Xishan Bridge

Xishan Bridge

Xishan Bridge is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Period: Southern Song Dynasty

Address: Jiande City, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province

This bridge is a single-span, solid-chamber, five-segment stone arch bridge, oriented east-west, spanning the Zizhou Stream. It is 18 meters long, 3.7 meters wide, and 5.5 meters high. The clear span of the arch is 11 meters, formed by six alternating slanted buttress stones arranged to create five segments. These slanted stones are horizontally connected by corner stones to enhance the stability of the arch. The bridge deck is paved with long stone slabs, bearing the inscription “Xianchun Year of the Ox.”

Segmented stone arch bridges are mainly found in the Zhejiang region and are very rare elsewhere. Particularly, a segmented arch bridge like Xishan Bridge, which approximates a circular arch and has a confirmed date of construction, is extremely uncommon. Together with the ancient Guyue Bridge in Yiwu, it serves as an important example of this type of bridge and holds significant value for the study of ancient segmented stone arch bridges.

Further Reading:

· Fifth Batch of Zhejiang Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units

· Seventh Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units