Anping Bridge, Stone bridge in Shuitou, China

Anping Bridge is a stone beam bridge of 331 granite spans resting on stone piers, the largest beam weighing 25 tons. Its deck is 3 to 3.8 metres wide, and the piers take three forms: rectangular, half-boat and double-ended boat-shaped. Only the Shuixin Pavilion remains of the five original rest pavilions.

Construction began in 1138 during the Song Dynasty and finished in 1151, making it the longest bridge in China at that time. It held this distinction until 1905, when longer bridges were built.

The central pavilion, now called Sizhou or Zhongting, houses a temple to Shakyamuni Buddha. Its door columns carry the couplet "There are Buddhas in the world, this one is the ancestor; there is no bridge under heaven as long as this one." Two Song-dynasty stone guardian generals, about 1.6 m tall, stand beside it.

The bridge can be crossed on foot or by bicycle, with views of the surrounding wetlands shaped by river silt deposits. The path is easy to walk and offers resting areas at preserved stopping points.

Individual granite beams weigh up to 25 tons each, demonstrating the advanced construction methods of the 12th century. These massive stones were precisely positioned and joined without modern equipment.