Bazi Bridge, Historical bridge in Yuecheng District, China.
Bazi Bridge is a stone beam bridge running east–west over a canal at the east end of Baziqiao Straight Street in Shaoxing's Yuecheng District. Its single opening spans 4.91 metres, with a width of 3.2 metres and a clearance of 3.84 metres. The eastern end splits into south and north ramps and the western end into west and south ramps, forming the character 八 that gives the bridge its name.
The Bazi Bridge was first built no later than the Jiatai era (1201–1204) of the Southern Song, as recorded in the Jiatai Kuaiji Zhi. It was rebuilt in 1256, in the winter of the Bingchen year under Emperor Lizong; the architect Chen Congzhou found the inscription "时宝祐丙辰仲冬吉日建" on the fifth stone column west of the main arch in 1958. Major repairs followed in 1763 under the Qianlong Emperor and again in 1982. It was listed as a Zhejiang provincial protected site in 1963 and among the fifth group of national key cultural relics in 2001.
The name comes from the bridge's plan: at its east end the roadway splits into south and north ramps, at its west end into west and south ramps, forming the character 八 ("eight"). The four ramps let pedestrians cross the single opening from several directions at once.
The bridge carries Bazi Bridge Straight Street across the river at its eastern end in Fushan Subdistrict, Yuecheng District. Its east end splits into south and north ramps and its west end into west and south ramps, so walkers can cross in several directions. Look for the inscription on the fifth stone column west of the main arch.
The bridge's east end splits into south and north ramps and its west end into west and south ramps, forming the character 八 in plan; the Chinese sources call this arrangement a lone example among early simply supported beam bridges in China. The architect Chen Congzhou surveyed the bridge in January 1958 and read the inscription "时宝祐丙辰仲冬吉日建" on the fifth stone column west of the main arch, confirming the 1256 rebuilding.
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