Anping Bridge: The world's first use of the "sleeping wood sinking foundation" bridge construction method
The best in China
The world's first bridge built using the "sleeping wood sinking base" method
location
It spans the waters bordering the Anhai and Nan'an waters of the Jinjiang River
peculiarity
On the mudflat, the Tsubaki trees are crossed in layers, and then large stone strips are pressed to lay the foundation of the piers
Watch the video and enjoy the style of Anping Bridge.
The ancient bridge and the glow of the sun make up a beautiful picture.
TingchaoLou has a long history
Anping Bridge is located 30 kilometers southwest of Quanzhou City, on the waters bordering Jinjiang Anhai Town and Nan'an Shuitou Town, which is the main road connecting Quanzhou with Zhangzhou, Guangzhou and other areas on its south side. Because the bridge is five miles long, commonly known as the "Five Mile Bridge", it is the longest existing cross-sea girder stone bridge in China. It was built in the eighth year of Shaoxing (1138) of the Southern Song Dynasty and completed in the twenty-second year of Shaoxing (1152). Anping Bridge is a land transport node between Quanzhou and the vast southern coastal area of the country, reflecting the development of the water and land transfer system promoted by marine trade in Quanzhou. Its completion is the result of the joint participation of Quanzhou officials, religious figures, merchants and commoners, which not only reflects the contribution of Quanzhou's diversified social structure to maritime trade during the Song and Yuan dynasties, but also reflects the economic prosperity and wealth accumulation brought by marine trade to Quanzhou society.
Huge stone slabs are erected between the piers
The piers are strong and sturdy
The bridge body of Anping Bridge is oriented in an east-west direction, paved with stone, and protected by granite railings on both sides. The An Hai Zhi quoted the Qingyuan Old Zhi as saying: "Its length of eight hundred and ten is one zhang, the width is one zhang, and the sparse waterway is three hundred and sixty and two, and it is self-remembered, and the list is called 'Anping Bridge'." According to Huang Zhenzhen, a researcher at Quanzhou Wenbo, Anping Bridge has a total of 360 stone piers, with rectangular, single-pointed boat shape, double-pointed boat shape and other styles. The giant stone slabs between the piers are used as the bridge deck, and each stone slab is 5-11 meters long, which is the longest existing ancient cross-sea girder stone bridge in China. For a long time, the great bridge project of Anping Bridge has been praised by the people, and its magnificent titles such as "Wolong" and "Giant Rainbow" shine in the zhishu, literature and poetry.
The Anping Bridge was built 85 years later than the Luoyang Bridge in Quanzhou, but the bridge is much longer than the Luoyang Bridge. It draws on the experience of building a bridge in Luoyang Bridge, which also belongs to the girder-frame stone bridge of "long bridge shallow foundation", but does not copy its experience. The pier foundation of Anping Bridge not only adopts the "piling foundation" commonly used in the past, but also adopts a more scientific "sleeping wood sinking foundation" method, also known as the sleeping tree sinking foundation. This is another valuable creation after the raft-shaped foundation of Luoyang Bridge. Because when the Anping Bridge was built, the water on the harbor road was deep and muddy, and the stones were easy to fall and scatter, wasting a lot of stone, so the clever Quanzhou people came up with a way to consolidate the foundation. The specific method is to cross the Tsubaki trees in layers on the mudflat, and then press on the large stone strips, and as the stone strips are raised, the weight continues to increase, and the wood defecation gradually sinks to the load-bearing layer at the bottom of the harbor, thus laying the foundation of the piers. The "sleeping wood sinking base" method is both simple and saves labor and materials, which is an advanced technology accumulated and developed by the people of Quanzhou in a large number of bridge construction practices. "Sleeping wood sinking foundation" can make the piers build on a solid foundation and enhance the robustness of the piers.
The bridge body of Anping Bridge is east-west, and the bridge deck is paved with stone slabs.
The stone statues on the bridge have weathered the wind and rain
In 476, for hundreds of years after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, bridge construction technology in Europe developed slowly. The French Avignon Bridge, built in 1185, is a masterpiece of medieval European bridge architecture and the most breakthrough large-scale stone arch bridge in Europe since ancient Rome. Located in the southeastern French city of Avignon, the bridge spans the Rhône River, has 22 holes and is about 900 meters long. However, in 1668 the Rhône flooded and most of the bridge holes in the Avignon bridge were washed away and never rebuilt. Historically, the Avignon Bridge was destroyed by the lack of stability of the bridge foundation, of course, its builders did not understand the "sleeping wood sinking base" method used by Quanzhou Anping Bridge at that time. If the Avignon Bridge had been built using the "Sleeping Wood Sinking Base" method, would it have stood to this day? I am afraid that there will never be an answer to such a question. The current Pont de Avignon is a broken bridge with only 4 holes left, and it is also an important historical and cultural monument.
□ Reporter Wu Shuyun/Wen Chen Yingjie/Photo
Source: Minnan Network