Hui'an Luoyang Bridge

Hui'an Luoyang Bridge

Hui'an Luoyang Bridge is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Luoyang Bridge, originally named "Wanan Bridge," is situated on the Luoyang River in the eastern suburbs of Quanzhou. Together with Beijing's Lugou Bridge, Hebei's Zhaozhou Bridge, and Guangdong's Guangji Bridge, it is celebrated as one of the Four Great Ancient Bridges of China. It is the earliest surviving cross-sea beam-style stone bridge in China and the originator of the raft foundation in global bridge construction. As a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit, the bridge spans 731.29 meters in length, 4.5 meters in width, and 7.3 meters in height, featuring 44 boat-shaped piers, 645 railings, 104 stone lions, 1 stone pavilion, and 7 stone pagodas.

The bridge construction was overseen by Cai Xiang, a native of Putian and Prefect of Quanzhou during the Northern Song Dynasty. From the fifth year of Huangyou (1053 AD) to the fourth year of Jiayou (1059 AD), the project took seven years to complete, costing 14 million taels of silver, resulting in this grand stone bridge connecting river and sea. Historical records state that initially, the bridge was 360 zhang long and 15 zhang wide, flanked by warrior statues. The scale of the construction, along with its sophisticated structural techniques, gained worldwide renown.

Near the central pavilion of the bridge, numerous historical steles stand, including cliff inscriptions from the Song Dynasty such as “Eternal Calm.” To the north of the bridge lies the ruins of the Zhaohui Temple and Zhen Shen Nunnery; to the south are the Cai Xiang Memorial Temple and the famous Song Dynasty stele inscribed with Cai Xiang’s “Record of Wanan Bridge,” housed within the temple. This stele is hailed as a “triple masterpiece” for its calligraphy, prose, and carving.

Nearly a thousand years ago, under challenging conditions, Chinese bridge engineers pioneered a new type of foundation—the “raft foundation”—which wasn’t recognized until modern times. The so-called “raft foundation” involved dumping large quantities of stones along the bridge’s central axis using boats, forming a low stone ridge on the riverbed, upon which the bridge piers were then built. The design of Luoyang Bridge’s piers is also unique and noteworthy. The piers are constructed by interlocking long stone slabs, tapering at both ends to divide the water flow and reduce wave impact. To further stabilize the foundation, laborers innovated the “oyster-planting method,” cultivating oysters on the foundation stones so their natural adhesive properties would bind them into a solid, durable base. Luoyang Bridge successfully became China’s first major harbor stone bridge—an extraordinary feat in ancient Chinese bridge engineering. The renowned Chinese bridge expert Professor Mao Yisheng praised it, saying, “Luoyang Bridge is the top bridge of Fujian.”

The person in charge of building Luoyang Bridge at the time was Cai Xiang, Prefect of Quanzhou and native of Putian. Legend has it that Cai Xiang was a celestial star of literature incarnated on Earth. Intelligent and well-read from childhood, he became the top scholar in the imperial examination at age 18 and entered officialdom. However, influenced by his mother’s teachings, he resolved to build a bridge for the people of his region and alleviate their hardships. Soon after joining the court, he requested to return to his home prefecture to serve as Prefect of Quanzhou. Upon returning to Quanzhou, he grew troubled day and night by the deep waters and rough waves of the Luoyang River, which made constructing a stable bridge foundation extremely difficult. One night, he dreamed that the Goddess of Mercy (Guanyin) instructed him to seek help from the Dragon King of the Sea. Upon waking, Cai Xiang was astonished and wrote a plea to the Sea God. He asked his subordinates, “Who dares to go to the sea?” One clerk promptly answered, “I, Xia Dehai!” (The man’s name was Xia Dehai, and he mistook the order as being directed at him.) Thus, Xia was sent to deliver the message to the Sea God. Knowing he might not return, Xia bid farewell to his wife, got drunk on a pot of wine, and lay down on the beach, hoping the tide would take him away. But when he awoke, the yellow document pouch had turned red. He hurried back to Cai Xiang, who opened it to find only the single character “vinegar” (醋). After much deliberation, Cai Xiang interpreted the Dragon King’s message. Construction began on the 21st day of the month at the hour of You (酉时), when, as predicted, the tides receded and did not rise for three days and nights, allowing the bridge foundation to be successfully laid. However, due to limited funding, the bridge was not high enough and often flooded during heavy rains. Later legends say that Li Wu, a wealthy merchant from Quanzhou, funded raising the bridge by three feet. Li Wu, known for his extravagant lifestyle, was falsely accused and imprisoned. When his prisoner cart crossed Luoyang Bridge, the water had submerged the road, and he barely managed to get across. He swore that if he returned home safely, he would fund raising the bridge by three feet. True to his word, three years later, he returned home and financed the heightening of the bridge. Of course, the Luoyang Bridge we see today has been renovated, with the most recent work done in 1938 by Cai Tingkai leading the 19th Route Army during their passage through Quanzhou.

Address: Hui’an County, Quanzhou City

Type: Historic Bridge

Recommended Visit Duration: About 0.5 hours

Opening Hours:

Open all day

Ticket Information:

No admission fee.

Cai Xiang (1012–1067), courtesy name Junmo, was born in 1012 in Dongzhai Village, Fengting Town, Xianyou County. His father, Xiu, lived in Fengting Post of Xianyou County, initially working as a farmer and later as a local official in Quanzhou. His mother, Lady Lu, was the daughter of the esteemed Lu Ren from Guifeng Village, Deyin Li (now Houlong Township), Hui’an County.

In his childhood, Cai Xiang received strict education from his maternal grandfather. At 15, he passed the local examination, and at 18, he traveled to the capital to study at the Imperial College. In the eighth year of Tian Sheng (1030), he ranked first in the Kaifeng provincial examination. In the ninth year of Tian Sheng, he placed tenth in the imperial examination and was appointed as a military judge in Zhangzhou the following year... More details about Cai Xiang ++

Further Reading:

· Third Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units