Taiping Bridge in She County

Taiping Bridge in She County

Taiping Bridge in She County is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Also known as Hexi Bridge, Taiping Bridge was first built in the first year of the Duanping era of the Song Dynasty (1234), initially as a pontoon bridge. It was destroyed during the wars at the end of the Yuan Dynasty (1310–1360) and rebuilt as a wooden bridge. During the Hongzhi era of the Ming Dynasty (1488–1506), it was reconstructed as a stone bridge. In the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty (1573–1619), it underwent one round of renovation, was rebuilt in the 56th year of the Kangxi era of the Qing Dynasty (1717), expanded into a large stone arch bridge in the 9th year of the Qianlong era (1744). It suffered damage from floods twice, in the 17th year of the Daoguang era (1837) and the 22nd year (1842). In the 23rd year of Daoguang (1843), it was rebuilt over seven years and completed in the 2nd year of the Xianfeng era (1850), at a cost of over 100,000 taels of silver. It was renovated twice more, in the 11th year of the Guangxu era (1885) and the 23rd year (1897), with over a thousand taels spent on each occasion. After the completion of the Wutun Road section from She County to Tunxi in 1929, the bridge was used to accommodate motor vehicle traffic.

The bridge was mainly constructed using high-quality tea garden stone from Chun’an, bonded with a mixture of glutinous rice paste and lime. Its refined construction gives it the highest load-bearing capacity and longest service life among ancient bridges in the province. On July 5, 1969, a catastrophic flood hit Huizhou, with the water level of the Lanjiang River rising 3.4 meters above the bridge deck, completely submerging the structure. Many riverside buildings collapsed, but the bridge (apart from some damage to the bridge deck, railing slabs, and the cutwaters of the piers) remained largely intact, allowing vehicles to pass safely once the waters receded. To protect this valuable historic bridge, in August 1969, the Provincial Communications Corps invested 90,000 yuan, and the Huizhou Regional Communications Team’s Mobile Road Maintenance Brigade carried out reinforcement work under the technical direction of Ling Yingzhi. The project included adding a reinforced concrete slab sidewalk with cantilevered brackets, as well as bridge lighting. In 1981, the provincial government listed the bridge as a Provincial Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

On October 7, 2019, Taiping Bridge in She County was included in the eighth batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.

Further reading:

· Eighth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units