Baliqiao
| Yongtongqiao | |||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 永通橋 | ||||||
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| Simplified Chinese | 永通桥 | ||||||
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| Baliqiao | |||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 八里橋 | ||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 八里桥 | ||||||
| Literal meaning | Eight Mile Bridge | ||||||
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| Transcriptions | |
|---|---|
| Standard Mandarin | |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Yǒngtōngqiáo |
| Transcriptions | |
|---|---|
| Standard Mandarin | |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Bālǐqiáo |
Coordinates: 39°54′24″N 116°36′51″E / 39.90667°N 116.61417°E
Yongtongqiao, better known as Baliqiao (literally: "Eight Mile Bridge"; also romanised as Palikao), is a historic bridge located at the intersection of Tongzhou and Chaoyang districts in Beijing, China. It passes over the Tonghui River (通惠河).
The exact origins of the bridge are difficult to discern. While the bridge's current structure dates back to the late Ming dynasty, historical records indicate that there was already a bridge at the site since around the fourth century CE.
The bridge is located exactly eight li (Chinese mile) from Tongzhou District in Beijing, hence it was called "Baliqiao" or "Eight Mile Bridge". It was once used as a marker of the outer boundary of the Imperial City of Beijing, beyond which was the former Zhili province.
A small palace and temple complex once stood near the bridge. When the Emperor travelled out of the Imperial City, he alighted from his jiao at the complex and rested there overnight before changing out of his elaborate imperial robes to plainer attire suited for travelling. When he returned from his trip, he stayed overnight at the complex again and changed back to his imperial robes before entering the Imperial City again.
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