The Luoyang Bridge
lies over the Luoyang River, which divides Quanzhou City and Hui'an County, 10
kilometers east of Quanzhou City in Fujian Province.
Luoyang Bridge, also known as Wan'an Bridge,
is a girder-type stone bridge. Its construction began in 1053 during the
Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127) and lasted seven years. The original bridge was
over 1,200 meters long and five meters wide, with 46 piers, 500 railings, 28
stone lions, seven pavilions and nine stone pagodas. The bridge was listed among
other famous girder stone bridges in ancient China.
The construction project was very demanding.
To build the foundation, many of stones were thrown into the river along the
central line of the bridge to form a low dam. Bridge piers were then erected on
the dam. Mucilage from a large quantity of oysters raised in the water beneath
the bridge was used as an adhesive to attach the base to the piers. This method,
among many others, was an important scientific innovation in ancient
China.
Many stone tablets from past dynasties were
erected near the middle pavilion on the Luoyang Bridge, including stone statues
of pagodas and warriors. The site of a former temple lies on the north end of
the bridge and Caixiang Temple stands on the opposite end. Inside the temple is
a stone tablet from the Song Dynasty (960-1279) with an inscription by Cai Xiang
recording his Notes on Wan'an Bridge. With its exquisite carvings, the
tablet gained the reputation of the three
superbs.