Luoyang Bridge

Hui’an Luoyang Bridge

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

Originally named "Wanan Bridge," Luoyang Bridge spans the Luoyang River in the eastern suburbs of Quanzhou. Along with Beijing’s Lugou Bridge, Hebei’s Zhaozhou Bridge, and Guangdong’s Guangji Bridge, it is known as one of China’s Four Great Ancient Bridges. Luoyang Bridge is the oldest surviving cross-sea beam-style stone bridge in China and also marks the beginning of the raft foundation technique in world bridge engineering. It is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit. The bridge is 731.29 meters long, 4.5 meters wide, and 7.3 meters high, 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 and cost 14 million taels of silver to complete this grand stone bridge connecting river and sea. Historical records state that the original bridge was 360 zhang long and 1.5 zhang wide, flanked by statues of warriors. The scale of the project was immense, and its structural craftsmanship was highly advanced, earning worldwide fame.

Near the central pavilion of the bridge, there are numerous historical steles, including Song Dynasty cliff inscriptions such as “Eternal Calm.” To the north of the bridge lie 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,” which is hailed as a “triple excellence” in calligraphy, text, 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 centerline using boats, forming a low stone embankment on the riverbed, upon which the bridge piers were built. The pier design of Luoyang Bridge is also unique and noteworthy. The piers are built by interlocking long stone slabs, tapering at both ends to divert water flow and reduce the impact of waves. To reinforce the foundation, laborers also invented the “oyster bed foundation method,” cultivating oysters on the base stones so they would cement into a solid, stable structure. Luoyang Bridge successfully became China’s first major harbor stone bridge and stands as a remarkable achievement in ancient Chinese bridge-building history. The renowned Chinese bridge engineer Professor Mao Yisheng praised it, saying, “Luoyang Bridge is the top bridge of Fujian.”

The person in charge of building Luoyang Bridge was Cai Xiang, the prefect of Quanzhou and a native of Putian. Legend says Cai Xiang was a celestial star of literature reborn to Earth. Intelligent and well-read from childhood, he became the top scholar at age 18 and entered officialdom. However, influenced by his mother’s teachings, he was determined to build a bridge for his people and solve their difficulties. Soon after joining the court, he requested to return to his home prefecture to serve as its governor. Back in Quanzhou, he worried day and night about the deep and rough waters of the Luoyang River, which made bridge construction difficult. One night, he dreamed that the Goddess Guanyin instructed him to seek help from the Dragon King of the Sea. Startled upon waking, Cai Xiang wrote a formal request to the sea deity and asked his subordinates, “Who can go to the sea?” One officer immediately replied, “I, Xia Dehai!” (His name was Xia Dehai, and he mistakenly thought the prefect was calling him.) So 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 woke up, the yellow document pouch had turned red. He quickly returned it to Cai Xiang, who opened it to find only the character “vinegar” (醋). After much contemplation, Cai Xiang interpreted the Dragon King’s hint. Construction began on the 21st day of the month at the hour of You (酉时), when the tides miraculously 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, legend says a wealthy merchant from Quanzhou, Li Wu, funded raising the bridge by three feet. Li Wu, a lavish spender, was falsely accused and unjustly imprisoned while being taken to the capital. As his prisoner cart crossed Luoyang Bridge, the water had flooded the road, and he barely managed to get across. He swore to the heavens that if he returned home safely, he would fund raising the bridge by three feet. True to his word, he returned home three years later and financed the heightening of the bridge. Of course, the Luoyang Bridge we see today has been renovated, with the last renovation carried out in 1938 by Cai Tingkai and 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, originally farmed in Fengting Post of Xianyou County and later worked as a minor official in Quanzhou. His mother, Lady Lu, was the daughter of the esteemed Lu Ren from Guifeng Village, Deyinli (now Houlong Township) in Hui’an County.

In his childhood, Cai Xiang received strict education from his maternal grandfather. At 15, he passed the local civil service exam, and at 18, he traveled to the capital to study at the Imperial College. In 1030 (the eighth year of Tian Sheng), he ranked first in the Kaifeng provincial exam. In 1031 (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 on Cai Xiang++

Further Reading:

· Third Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units