Jinshui Bridge

Jinshui Bridge

Jinshui bridge is located in the Forbidden City of Beijing, Dongcheng District, Beijing. It is divided into the outer Jinshui bridge and the inner Jinshui bridge. It was built in the Yongle period of Ming Dynasty. Neijinshui bridge is located on the Jinshui River in the square in front of the inner Taihe gate of the Forbidden City. It is a single arch stone bridge with five parallel holes. The three arch stone bridge on the outer Jinshui River in front of Tiananmen Gate is the outer Jinshui bridge, which was rebuilt in 1690. The blueprint of Jinshui bridge is from the inner Wulong bridge in the Forbidden City of Nanjing.

Historical evolution

In order to protect the ancient building Jinshui bridge, after liberation, the government took measures to repair the white marble stone railing and granite bridge deck for many times, and added a protective iron railing outside the stone railing pole.

In order to meet the 60th anniversary of the National Day in 2009 and ensure the safety of tourists and cultural relics, Beijing Municipal Bureau of cultural relics has started the reinforcement and repair project of Jinshui bridge in Tiananmen, and the whole project is expected to be completed in May 2009. Tiananmen Jinshui bridge is an important part of the whole landscape of Tiananmen. Due to many tourists and weathering and other natural factors, the bridge deck of Tiananmen Jinshui bridge was damaged in many places before, and the railings also appeared cracks, so there are some security risks.

In order to welcome the 65th anniversary of the founding of new China, Tiananmen District Management Committee organized and implemented the painting project of Tiananmen tower, viewing platform, east west red wall and the cleaning project of people's hero monument from August 15 to September 25, 2014. At the same time, the original white guardrails on the seven Jinshui bridges in front of Tiananmen were removed and replaced with gold guardrails with the same style and color as those in Tiananmen area. This kind of golden guardrail is made of high-strength special stainless steel, and the built-in hinge can ensure the guardrail to "bend without scattering" in case of external impact, which greatly improves the protection performance.

Yang Qiong was born in a family of stone workers. Her stone carvings "come from new ideas, and the sky is skillful, and no one can match them.". In 1276 A.D., the Zhou Bridge in front of chongtian gate, the imperial city of Yuan Dynasty, was built. Many people drew a picture and sent it up, but they did not choose it. Yang Qiong's design satisfied Kublai Khan, the emperor of the Yuan Dynasty, and ordered him to supervise the construction. It is recorded in the palace museum that this week's bridges "are carved with dragons, Phoenix and auspicious clouds, which are as bright as jade. Under the bridge, there are 400 stone dragons in the water. They are very strong", adding a lot of color to the imperial city.

Bridge structure

Waijinshui Bridge

The outer Jinshui bridge is in front of Tiananmen Gate, Taimiao temple and Zhongshan Park. A total of 7, three arch type, South Tiananmen Square, North Tiananmen tower. The bridges and railings are exquisitely carved and shaped like strips of jade. Together with the simple Chinese watch and the majestic stone lions, they form a majestic scenery in front of Tiananmen Gate.

The five stone bridges in the middle correspond to the five openings of Tiananmen tower. The south of the bridge (including the bridge) is 62 meters away from the Chengmen cave, and the distance between the bridges is 5 meters. The bridge has a slight slope, an arch surface appears in the middle, and the bridge body is narrow in the middle and wide at both ends, showing an "I" shape. This variety of undulating and tortuous lines, like the "rainbow of the jade bridge", add to the magnificence of Tiananmen.

If someone observes carefully, it is not difficult to find that the jade railings on the seven bridges are all different. The bridge in the middle is the carved dragon column, with the widest deck. The one in the middle is the most extensive, 23.15 meters long and 8.55 meters wide, which is called "Yulu bridge"; the bridge around Yulu bridge is 5.78 meters wide, which is called "Wanggong bridge"; the bridge outside Wanggong bridge is narrower, 4.55 meters wide, which is called "grade bridge"; the two bridges in front of Taimiao (labor people's Cultural Palace) and shejitan (Zhongshan Park) are narrower than grade bridge, which is called "Gongsheng bridge". The two bridges that people see are no longer the "Gongsheng bridge" of the past. They were expanded after liberation, and the bridge body was widened to 11.8 meters. The architectural decoration of the bridge is also different. On the head of the white stone railings of the Yulu bridge is carved a dragon looking column with a cloud plate under it. On the other four white stone railings are carved lotus railings.

Neijin water bridge

The river in front of Tiananmen Gate is called waijinshui River, and the bow shaped artificial river in front of Wumen neitaihe gate is called neijinshui river. The five stone bridges across the river are neijinshui bridge. Neijinshui river flows from the moat in the northwest corner of the Forbidden City to the Forbidden City. It flows in a zigzag way to the south, then to the East, and then to the south. Sometimes it is hidden and sometimes appears. It is wide or narrow. It is connected with the moat outside the southeast corner of the Forbidden City, which is more than 2000 meters long.

The most magnificent river is in front of Taihe gate, which is open and regular, and the decoration is gorgeous. The bottom and side of the river are made of white stone, and the two sides of the river are equipped with white marble pillar and fence. Only the emperor can pass through the main bridge: among the five inner Jinshui bridges, the bridge in the middle is the longest and widest, which is the main bridge, and only the emperor can pass through; the left and right four bridges are bin bridges, which are used for the passage of imperial princes and civil and military officials.

In front of the gate of Taihe square, there are 5 single hole arches. Beautiful shape, with the magnificent Wumen tower and the resplendent Taihe hall, attractive. Inside the Meridian Gate, in front of Taihe gate is a large square with green bricks. In the south of the square, a bow shaped Jinshui River flows from west to East. There are five single span stone bridges on the river side by side. This is the so-called "Neijin water bridge". This is the largest, most spectacular and most beautiful group of stone bridges in the Forbidden City. The five bridges are arranged in an arc with the curved Jinshui River. The specifications of the bridge are the same as those of waijinshui bridge. In the middle of the bridge is the Yulu bridge, which is 23.15 meters long and 6 meters wide. On the Han white jade pillar, there are carved dragons and auspicious clouds. On the East and west sides of the bridge are the Wanggong bridge, 21 meters long and 5.4 meters wide. On the other side are the grade bridge, 19.5 meters long and 4.8 meters wide.

Jinshui River passes through the Xihe gate in the west of the square, enters the square, and goes out from the Xiehe gate in the East. There is a single arch bridge opening at the entrance and exit. There is also a bridge deck above, which can pass, but only the side next to the square has guardrails and watchposts. It's half a bridge. The structure is unique and ingenious. It is very harmonious with the hall gate and the North-South passage, and forms a harmonious and beautiful whole with the whole square. No matter from that angle or far and near, the visual effect is excellent. The ingenuity of this design is amazing.

Source of allusion

From the objects of use, construction and decoration of the bridge, we can see how strict the hierarchy of feudal society was.

The Seven Bridges of waijinshui bridge are different in the use objects. When the emperor ruled China, the bridge in the middle was called "Yulu bridge", which was restricted to the emperor. On both sides of the "Yulu bridge" is called "Wanggong bridge", which only allows the royal family to walk. Around the "Prince bridge" is called "grade bridge", which allows ministers of culture and military above grade three to walk. As for the bridge in front of the Taimiao Temple (now known as the Cultural Palace of the working people) and Zhongshan Park, it is called "Zhongsheng bridge", which is used by officials below four grades, soldiers and men.

A royal road bridge in the middle of Neijin water bridge was dedicated to the emperor. The East and west sides of the bridge are Wanggong bridges, which are used by royal family members and ministers. On both sides of the bridge are grade bridges for officials above grade three to walk. The whole function is the same as the waijinshui bridge in front of Tiananmen Square.

Related works

Han Jingting's song of Beijing: soldiers love Beijing: "it's just like standing on Jinshui bridge when we patrol at the top of Kunlun mountain."

Address: the Palace Museum, Dongcheng District, Beijing

Longitude: 116.39726890333

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Chinese PinYin : Jin Shui Qiao