song Dynasty (1053 AD), Cai Xiang, the prefect of Quanzhou, presided over the construction of the Luoyang Bridge; in the fourth year of Jiayou (1059 AD), six years before and after the Luoyang Bridge, the Dashi bridge was built;

In 1932, Luoyang Bridge was rebuilt into reinforced concrete deck; in 1938, Luoyang Bridge was destroyed by Japanese aircraft; in 1962, Luoyang Bridge was repaired; in April 1963, Luoyang Bridge was opened to traffic; in 1993, Luoyang Bridge was fully built; in October 1996, Luoyang Bridge was restored to its original appearance and opened to traffic.

Luoyang Bridge is located at the junction of Taiwan investment zone and Luojiang District in Quanzhou, Fujian Province. It starts from Caixiang road in the north, crosses Luoyang River Waterway in the north and ends at Qiaonan road in the West. The bridge is 834 meters long and 7 meters wide.

Construction process

In the Qingli period of the Northern Song Dynasty (1041-1048 AD), Li Chong, a native of Quanzhou, built several stone piers in the Luoyang River and put up wooden boards as pontoons, which were often broken down by the wind and waves.

In 1053, Cai Xiang, the prefect of Quanzhou, presided over the construction of Luoyang Bridge.

In the fourth year of song Jiayou (1059 AD), Luoyang Bridge was built six years ago. It is 1200 meters long and 5 meters wide. There are 46 piers. There are 500 stone carvings on both sides, 28 stone lions on both sides, 7 pavilions and 9 towers dotted between them. The warrior statues are separated at both ends. Seven hundred pine trees are planted on the north and south sides of the bridge.

In 1138, the Luoyang bridge collapsed under the influence of typhoon. Zhao Sicheng, the governor of Quanzhou, organized to repair the bridge.

In xuandejian period of Ming Dynasty (1426-1435 AD), the site of Luoyang Bridge sank and was washed away after the spring tide. Feng Zhen, the magistrate of Quanzhou, ordered Li Junyu (Li Wu) to increase Zhengchun, and Luoyang Bridge increased by three feet.

In the 32nd year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty (1597 AD), a great earthquake occurred in Fujian Province. The Luoyang bridge collapsed and the foundation site was low. Quanzhou magistrate Jiang Zhili organized the repair of the Luoyang Bridge.

In the autumn of 1730 ad, the Luoyang bridge collapsed. Gongzhiqi, the county magistrate, organized the repair of the bridge.

In 1931, commander Cai tingkai rebuilt Luoyang Bridge into a reinforced concrete highway bridge, with the bridge deck increased by 2 meters.

In the 21st year of the Republic of China (1932), the 19th Route Army of the Chinese Kuomintang entered Fujian. The military engineering office set up a branch office in Quanzhou to reconstruct Luoyang Bridge. The piers were 2 meters high with concrete, and the reinforced concrete bridge deck was 6 meters wide with 47 holes and 640.8 linear meters long (including 40 holes in the north section, 464.45 linear meters, 7 holes in the south section, 76.35 linear meters, and 100 linear meters of Zhongzhou embankment).

In April 1938, the Luoyang Bridge was destroyed by Japanese planes, and at the end of the same year, the garrison was ordered to destroy one hole of the bridge.

In November 1948, Fuxia Road Engineering Office repaired the damaged part of Luoyang Bridge (erecting steel beams and paving wooden deck), and Luoyang Bridge was restored to traffic.

In August 1949, when the Chinese people's Liberation Army entered Southern Fujian and the Kuomintang troops retreated, two sections of the wooden bridge deck of Luoyang Bridge were burned down; in September, two holes of Luoyang Bridge were blown up by aircraft, and the function of opening to traffic was invalid; after the founding of new China, Luoyang Bridge was restored to traffic after renovation.

In October 1962, the girder and deck of the third hole of Luoyang Bridge were broken, and the downstream pier was inclined; in November, Luoyang Bridge was repaired, and 14 holes (146.59 linear meters) were blocked, including the original filled approach road, with a total of 259.9 meters, and the bridge was changed into a road.

In April 1963, Luoyang Bridge completed the maintenance work and was put into operation again.

From October to December 1965, the girders of holes 16 to 18 and 31 to 33 were replaced.

In 1971, Luoyang Bridge built a gate bridge (Luoyang Gate Bridge) on the upstream of the bridge to provide motor vehicles with access and protect the ancient bridge.

In the spring of 1993, the State Administration of cultural relics of China organized experts to survey the ancient bridge and built the Luoyang Bridge in an all-round way to restore its original appearance.

In October 1996, Luoyang Bridge was reopened.

In 1998, to commemorate the founder of the bridge and enrich the landscape of the ancient bridge, the Luoyang Town Government erected a 12 meter high statue of CAI Xiang on the riverside of the bridge.

Bridge location

Luoyang Bridge is located in the south of Quanzhou Taiwan investment zone and the north of Luojiang District in Fujian Province. It starts from the intersection of Caixiang Road, Zhaoyang road and Jiangcheng road in the north, crosses the sea entrance of Luoyang River in the north, and ends at the intersection of Qiaonan street and Dian road in the South. It is a famous big stone bridge across the sea in China.

Architectural design

building structure

The end of the bridge pier in Luoyang is shaped like a boat. There are balustrades and stone carvings on both sides to protect pedestrians, Besides the railings beside the bridge, there are stone pagodas in the form of banners, with relief Buddha statues and patterns on the body; stone pavilions are built on the bridge for riding. There are many artistic stone blockhouses on the bridge and its ancillary buildings, with beautiful shapes. There are tall and straight stone lions, and ball lions with stone balls in their mouths; the stele Pavilion in the center of the bridge is engraved with the inscription of "Xichuan Ganlu" in the Wanli period of Ming Dynasty and the stone inscription of "the first bridge in the world" in Guangjian period of Qing Dynasty On the east side of the pavilion, there are stone inscriptions of the Song Dynasty, such as "Wan'an bridge" and "Wan'an Lan". One is the "xiganlu" stele Pavilion. On the right side of the middle Pavilion is the place where rain prayed in ancient times.

Design parameters

Luoyang Bridge is 834 meters long and 7 meters wide, with 46 piers and 8 meters clear span of pier holes. The stone slabs on the bridge deck are 11 meters long, 1 meter wide and 0.8 meters thick, with 6 or 7 stone slabs on them. There are 2 round carved stone statues of general on both sides of the bridge. There are 5 stone towers beside the bridge, 2 pavilions on both sides of the bridge, 500 columns on both sides of the bridge, 9 stone towers on the two sides of the bridge, and 7 stone pavilions on the bridge.

Construction achievements

Technical problems

Luoyang Bridge is located at the confluence of the rivers and the sea in Fujian Province. The tide of the river is turbulent and the waves fight. Under such difficult conditions, Chinese bridge engineers nearly a thousand years ago first created a new type of bridge foundation - "raft foundation" which was not known until modern times. The so-called "raft foundation" is to cast a large number of stones along the middle line of the bridge with ship carrying stones to form a bridge at the bottom of the river Low stone embankment, and then build piers on the embankment; The piers of Luoyang Bridge are made of long stones, with two sharp ends, to divide the water potential and reduce the impact of waves on the piers. In order to consolidate the foundation stone, the ancient Chinese working people also initiated the "Oyster planting and foundation strengthening method", that is, to cultivate oysters on the foundation stone and make it cemented into a solid mainstay. This is the precedent of applying biology to bridge engineering in the world, and we can still learn from those who are full of white oysters The construction of Luoyang Bridge, the pier stone of seli house, made Luoyang Jiangtian moat a thoroughfare. It provides rich experience for the large-scale bridge construction projects in Quanzhou and Zhangzhou during the Southern Song Dynasty.

 

 

Cultural characteristics

Cultural relics protection

On January 13, 1988, Luoyang Bridge was announced as "the third batch of national key cultural relics protection units" by the State Council of China.

 

Original name

As early as before the Tang and Song Dynasties, there were Yue people living in Quanzhou. In the early Tang Dynasty, due to social unrest and sometimes wars, a large number of people from the Central Plains moved to the south. Most of the people who moved to Quanzhou and southern Fujian were people from Henan, hehe and Luoshui. The language family used in Quanzhou and southern Fujian was called Heluo language, that is, Minnan language, They brought the advanced and developed agricultural technology and experience of the Central Plains to guide the local people to reclaim and develop. When they came to Quanzhou, they saw that the mountains and rivers here were very similar to the ancient capital Luoyang, so they named this place Luoyang, and the bridge was named after it.

 

Peripheral features

Calendar near the pavilion in Luoyang Bridge

Chinese PinYin : Luo Yang Qiao