The oldest Stone Bridge
The Anji Bridge (安济桥) is the world’s oldest open-spandrel segmental arch bridge of stone construction. Credited to the design of a craftsman named Li Chun, the bridge was constructed in the years 595–605 during the Sui dynasty (581–618). Located in the southern part of HebeiProvince, it is the oldest standing bridge in China.
The Anji bridge is about 64 metres (210 ft) long with a central span of 37.37 metres (122.6 ft). It stands 7.3 metres (24 ft) tall and has a width of 9 metres (30 ft). The central arch is made of 28 thin, curved limestone slabs which are joined with iron butterfly joints. This allows the arch to adjust to shifts in its supports and prevents the bridge from collapsing even when a segment of the arch breaks. The bridge has two small side arches on either side of the main arch. These side arches serve two important functions: first, they reduce the total weight of the bridge by about 15.3% or approximately 700 tons, which is vital because of the low rise-to-span ratio and the large forces on the abutments it creates. Second, when the bridge is submerged during a flood, they allow water to pass through, thereby reducing the forces on the structure of the bridge.
During the next 1,400 years, the bridge survived at least eight wars, ten major floods and numerous earthquakes, the most recent being the 7.2-magnitude Xingtai earthquake in 1966. Yet, the support structure remains intact and the bridge is still in use. Only the ornamental railings have been replaced every few hundred years.
The Highest Bridge in the World
The Duge Bridge, also called the Beipanjiang Bridge, is a four-lane cable-stayed bridge on the border between the provinces of Guizhou and Yunnan in China. As of 2021, the bridge is the highest in the world, with the road deck sitting over 565 metres (1,854 ft) above the Beipan River.
The longest Crossing Sea Bridge
The 55km crossing consists of three cable-stayed bridges and link roads in the three cities, reducing the travelling time between Hong Kong and Macau/Zhuhai from an hour’s ferry ride to a 40-minute car journey. This is a key initiative of the Chinese government’s plan to drive the economic and social integration of the Greater Bay Area which encompasses 11 cities in Southern China including Hong Kong and Macau. Opened to traffic at early 2018.
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Source: https://gz.cri.cn/n/20230216/b6d28ebf-5a77-46e8-7231-afcde4a8b554.html, https://finance.sina.com.cn/roll/2019-05-08/doc-ihvhiqax7322797.shtml, https://www.google.com/search?q=World%27s+highest+bridge+opens+to+traffic+in+China&oq=World%27s+highest+bridge+opens+to+traffic+in+China&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i61.1269j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anji_Bridge
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