Anji Bridge

37.720166666667114.76325Koordinaten: 37 ° 43 ' 12.6 "N, 114 ° 45' 47.7 " E

F1

Earlier Zhaoxin Street, now Park

Xiehong channel

The Anji Bridge (Chinese安 济 桥, Anji Qiao, bridge the safe transition '), also because of its location Zhaozhou Bridge ( Zhao Zhou Qiao ) or Da Qiao Shi (Chinese大 石桥, Bridge of big stones ' ), the oldest segmental arch bridge in China. It spans the river Xiao in Hebei Province, about 40 km southeast of the provincial capital Shijiazhuang.

Specifications

The bridge has a total length of 50 m with an arc length of 37 m. It is 7.3 m high and has a width of 9 m. Each sheet describes something less than a semicircle. The ratio between span and peak height is about 1:5, so it is significantly smaller than the ratio in an arched bridge made ​​of semi- circular segments. Thus, the bridge piers are exposed to relatively high forces.

The central arch consists of 28 thin, curved limestone slabs that are associated with iron prongs. This allows the arc to transfer shear forces in the supports. On both sides of the bridge has two side arches each. These have two important functions: First, they reduce the overall weight of the bridge significantly by about 700 tonnes. They also allow a possible flood to flow through the arched openings without the bridge being damaged.

Architectural History

The Anji Bridge was built in the years 595-605 during the Sui Dynasty. It is awarded to an architect named Li Chun. Since it was built, it was about ten heavy floods, eight battles and numerous earthquakes, including one measuring 7.2 in 1966. The bridge is still in use, only the ornate railings have been replaced several times.

Reception

The unusual shape of the bridge for the construction gave rise to the legend. According to legend, the bridge of a builder named Lu Ban was built in a single night. Another legend tells that the bridge was crossed as a test of two immortals simultaneously and that Lu Ban stepped into the water and the bridge was held by his support.

In the literature of the Ming Dynasty, the bridge was mentioned, however, was forgotten later. It was only rediscovered in the 1950s by Professor Liang Sicheng from the University of Tsing Hua in field research. He measured the bridge and published an essay on it. Only in the result, the bridge became world famous.

The bridge is on the list of monuments of the People's Republic of China since 1961. In 1989, she was taken by the American Society of Civil Engineers in the list of historical milestones in civil engineering.