Qiantang River Bridge, Double-decker transport bridge in Hangzhou, China.

The Qiantang River Bridge is a double-decker structure spanning about 1,072 meters across the waterway with 16 truss sections supporting the load. The upper level carries road traffic while the lower level accommodates trains, making it a combined road-rail crossing.

Construction began on 8 August 1934 and the bridge opened on 29 September 1937, designed by Mao Yisheng with the steel truss supplied by Britain's Dorman Long. Just 89 days after opening, on 17 November 1937, it was blown up to slow the advancing Japanese army. It was detonated again three times during the war and once more after the civil war, kept passable by makeshift repairs until full restoration in 1953.

The structure became a symbol of China's engineering progress in the 20th century and remains part of Hangzhou's identity as a modern transport hub. Locals and visitors can see how the dual-level design solved the practical challenge of moving both cars and trains across the same waterway.

Since the 1990s, trucks have been barred from the bridge to protect the structure. The bridge sits near the Liuhe Pagoda in Hangzhou, and pedestrians can walk across to see the steel truss and the Qiantang River up close. The bridge is an active road and rail route, so stay alert to traffic and keep to designated pedestrian areas.

The bridge's 1,440 timber piles were driven through 40 metres of shifting sand using a water-jet method devised by Mao Yisheng's team, after early attempts broke piles and advanced only one per night. The technique allowed thirty piles to be set in a single night.