Luoyang Bridge

The Luoyang Bridge, also known as Wan'an Bridge, is located in Quanzhou, Fujian province, China. The stone bay bridge is situated at the mouth of Luoyang River. Being the first stone bay bridge in China, it enjoys the reputation of " one of the four ancient bridges of China". The project started from the fifth year (1053) of Huangyou's ruling period in northern song dynasty. Cai xiang, the chief of Quanzhou prefercture in the 3rd year (1058) of Jiayou's reign, took over the task of constructing the bridge, who had overcame several difficulties concerning bridge deck pavement and bridge pier by applying raft foundation and raising oysters in the river to solid the base. In the fourth year (1059) of Jiayou's reign, the construction of Luoyang bridge was completed and Caixiang wrote "The Wan'an bridge" for it. The bridge had been reconstructed and repaired in the later dynasties. In southern song dynasty, pagodas and fengshui pagodas were built outside the guardrail of the bridge. The bridge is 1200 meters long, and has 46 piers in total. The north part of the bridge is in the territory of Hui'an county while the south is in Luojiang district. The middle part is located in a river island called Zhongzhou. Pagodas and tower joss can be found both on the bridge and Zhongzhou island. Luoyang bridge was listed as a key cultural relics unit under the national protection in 1988, and in 2009, it was selected as one of the cultural world heritage along the maritime silkroad.

Luoyang bridge, also known as Wan'an bridge, is named for situating on the Luoyang river. Legend has it that in Tang dynasty, emperor Xuanzong of Tang disguised himself and went to the street to inspect people's lives. He stopped by a river in north-west hui'an county, Quanzhou, and claimed the scenery by the river was somewhat similar as what he saw in Luoyang. Therefore the river is called Luoyang river ever since.

Before it was built, there was a ferry crossing called Wan'an to help locals cross the river. The ferry was in the estuary, and the harsh winds and high seas frequently caused vital accidents. The wind and waves made it impossible to cross the river for several days. During the reign of Qingli in northern song dynasty, one of the Quanzhou locals, Lichong, used stones as piers and wood as deck to build a floating bridge to help passersby cross the river, however, it was destroyed by water more than once. In the fifth year (1053) of Huangyou's reign, another Quanzhou local, Wangshi, capped and fixed the floating bridge, which was the starting point of constructing Luoyang bridge officially. During the construction, they encountered many problems including the lack of funds, the extreme difficulty of building 7 of the bridge piers and the deck. In the July of the 3rd year (1058) of Jiayou's reign, Caixiang was appointed as the chief of the Quanzhou prefecture, and then he actively participated in the construction of the bridge. He called on donation, cultured oysters to fix the piers, and took the advantage of the ebb and flow to successfully build the deck. In the December of the 4th year (1059) of Jiayou's reign, the construction was completed, and Caixiang wrote "The Wan'an bridge" to memorialize it. Luoyang bridge became the first bay bridge in Chinese history. From the northern song dynasty to contemporary times, 8 pagodas and fengshui tower have been built around Luoyang bridge.

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