China - Guangji Bridge 廣濟橋

 

Stamp Issue : 2009-11-16 

Guangji Bridge (aka Xiangzi Bridge) is a pontoon bridge situated in the east of Chaozhou in Guangdong Province. Crossing the Han River, the bridge is renowned as one of the four most famous ancient bridges in China with the other three being the Zhaozhou Bridge, Luoyang Bridge and Lugou Bridge.
Built in 1170 during the Southern Song Dynasty, originally a wooden pontoon bridge, the stone bridge took 57 years to complete, was 515 meters long and known as Jizhou Bridge. The two beamed sections were supported by 18 piers. Due to turbulent current, a bridge could not be built in the middle section that was about 100 meters wide. Small ferryboats were used to transport between the two beamed sections instead.
Renovated in 1435 (the 10th year of Xuande Empeor of the Ming Dynasty), the bridge was extended by erecting five more piers and 12 pavilions. It was renamed to Guangji Bridge. During the reign of Zhengde Emperor (1505–1521), another pier was erected which gave a total of 24 piers, all made in granite. The two beamed sections were connected by chaining 18 shuttle boats to form a pontoon which served as a gate that could be open and close. The boats could be disconnected to allow large boats and rafts passage, and then reconnected to return to their original position. This was the first switchable stone bridge in China and in the world, an innovation that set a precedent in bridge-building history.
Guangji Bridge was renovated many times since. In 2003, the bridge was fully restored to its original appearance and completed in June 2007.

廣濟橋又稱湘子橋，位於廣東省潮州市之東，為中國第一座啟閉式浮橋，橫跨韓江，與趙州橋、洛陽橋、蘆溝橋並稱「中國四大古橋」。
始建於公元1170年(南宋乾道六年)，初為浮橋，由浮船連結而成，歷時57年建成，當時稱濟州橋，全長515公尺，分東西兩段18墩，中間一段寬約百公尺。因水流湍急，未能架橋，只用小船擺渡。
公元1435年 (明宣德十年) 重修，並增建五墩，橋上修築樓閣12座, 稱廣濟橋；正德年間，又增建一墩，總共24墩。橋墩用花崗石塊砌成。中段用18艘梭船聯成浮橋，能開能合，當大船、木排通過時，可以將浮橋中的浮船解開，讓船隻、木排通過。然後再將浮船歸回原處。這是中國、也是世界上最早的一座開關活動式大石橋。為橋建築界歷史創下先河。
後多次修建。廣濟橋2003年全面重修，2007年6月竣工。