China - Gongchen Bridge 拱宸橋

 

Stamp Issue : 2009-09-26 

Situated at north of Gongshu District, the Gongchen Bridge connects Taizhou Road on the east, Bridge Nong Street on the west and is the biggest stone arch bridge in Hangzhou. It marks the end point of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. 'Chen' in the bridge name means imperial palace. Thus, Gongchen Bridge is named to symbolize greeting the emperor with respect.
Originally built in 1631 (the 4th year of Chongzhen's reign of the Ming Dynasty), the Gongchen Bridge was rebuilt in the 1885 (the 11th year of the reign of Guangxu), the three arch stone bridge is 98 metres long, 5.9 meters wide, and 15.8 metres above the canal. The middle arch is 15.8 meters long in clear span, while the two side ones, 11.9 meters each. The arch ring stone is 30 cm thick and the middle pier is around 1 meter thick.

拱宸橋位於杭州市拱墅區北端，東連台州路，西接橋弄街，是杭州城區最大的石拱橋，京杭大運河到杭州的終點標誌。拱宸橋中的「宸」，意為帝王宮殿，高大的拱形石橋，象徵對帝王的相迎和敬意，橋由此而得名。
始建於明崇禎四年（西元1631年），清光緒十一年（西元1885年）重建。橋梁總長98公尺，寬5.9公尺，高15.8 公尺。中孔淨跨15.8公尺，兩邊孔各為11.9公尺。拱券石厚30公分。中墩厚約1公尺，為三孔石拱橋。