What materials were ancient bridges made of and what types of bridges were there?

Mainly wood and stone, as well as rattan and iron rope.

The simplest single-plank bridge, ordinary single-span and multi-span bridges (that is, piers and slabs, or simply supported beams in terminology).

Luoyang Bridge in Quanzhou, Fujian

Luoyang Bridge in Quanzhou, Fujian

Luoyang Bridge, formerly known as Wan 'an Bridge, is located on the Luoyang River in the eastern suburb of Quanzhou, Fujian. It is the earliest existing cross-sea beam stone bridge in China. Cai Xiang, the magistrate of Quanzhou in Song Dynasty, presided over the bridge construction project. From the fourth year of the Northern Song Dynasty (A.D. 1053) to the fourth year of Jiayou (A.D. 1059), it took seven years before and after, at a cost of14 million yuan, to build this big stone bridge across the river and across the sea. This bridge is made of granite. When it was first built, the bridge was 360 feet long and 1.5 feet wide, with statues of soldiers separated on both sides. This bridge-building project is famous for its huge scale and superb technology. Since the bridge was built more than 900 years ago, it has been repaired 17 times. At present, the bridge is 73 1.29 meters long, 4.5 meters wide and 7.3 meters high, with 44 piers, 645 handrails, 104 stone lions, 1 stone pavilion and 7 stone pagodas. There are many stone carvings in the past dynasties near Qiaozhongting, including those in the Song Dynasty such as An Lan through the ages. There are Zhao Hui Temple and Town Temple in the north of the bridge; There is Caixiang Temple in the south of the bridge, and the famous Song tablet of Caixiang Wan 'an Bridge stands in the temple, which is known as the "three wonders" of calligraphy, writing and sculpture. Luoyang Bridge is the beginning of bridge raft foundation in the world, and it is a national key cultural relic protection unit.

Zhao Zhouqiao, Hebei

Zhao Zhouqiao, Hebei

Zhao Zhouqiao, also known as Anji Bridge, is located on the Weihe River five miles south of Zhao County, Hebei Province. Zhao county was called Zhaozhou in ancient times, hence its name. Zhao Zhouqiao was designed and built by Li Chun, a stonemason in Sui Dynasty, with a history of nearly 1400 years. It is the oldest and most magnificent stone arch bridge in the world. Zhao Zhouqiao only used a single-hole stone arch to cross the Weihe River. The stone arch bridge has a span of 37.7 meters and is connected with the north-south bridge (both ends of the bridge are nearly flat), with a total length of 50.82 meters. Taking such a huge span was an unprecedented initiative at that time. What's more, there are two small stone arches on the shoulders of the large stone arch, which changed the traditional architectural style of filling the large arch ring with sand and gravel in the past and created the world's first "shoulder-opening arch" new bridge type. This is a great scientific invention. A large open-shouldered stone arch bridge as old as Zhao Zhouqiao. For a long time, it was unique in the world. In Europe, in the14th century, a similar shoulder-shaped Sylar bridge appeared on the Cote River in France, which was more than 700 years later than Zhao Zhouqiao and was destroyed as early as 1809. The outstanding contribution of Li Chun, a famous stonemason in Sui Dynasty, will shine forever in the history of bridge architecture in the world.

Beijing Lugou Bridge

Beijing Lugou Bridge

Lugou Bridge, located on Yongding River in the southwest suburb of Beijing, is a stone bridge. The bridge was built in the 29th year of Jin Dading (AD 1 189) and in the 3rd year of Ming Chang (AD 1 192). It was repaired in the Yuan and Ming Dynasties and rebuilt in the thirty-seventh year of Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty (AD 1698). The total length of the bridge is 212.2m, with 1 1 holes. The net span and lift of each hole are not equal, the side hole is small, and the middle hole is gradually enlarged. There are ten piers in the whole bridge, ranging in width from 5.3 meters to 7.25 meters. There are stone fences on both sides of the bridge deck, and the column height is1.40m.. There are 485 lions carved on each stigma, squatting or squatting, stroking small or holding big. Stone railings are embedded between the stone pillars, which are 85 cm high. At both ends of the bridge, there are huabiao, imperial tablet pavilion and tablet inscription. At both ends of the bridge, there is also a square white marble tablet pavilion, and the dragon patterns on each pavilion column are extremely finely carved. Lugou Bridge is famous for its exquisite stone carving art. Lugou Bridge has long been famous at home and abroad. The Italian Kyle Poirot's Journey to Kyle Poirot recorded this bridge in detail. 1937 The July 7th Incident happened here, which was the beginning of Japanese imperialist aggression against China, so Lugou Bridge became a historical memorial building.

Guangdong Chaozhou Guangji Bridge

Guangdong Chaozhou Guangji Bridge

Guangji Bridge, also known as Xiangzi Bridge, is located in the east of Chaozhou Town, Chaoan County, Guangdong Province, across the Han River. It was built in the sixth year of Southern Song Dynasty (1 170). In the second year of Baoqing (1226), Zeng Wang of Chaozhou County presided over the construction of the West Pier. In the first year of Shaoxing (1 194), the military attache Shen presided over Dongdun, which was completed in the second year (1206). The whole bridge took 57 years to build, with a total length of 5 15 meters. It is divided into east and west sections, with a total of 18 pier, and the middle section is about 100 m wide. Due to the rapid current, the bridge can't be bridged, so we have to take a ferry. It was called Jeju Bridge at that time. In the tenth year of Xuande in Ming Dynasty (1435), it was rebuilt and five piers were added, which was called Guangji Bridge. During the period of Zheng De, another wharf was built, with a total of 24 docks. The pier is made of granite blocks, and the middle section is connected with 18 shuttle boat, forming a floating bridge which can be opened and closed. When large ships and rafts pass, you can untie the boats in the pontoon and let the ships and rafts pass. Then put the floating boat back in its place. It is the earliest stone bridge with movable switch in China and the world. There is a promising building on Guangji Bridge, which has only been seen in the history of Chinese bridges. Guangji Bridge, together with Zhao Zhouqiao, Luoyang Bridge and Lugou Bridge, is also known as the four famous bridges in ancient China, which belongs to the national key protected cultural relics and is a precious heritage in Chinese bridge architecture.