Wuji Bridge

Wuji Bridge

Wuji Bridge is a Zhejiang Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Wuji Bridge is located in Huchen Township, Ninghai County, stretching east-west across the Zhongbao Stream in the tail section of Huchen Port, over the Damaitang area. It lies 23 kilometers from the county seat. Two li north of the bridge is Xizhang Village, and two li south is Tian’ao Village. It once formed part of the ancient route from Ninghai to Huchen and Changjie, and remains to this day a convenient shortcut for Linyang and Xizhang villages to reach Chejia Village south of the bridge.

According to the *Ninghai County Annals*, Wuji Bridge was first built in the 28th year of the Daoguang reign during the Qing Dynasty (1848 AD), and completed in the 29th year (1849 AD). The name of the bridge comes from taking the first character of the starting and ending years in the traditional cyclical calendar—“Wu” (戊) and “Ji” (己)—hence the name “Wuji.” The bridge is a stone slab flat crossing supported by pillars, originally built to allow boat passage. The structure stretches 150 meters in length with 48 spans, which is why it is also known as the “Forty-Eight Arch Bridge.” Later, one span was filled during road construction, leaving 47 spans today. The current bridge is 137.5 meters long, 1.65 meters wide, and 2.65 meters high. The bridge deck consists of three slabs laid side by side, each about 3 meters long, 0.5 meters wide, and 0.3 meters thick. These slabs rest on piers made of one vertical, one horizontal, and one diagonal stone slab. In total, 47 such spans form the entire bridge. Each pier is 0.35 meters thick, constructed by interlocking long stone slabs measuring 3–4 meters in length. At the western end of the bridge stands a pavilion housing a “Wuji Bridge Restoration Memorial Stele,” which documents how, in 1999, villagers from Xizhang Village raised over 30,000 yuan to comprehensively renovate the ancient bridge, which had suffered extensive erosion from tides over the years. The stele also lists the names of numerous donors.

Wuji Bridge is a rare ancient long-span sea-crossing bridge in eastern Zhejiang, boasting a history of 169 years. It is now recognized as one of the Top Ten Famous Bridges in Ningbo. On March 24, 2003, it was designated as a Cultural Relics Protection Unit under the fifth batch of county-level listings. On January 13, 2017, it was listed as a Cultural Relics Protection Unit under the seventh batch of provincial-level designations.

Further Reading:

· Seventh Batch of Zhejiang Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units