Baijia Bridge

Baijia Bridge

Baijia Bridge is a protected cultural heritage site of Jiangsu Province.

Baijia Bridge is located in Liguocun Village, Liguo Town, Tongshan District, about 40 kilometers north of Xuzhou City, spanning the ancient Yuntie River from north to south. The bridge is a three-arch stone structure built with bluestone, measuring 22 meters in total length, 8.6 meters in width, with a central arch span of 5.5 meters and side arches each 4.3 meters wide. The bridge stands 6.4 meters high at its midpoint. The arches were built using the longitudinal joint segmentation and parallel placement technique, forming smooth arches. The bridge deck consists of flat, smooth, and sturdy stone slabs. On the western side of the bridge, remnants of stone pedestal grooves suggest that there might have been stone railings. The joints between the bridge pier stones are filled with glutinous rice-lime mortar, and iron plates were added in larger gaps. The upstream-facing sides of the piers are built in a triangular shape to break the water flow. The entire bridge was constructed with fine craftsmanship, an elegant design, and a solemn yet harmonious appearance. Despite being over 600 years old, the bridge remains well-aligned and continues to bear the weight of vehicles and pedestrians.

Since the Han Dynasty, Liguo has been an important site for iron ore mining and smelting in China. The construction of Baijia Bridge originated from Liguo’s iron industry. To transport iron ore, a canal was dug from Liguo Supervision during the Song Dynasty. The “Taiping Huanyu Ji · Xuzhou” records: “Liguo Supervision, an official administrative office established by the Song Dynasty to oversee iron smelting, was located northeast of today's Tongshan County in Jiangsu Province. Originally an iron smelting site in Qiuziu, Xuzhou, it was elevated to Liguo Supervision during the Song Dynasty.”

The canal dug during the Song Dynasty at Liguo Supervision started at the foot of the mountain southwest of Yangcun Village, Liquan Town, and converged with springs such as Liguo Pearl Spring and Mother Pig Spring before flowing into Weishan Lake. This river stretches 8 kilometers in length, with a maximum width of 30 meters, and was known as the “Yuntie River” at the time.

Where there is a river, there must be a bridge. During the Yuan Dynasty, a bridge called “Liguo Supervision Bridge” was built over the “Yuntie River.”

The “Da Qing Yi Tong Zhi” records: “The Song Dynasty established Liguo Supervision at the foot of the mountain, and to its south was the Yuntie River. The Yuan people built the Liguo Supervision Bridge on it.” The Tongzhi-era “Xuzhou Prefecture Records” states: “Liguo Supervision Bridge, built during the Yuan Dynasty.”

These historical accounts accurately document the origins of this ancient bridge, highlighting its long and storied history.

According to cultural heritage authorities, the Liguo Supervision Bridge built during the Yuan Dynasty is today’s Baijia Bridge, also known as Baita Bridge. There is also a local folk legend about this. It is said that the bridge was funded and built by the Bai family, a wealthy household in Liguo, as a farewell gift when they relocated to Nanjing. After the bridge was completed, to honor the Bai family’s contribution, it was named “Baijia Bridge.”

On June 5, 2006, Baijia Bridge was designated as part of the sixth batch of protected cultural heritage sites of Jiangsu Province.

Further Reading:

· Sixth Batch of Protected Cultural Heritage Sites of Jiangsu Province