Guangji Bridge [Chaozhou]

As the saying goes: "A trip to Guangdong is not complete if you did not visit Chaozhou, and a trip to Chaozhou is not complete if you missed Guangji Bridge", Guangji Bridge is a must-visit site for visitors to Chaozhou.

Guangji Bridge which spans the Hanjiang east of the city, is the first bascule bridge in the world, and one of the four most famous ancient bridges in China, together with Zhaozhou Bridge in Hebei Province, Luoyang Bridge in Henan Province and Marco Polo Bridge in Beijing.

The 517.95-m long Guangji stone bridge was constructed in 1171 during the Song Dynasty and it had a nick name of "Xiangzi Bridge". With a history of more than 800 years, it was initially formed as a pontoon bridge 86 huge ships. After several times of construction and renovation it became a uniquely structured bridge in 1513 during the Ming Dynasty, with 24 piers and 18 shuttle ships.

The Bridge serves as a passage for pedestrians usually, and at scheduled occasion the connected shuttle-ships are open for other ships to pass. Guangji Bridge is an exceptional case in the Chinese bridge history as it combines the structure of a pontoon bridge, column bridge and arch bridge.

Due to the fact that Guangji Bridge connects eastern Guangdong to Fujian and Jiangxi and that Hanjiang controls the eastern Guangdong water traffic, the Bridge used to a busy commodity exchange centre with 24 storied-towers and lots of shops on the bridge at that time.

Nowadays Guangji Bridge is replaced by a modern reinforced bridge. People no long see the hustling market scene on the bridge but many manually-pooled carts and pedestrians passing to and back. Legends about the creation of Guangji Bridge however are heard by people with interest and curiosity.