Anping Bridge

---

title: "Anping Bridge" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["buildings-and-structures-completed-in-1151", "bridges-in-fujian", "history-of-fujian", "song-dynasty-architecture", "stone-bridges-in-china", "bridges-completed-in-the-12th-century", "major-national-historical-and-cultural-sites-in-fujian"] description: "Stone beam bridge in Fujian, China" topic_path: "history" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anping_Bridge" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Stone beam bridge in Fujian, China ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox bridge"]

Field	Value
bridge_name	Anping Bridge
native_name	安平桥
image	安海鎮的安平橋.JPG
caption	Anping Bridge, with Anhai Town in the far background
crosses	Shijing River
locale	Quanzhou, Fujian, China
design	Beam bridge
material	Stone
length	2070 m
width	3 to
spans	331
begin	1138
complete	1151
coordinates
extra	{{Infobox UNESCO World Heritage Site
Part_of	Quanzhou: Emporium of the World in Song-Yuan China
child	yes
criteria	(iv)
ID	1561
year	2021
Location	China
::

| bridge_name = Anping Bridge | native_name = 安平桥 | image = 安海鎮的安平橋.JPG | image_size = | alt = | caption = Anping Bridge, with Anhai Town in the far background | official_name = | other_name = | carries = | crosses = Shijing River | locale = Quanzhou, Fujian, China | owner = | maint = | id = | architect = | designer = | engineering = | design = Beam bridge | material = Stone | length = 2070 m | width = 3 to | height = | mainspan = | spans = 331 | pierswater = | load = | clearance = | below = | life = | builder = | fabricator = | begin = 1138 | complete = 1151 | cost = | open = | inaugurated = | toll = | traffic = | preceded = | followed = | heritage = | collapsed = | closed = | replaces = | coordinates = | extra = {{Infobox UNESCO World Heritage Site |Part_of = Quanzhou: Emporium of the World in Song-Yuan China |child = yes |criteria = (iv) |ID = 1561 |year = 2021 |Location = China

Anping Bridge () is a Song dynasty stone beam bridge in Fujian province. It is 2070 m long. The bridge is also known as the Wuli Bridge (, literally Five Li Bridge) because its length is about 5 li, where a li is about 500 meters or 0.3 miles. It is a nationally protected historic site registered with the National Cultural Heritage Administration.

The bridge lies in the prefecture-level city of Quanzhou, crossing what originally was a tidal estuary of the Shijing River that separates the town of Anhai (in the county-level city of Jinjiang) east of the river, from the town of Shuitou (in the county-level city of Nan'an) west of the river. The bridge is named after Anhai, which was formerly known as Anping.

Anping Bridge consists of 331 spans of granite beams resting on top of stone piers, the largest beam weighing 25 tons. The width of the bridge varies from 3 to. It originally had five pavilions where travelers could rest; however, only one pavilion (Shuixin Pavilion) still exists.

In 2021, Anping Bridge was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List along with other Song dynasty sites around Quanzhou because of its importance to medieval maritime trade in China and the exchange of cultures and ideas around the world.

History

Construction of the bridge started in 1138 during the Southern Song dynasty and lasted until 1151. It was originally 811 zhang [2223 m] long and 1.6 zhang [4.4 m] wide, with 362 spans. Upon completion, it was the longest bridge in China until 1905, inspiring the local description, "No bridge in the world is as long as this one" (). There have been six major repairs since its opening, and the bridge is now shorter due to silting of the estuary. During the Song and Yuan periods (10th to 14th centuries), this bridge connected sites of ceramic and iron production in the hinterland to Quanzhou, where the items would be sold around the world.

Current conditions

The estuary of the Shijing River has mostly silted up in this area, and the remaining river channel under the bridge is fairly narrow. Consequently, the bridge now mostly crosses what amounts to a sequence of lakes or ponds, separated by wetlands. A modern public highway crosses the Shijing River a few hundred meters south (downstream) of the historical Anping Bridge over a fairly short bridge. The areas around the bridge are being developed into parks.

Notes

References

• {{cite book |author1 = Fu Xinian |author2 = Guo Daiheng |author3 = Liu Xujie |author4 = Pan Guxi |author5 = Qiao Yun |author6 = Sun Dazhang |editor-last = Steinhardt |editor-first = Nancy |title = Chinese Architecture |publisher = Yale University Press |isbn = 0-300-09559-7 |date = December 2002 |ref = fu2002 |url-access = registration |url = https://archive.org/details/chinesearchitect0000unse
• {{cite book | author1=Mao Yi-sheng | authorlink1=Mao Yisheng | title=Bridges in China, Old and New: From the Ancient Chaochow Bridge to the Modern Nanking Bridge over the Yangtze | publisher=Foreign Languages Press | location=Peking | year=1978 | ref=mao1978
• {{cite web |url=http://www.chinaculture.org/gb/en_travel/2003-09/24/content_34379.htm |author=Ministry of Culture of the People's Republic of China |title=Anping Bridge (Five Li Bridge) |work=ChinaCulture.org |year=2003 |ref=chinaculture |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120321182150/http://www.chinaculture.org/gb/en_travel/2003-09/24/content_34379.htm |archivedate=2012-03-21
• {{cite web | url=http://bridge.tongji.edu.cn/cb/ancient/ancient.htm | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707031408/http://bridge.tongji.edu.cn/cb/ancient/ancient.htm | author=Tongji University, Bridge Engineering Department | title=Ancient Bridges in China | work=Bridges in China | year=2000 | archivedate=July 7, 2011 | ref=tongji}}

References

1. [[#fu2002. Fu et al (2002)]], p. 185
2. [[#mao1978. Mao (1978)]], p. 6
3. [[#chinaculture. Ministry of Culture of the People's Republic of China (2003)]]
4. "Quanzhou: Emporium of the World in Song-Yuan China". United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization.
5. [[#tongji. Tongji University (2000)]]
6. link. Dongnan Morning News. Quanzhou Web. (June 8, 2010)
7. link. Quanzhou Web. (January 25, 2011)

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