Linhai Five-Arch Bridge

Linhai Five-Arch Bridge

The Linhai Five-Arch Bridge is a cultural relic protection unit of Zhejiang Province.

The Linhai Five-Arch Bridge is located in Dayang Subdistrict, Linhai City, and dates back to the Qing Dynasty.

The Five-Arch Bridge, also known as the New Bridge, is located in Xinqiaotou Village in Dayang Subdistrict, Linhai, between Xinqiaotou Village and Caojia and Shanshipo Villages. The bridge was first built during the Jingtai era of the Ming Dynasty (1450–1456), funded by a wandering monk. In the 49th year of the Qianlong reign (1784) of the Qing Dynasty, it was destroyed by a flood. The following year, local residents Zhang Weixin, Zhang Zhengli, and others initiated its reconstruction, which was completed in the 54th year of Qianlong (1789). It was renovated again in the 4th year of the Tongzhi reign (1865). The Five-Arch Bridge is the only surviving five-arch stone bridge in Linhai. It is constructed with rectangular stone blocks, and its arches feature a segmented parallel structure. The spans of the southern four arches are generally consistent, while the northern one is relatively smaller. The bridge is 75 meters long, 4.1 meters wide, and 4.8 meters high. The bridge deck slightly undulates along the arches, with balusters and railings on both sides—36 pairs of balusters in total. Each baluster is carved with motifs such as monkeys or lotuses, with the lotus designs being intricate, including upturned lotus, inverted lotus, seed pods, and buds. The carving techniques include round carving, relief carving, deep engraving, and shallow engraving. The designs are richly varied and exquisitely crafted. Most of the railing slabs are still intact. Divided by the center, the northern section features mostly antique and animal motifs, while the southern section is plain, with a pair of stone elephants carved at each end. On the outer sides of the railing slabs at both ends of the third arch, two large characters are engraved: “New Bridge” (东为“新桥”) on the eastern side and “Star of Blessing” (西曰“福星”) on the western side. On the western side, two balusters are also inscribed with texts such as “Devotee Zhao Mingwang’s wife, Madam Yan, donated 2,000 coins” and “Female devotee from the Xu family, Madam Zhang, with son Jia Bin, donated money.”

The northern side of the bridge originally had a bridge pavilion, which has now been demolished. Only six stone tablets remain embedded in the surviving gable wall. The first is the “Record of the Reconstruction of the New Bridge” from the 54th year of the Qianlong reign (1789), measuring 74 cm in width, with the height unclear as the lower part of the tablet is embedded in the wall’s crevice. The text consists of 12 lines in regular script, with characters 3 cm in size. The second is a set of five donation tablets for the bridge’s reconstruction. The first is inscribed with the title “Cultivating Broad Merit,” while the others list the names of donors and the amounts they contributed. All five tablets are of the same size, standing 2.10 meters tall and 0.76 meters wide. The inscriptions on the lower parts of the tablets have become blurred due to natural weathering.

On February 18, 2001, the Linhai Municipal People’s Government designated it as a “Linhai Cultural Relic Protection Unit.”

On January 13, 2017, the Zhejiang Provincial People’s Government listed it as part of the seventh group of Zhejiang Provincial Cultural Relic Protection Units.

Further Reading:

· Seventh Group of Zhejiang Provincial Cultural Relic Protection Units