Breaking through the barriers of mountains and rivers, turning "natural barriers into thoroughfares", China's bridges are "world's first"

Audit expert: Wang Shengwei

Senior Engineer, Beijing Municipal Engineering Design and Research Institute Co., Ltd.

For humans who cannot fly, obstacles as small as streams, ditches, and quagmires as well as large as straits, valleys, and dense forests are difficult to overcome.

However, there is a type of building that, in its unique way, successfully breaks through these natural barriers, tightly connecting the two ends that were originally out of reach, bringing great convenience to people's lives .

This kind of building is a bridge .

Source: Wenxinyige (picture drawn by AI)

Bridges are amazing! They can turn steep and dangerous natural barriers into thoroughfares, allowing us to cross them easily.

There are many kinds of bridges in our daily life : pedestrian overpasses, flyovers for diverting cars, and beautiful covered bridges and arch bridges in parks...

Source: Sohu

So, what did the earliest bridge look like? What are the types of bridges? Is China's bridge technology now the best in the world?

Bring your curiosity with you and let’s embark on a bridge exploration journey together!

1. The Origin of the Development of Chinese Bridges

The secret of the bridge lies in its name.

Shuowen Jiezi says: " bridge is a bridge over water. " That is to say, the original meaning of bridge is a beam built on water. The book also says: "The word for bridge is qiáo." The word "qiáo" here is used to describe the way a person walks briskly and vigorously.

Imagine one person wading across a river while another person walks across the bridge. The person on the bridge must be able to do it more easily and quickly !

Source: Wenxinyige (picture drawn by AI)

The history of bridge construction in China can be traced back to the Shang and Zhou dynasties. At that time, bridges were mainly made of wood, and there were two types: beam bridges and floating bridges .

The original beam bridge was just a simple single-log bridge, like a long wooden stick placed on the river, and people could step on it to cross the river.

Imaginary picture of Banpo Wooden Bridge in Xi'an, Shaanxi

Source: Beijing News

Later, as time went by, people began to try to use stone instead of bamboo and wood to build beam bridges. In terms of structure, beam bridges also became more and more complex, from single-hole to multi-hole, like a long dragon with multiple "bellies".

Source: Sohu

The floating bridge is the earliest recorded bridge in the world's historical books. The " building boats as beams " recorded in the Book of Songs "Da Ya Daming" describes the scene of King Wen of Zhou (about 1152-1056 BC) connecting boats to build a bridge on the Wei River when he got married.

In the early days, people did not build bridges across fast-flowing rivers. However, if people often crossed the river, it would be inconvenient to take a boat every time. So, they came up with a clever idea: connect many boats together to make a floating bridge so that people can cross the river safely. This is the origin of the floating bridge.

Source: NetEase

2. Different Types of Bridges

China has a vast territory, and the climate, topography, geology and river characteristics of different regions are different.

Our ancestors were very smart. They built various types of bridges according to local characteristics and using local materials, including anchor bridges, beam bridges, arch bridges, cable bridges, boat bridges, and so on.

Ikaribu

Source: China.com

With the continuous upgrading of bridge construction capabilities, the four basic bridge systems of beam, arch, cable and floating have gradually formed.

The beam bridge uses the main beam as the main load-bearing component. It is the most common bridge in ancient China and was called a flat bridge in ancient times. It has a simple structure, a straight shape, and is relatively easy to build .

Source | The Paper

Arch bridges use arch ribs as the main load-bearing components, with beautiful shapes, round curves, and a dynamic feel . Arch bridges gradually developed from cantilevered wooden and stone beam bridges and braced bridges. Their appearance was curved during the formation and development process, so they were often called curved bridges in ancient times.

Source: NetEase

A cable bridge is also called a suspension bridge, rope bridge, or suspended cable bridge. It uses cables and other components as the main load-bearing components. It is often built on steep banks and dangerous valleys where the water flow is fast and it is difficult to build bridge piers .

Source | Sohu

A floating bridge is a bridge made of wooden planks laid on a series of boats, rafts, pontoons or ropes. It can be used for pedestrians, roads and railways. Its structure is not complicated and it is easy to erect and dismantle, but the maintenance cost is high.

Source | Baidu

3. China’s bridges are the “world’s first”

From ancient times to the present, bridge construction has always been a technical job, demonstrating the top scientific and technological wisdom of an era.

China's bridge construction has a long history, exquisite skills and brilliant achievements. After years of development, what are the remarkable " firsts " of China's bridges?

The highest relative height: the first bridge over Beipan River in Guizhou

Source | CCTV News

The Beipanjiang Bridge spans the Beipanjiang Grand Canyon in Guizhou, with a total length of more than 1,300 meters . It allows the two provinces of Yunnan and Guizhou to "hold hands" tightly, so the locals jokingly call it the " marriage bridge ."

The height of the bridge from the bridge deck to the water surface at the bottom of the valley reaches 565 meters, making it the " world's tallest bridge ". It also won the " Gustav Gold Medal ", which is regarded as the "Nobel Prize" level in the bridge engineering industry.

The longest cross-sea bridge: Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge

Source: Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Authority

The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, located in the Lingdingyang waters at the mouth of the Pearl River in the South China Sea, is an " all-round player " with artificial islands, bridges and tunnels.

The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge is 55 kilometers long and is the longest steel-structured cross-sea bridge in the world. It also has the world's longest and deepest submarine immersed tube tunnel. It was rated as one of the "Seven Wonders of the Modern World" by the British newspaper The Guardian and was praised as a "super project" by domestic and foreign media.

The largest span arch bridge: Tian'e Longtan Bridge

Source: Guangxi Communications Investment

The Tian'e Longtan Bridge is located 6 kilometers upstream of the Longtan Dam in Tian'e County, Hechi City, Guangxi, and spans the Hongshui River.

The bridge is 2,488.55 meters long, with a main span of 600 meters, like a rainbow across the valley. It is a two-way four-lane bridge with a designed speed of 100 kilometers per hour.

After the completion and opening of this bridge, the driving time from Nandan County to Tian'e County was shortened from 3.5 hours to about 1.5 hours .

Source: Wenxinyige (picture drawn by AI)

Bridges are not only channels connecting the two sides of the river, but also witnesses of history and inheritors of culture . Each bridge carries the memories and emotions of the local people and witnesses the changes and development of the times.

What are some of the most impressive bridges you have ever seen? What is the story between you and the bridge? Please tell us in the comments section~