The Legend of Luoyang Bridge

Luoyang Bridge, formerly known as Wan 'an Bridge, is located at the mouth of Luoyang River at the junction of Qiaonan Village in Luojiang District of Quanzhou City and Luoyang Town in Hui 'an County. It is the first large stone bridge in China. In April of the fifth year of the Northern Song Dynasty (1053), Wang Shi and others began to build the Dashiqiao. Between He Zhi and Jiayou, Cai Xiang continued to be responsible for the construction with the knowledge of Quanzhou, and it was completed in December of Jiayou 4th year (1February 059). The bridge is made entirely of granite, with a length of 360 feet and a width of 1.5 feet. There are 500 balustrade stone pillars and 28 stone lions on the east and west sides of the bridge, and there are 7 pavilions and 9 towers on the east and west sides of the bridge. The four stone generals are divided into north and south ends, creating a new era of bridge-building techniques such as "raft foundation", "planting mussels to consolidate the foundation", "keeping boats in surging waves, hanging up and pulling wires". From the eighth year of Shaoxing in the Southern Song Dynasty (1 138) to the tenth year of Xianfeng in Qing Dynasty (1860), the bridge was repaired 19 times, the most famous of which was Li Jun (143 1), a wealthy businessman in Chidian, Jinjiang. In 2 1 (1932) of the Republic of China, the 19th Route Army raised the bridge by 5 feet and added the reinforced concrete deck to 7 meters to connect cars. The measured length of the bridge is 73 1m, the width is 4.5m, and there are 45 piers. In recent years, the government has allocated huge sums of money for reconstruction and restoration. Ancillary cultural relics include Zhong Ting, Ganyu Pavilion in Xichuan, Zhao Hui Temple, Yibo Temple, Cai Xiang Temple, 4 stone generals, 6 stone pagodas, 64 kinds of stone carvings and inscriptions, and cliff stone carvings such as Wan 'an Bridge and Eternal An Lan. Cai Xiang Temple, located on the south side of the bridge, was built in the Qing Dynasty to commemorate the achievements of Cai Xiang, and was rebuilt in the 31st year of Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty (1692). The Cai Xiang 153 inscription on Wan 'an Bridge (one of which was imitated) stands in the temple, and its articles, calligraphy and seal cutting are known as "three wonders".