Gonglong Bridge

Gonglong Bridge

Gonglong Bridge is the northern gate bridge of the Gaocheng County Moat. Legend has it that Emperor Zhao Kuangyin once fell off his horse at the saddle on this bridge, hence the name "Gonglong" (meaning "Rolling Dragon") Bridge. The original bridge was made of earth, but in the Ming Dynasty, a local man named Wang Ning went bankrupt to rebuild it entirely with stone. It is a single-arch bridge with a border-edged longitudinal stone structure. The arch spans 2.2 meters, the distance from the arch crown to the bridge surface is 1.45 meters, the bridge deck is 5.8 meters long from north to south and 6.2 meters wide from east to west, and it has circular stone bases at the four corners. The main structure of the bridge today still dates back to the Ming Dynasty but is heavily weathered, and the carved characters "Gonglong Bridge" on the eastern side have become blurred.

The origin of the name "Gonglong Bridge" is related to Emperor Taizu of the Song Dynasty, Zhao Kuangyin. It is said that during a battle to unify the country, Emperor Zhao Kuangyin arrived in Gaoyuan County. There was a bridge over the Jishui River to the north of the county town. As Zhao Kuangyin urged his horse to cross the bridge and head north, the horse stumbled, causing him to fall off the saddle and tumble onto the riverbank below. The riverbank was covered with thorny bushes, but because Zhao Kuangyin was the "true dragon" (the emperor), the spirit of the thorns caused the thorns to point downward to avoid harming the emperor. As a result, later generations named the bridge "Gonglong Bridge."

Address: Beiguan Village, Gaocheng Town, Gaoqing County, Zibo City

Admission: Free

Opening Hours: All day