Chinese bridges from ancient times, highly varied in material and form, are an important legacy with national characteristics, occupying an important position in the world history of bridge-building.

China, a country with such a long history, has inherited from her past bridges without number: there are, it is said, four milion of them if one counts the stone arch bridges alone. In the southern regions of rivers and lakes, the landscape is dotted with bridges of various sizes and descriptions, which make it all the more picturesque.

The Stone Arch Bridge

The stone arch bridge is the most common type of bridges one sees in China. According to historical records, the first stone arch bridge named Lurenqiao (Wayfarers' Bridge) was built in 282 A. D. near the ancient Luoyang Palace. That was more than 1,700 years ago. Then, in a Luoyang tomb dating back to the early Zhou Dynasty, archaeologists found the gate to the burial chamber to be of arch structure, showing that the stone arch existed in China already in about 250 B.C. at the latest.

The Zigzag Bridge

A landscaping structure, the zigzag bridge is found in some gardens or suburban scenic spots. It is intended to give an interesting feature to the scene on lakes and ponds and enlarge the scope of the sightseers' stroll over the water surface.

Such a bridge may have three, five or more zigzags. Jiuqu Qiao (the Nine-Bend Bridge) in Yu Garden of Shanghai's old town is typical one. Going over a lake thirty metres across, the bridge winds more than a hundred metres because of its nine twists. Flanked by balustrades with square posts, it has also by its side a mid-lake pavilion in which visitors may have a cup of tea upstairs and enjoy the view all around.

The Cross Bridge

This is a very rare bridge in China; in fact, probably only one of its type still exists in the country. Named Yuzhaofeiliang (Flying Bridge over Fish Pond), it is situated in front of the Hall of the Goddess in the Jinci Temple of Shanxi Province. It is a stone bridge with "wings" so that it looks like a cross. The main bridge floor is 18 by 6 metres, with each wing spreading 6 metres long and 4 metres wide. Erected over a pond, in which fish play about, it also looks like a huge bird about to take off. Sightseers may get on it from any direction and cross the lake anyway they want.

According to recorded history, such cross bridges began to be built as early as the Northern Wei Dynasty (A.D.386-534). The existing one just described is thought to have been built during the Northern Song (960-1127) at the same time as the Hall of the Goddess. Nearly a thousand years old, it is generally regarded as a treasure among ancient Chinese bridges.

The Pavilion Bridge

A component part of the art of landscape gardening, the pavilion bridge is often built over the surface of a quiet lake, forming a small scenic area and providing sightseers with a place for a rest, sheltered from the sun and rain.

The Five-Pavilion Bridge (Wuting Qiao) in Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province, is a fine example of this style. Built in 1757 and like a belt worn on the narrow waist of Shouxihu (Slender West Lake), it bears five pavilions on its 55-metre-long floor. The middle pavilion is higher than the other four, which are spaced two on each side in perfect symmetry. And the middle pavilion is a double-eaved structure while the rest have only single eaves. All pavilions have their four corners upturned, with rows of tiles gathered up in the middle under a baoding (roof crown). The pavilions, lined up with short covered corridors, have yellow glazed tiles on the roofs but green ones for the curving ridges, forming a splendid contrast of colour.