Xijin Bridge
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Xijin Bridge 西津桥 | |
|---|---|
,_China.jpg) Xijin Bridge in 2007 | |
| Coordinates | 28°53′43″N 120°01′34″E / 28.89536°N 120.026°E |
| Crosses | Yongkang River |
| Locale | Yongkang, Jinhua, Zhejiang, China |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Covered bridge |
| Total length | 166 m (545 ft) |
| No. of spans | 13 |
| History | |
| Construction start | Ming dynasty (wooden) Qing dynasty (stone piers) |
| Construction end | 1718 |
| Location | |
 Interactive map of Xijin Bridge 西津桥 | |
Xijin Bridge (simplified Chinese: 西津桥; traditional Chinese: 西津橋; pinyin: Xījīn Qiáo; lit. 'West Ferry Bridge') is an ancient Chinese covered bridge or lángqiáo (廊桥) located in Yongkang, Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, China. It is the largest covered bridge in Zhejiang Province, and one of the largest in China.
The bridge was constructed during the Ming dynasty as a wooden bridge.[1] In the 57th year of the Kangxi Era (1718), the bridge was rebuilt, and in the early period of the Yongzheng Era, the bridge's piers were replaced with stones to improve its load capacity.[2] At the beginning of the Qianlong Era, the construction of the bridge was finished. During the Jiaqing Era, the bridge was repaired once and in the 12th year (1807), a stone stele (cenotaph) was erected to praise bridge builders and to summarize the history of the bridge. The inscription on the stele is known as Xijin Qiao Zhi (simplified Chinese: 西津桥志; traditional Chinese: 西津橋志; pinyin: Xī Jīn Qiáo Zhì; lit. 'the inscript of the Xijin Bridge').[3]