The existence of traditional construction technology of wooden arch bridge in China

The traditional wooden arch bridge construction technology in China has a history of 900 years. The earliest wooden arch bridge in the literature is the Bianshui Hongqiao in the Riverside Map of Qingming Festival in China in the Northern Song Dynasty. Its bridge has no column, but it is actually a single arch across the Bianhe River, with a width of 16.6 meters, just like Changhong. And bear the huge load of the bridge deck. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the traditional construction techniques of wooden arch bridges were popular in Fujian, Zhejiang and other places in southern China, and the techniques developed to a certain extent, such as building corridors and adding scissors. Especially in the Qing dynasty, wooden arch bridges were more widely distributed in Zhejiang and Fujian, reaching more than 200, with more than 500 craftsmen and more than 30 craftsman families making a living. However, since 1949, due to the drastic changes in society and the impact of the rapid development of economy and technology, the traditional wooden archway construction skills have gradually declined. According to the survey, during the fifty years from 1949 to 1999, the number of wooden arch bridges damaged by natural and man-made reasons in Zhejiang and Fujian provinces exceeded the existing total 100. The main ink painters of wooden arch bridges in zhouning county, Shouning County and pingnan county, Ningde, Fujian, died one after another. Only a handful of main ink craftsmen who independently presided over the construction of wooden arch bridges are alive and long. Dong of Taishun is 83 years old, Shouning is 8/kloc-0 years old, and Huang Chuncai of Pingnan is 73 years old. Most of the existing wooden arch bridges are located in Wenzhou, Lishui and Ningde, reaching 78, most of which are located in remote mountainous areas with inconvenient transportation. The bridge builders are basically concentrated here, with only more than 50 people.

In recent years, the government of China has attached great importance to the protection and inheritance of traditional wooden arch bridge construction technology, and allocated a large amount of funds to repair the wooden arch bridge. Taishun Dong Zhiji built bridges and Qionghua Bridges, Zhouning Zhang's bridge builders built Zhouning Houkeng Bridge, Pingnan Baixiang Bridge and Yanqiao, Shouning disciple Zheng Gaoxiong built Shouning Zhangkeng Bridge, Changlaixi Bridge and Minhou Yuanji Bridge, and Pingnan Huang Chuncai built Jinqiao and Shuanglong Bridge, which provided convenience for people in Zhejiang and Fujian mountainous areas, added new scenery to tourist spots and made wooden arch bridges.