Luoyang Bridge, Stone bridge in Luoyang Town, China.
Luoyang Bridge is a stone bridge at the mouth of the Luoyang River, 731.29 metres long with 46 piers and 47 openings. Its piers are built of stacked stone blocks, widen toward the base and carry upstream cutwaters with slightly upturned tips, the so-called raft foundation. The deck is edged by a light grey stone balustrade of upright posts and horizontal rails, and the middle section crosses the island of Zhongzhou.
A floating bridge of stone piers and timber deck existed at the Wan'an ferry before 1053, when local Wang Shi began fixing it into a permanent stone bridge. In 1058 prefect Cai Xiang took charge, funding it by donation and using raft-shaped foundations and cultured oysters to secure the piers; the bridge opened in 1059 and Cai wrote the Wan'an Bridge Record. It was repaired 27 times up to 1993, and in 2021 it joined the UNESCO World Heritage List with other Quanzhou sites.
The bridge displays pagodas and stone towers from Song and Yuan periods that visitors can observe today. These structures show how craftsmanship evolved across different centuries.
The bridge is easy to reach by bus from the railway station or main bus terminal in the area. Wear comfortable shoes since walking across takes time due to its length.
Oyster shells were once so valuable to the bridge that Song officials petitioned in the Yuanfeng era to jail anyone digging them out from under the piers for two years, a rule later dynasties kept. The living oysters were bred to bind the stone blocks of the raft-shaped foundations.
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