Quanzhou Luoyang Brigde

Introducing Luoyang Bridge (from wikipedia)
The Luoyang Bridge, also known as Wan’an Bridge, is located in Quanzhou, Fujian province, China. The stone bay bridge is situated at the mouth of Luoyang River. Being the first stone bay bridge in China, it enjoys the reputation of “one of the four ancient bridges of China”. Luoyang bridge was listed as a key cultural relics unit under the national protection in 1988. In 2021, the bridge was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List along with other Song and Yuan dynasty sites around Quanzhou because of its importance to medieval maritime trade in China and the exchange of cultures and ideas around the world.

Luoyang Bridge Fast Facts
• Chinese Name: Luo Yang Qian 洛阳桥
• Best Time to Visit: All Year
• Recommended Visiting Hours: About 1.5 hours
• Things to Do: Photography, History and Culture, Architecture
• Opening Hours: All Day
• Entrance Fee: Free
• Address: Wan’an Road, Luojiang District, Quanzhou City, Fujian Province, China

What to expect at Luoyang Bridge (from wikipedia)

Construction of the Luoyang Bridge started in 1053 and was completed in 1059. Since it was built, the Luoyang Bridge has been restored many times. At present, it is about 731 meters (2,398 feet) long, 5 meters (16 feet) wide and 7 meters (22 feet) high. It has 645 railings, 104 stone lions, 44 ship-like piers, 7 pagodas and 1 pavilion. The bridge plate is made of large-scale boulder strips. Back to the ancient time, the engineer took the advantage of ebbs to successfully build the plate. On both sides of the plate, there are 500 stone guardrails to protect passers-by from falling into the river.

The stone tower
There are 7 stone towers outside the guardrails of the bridge, among which 3 are pagodas of multi-storied pavilion type, 1 Baoqie Sutra-printing house, 1 Five wheel tower, 1 Jing Zhuang, 1 Zheng feng tower (repress the wind), and 1 foundation base. From south to north, these 7 towers are

Joss
On the south end and the north end of Luoyang bridge, there are 2 stone joss protecting the bridge on each end. The joss is 1.63 meters high, facing each other, and they were all built during the northern song dynasty. Those sculptures all have Han nationality (the majority group of people in China), wearing hamlet and armor, holding long sword in hands.

Bridge Pavilion
There are two stone pavilions on Zhongzhou island. One is called “Zhongting” (the middle pavilion), a foursquare pavilion located in the north side of Zhongzhou island. The exact year of its building is unable to verify. The existing pavilion is, in fact, reconstructed on the basis of the body in the late Qing and early Ming dynasty, after the founding of the People’s Republic of China. The other pavilion is called “Xi chuan sweet rain pavilion”, built to commemorate the magistrate of Jinjiang county, Fang Ke, in Ming dynasty. Folklore has it that Fang’s prayer for rain came true, then folks built this pavilion to commemorate him.

Memorial Architecture
A ancestral temple to commemorate Cai Zhonghui can be found 500 meters away from the south end of the bridge, which was built by descendants to remember Cai’s contribution to build Luoyang bridge. This temple starts to build in northern song dynasty, and the existing one is in the construting style of Qing dynasty, which is oriented north and south and have 3 halls with 3 rooms. Zhaohui temple is built in the north side of the bridge, and the existing temple is also in Qing’s style. It has 2 halls with 5 rooms. The exact year when the temple started to build is lost track, but archaeologists assume its predecessor is Zhenhai nunnery and then changed its name to Zhaohui temple. On the south end of the bridge, there are many sculptures made during the construction process, including the famous “Wan’an bridge”, which has 153 letters on the 3-meter high and 1.5-meter wide stone monument. Besides, 26 monuments with carvings, which are from different periods of the bridge construction can be found in the north side of the bridge, Zhongzhou island and south side.

How to get to Luoyang Bridge
• Take bus 701 to Luoyang Gujie Parking Lot.
• Take bus 19, 61 & K509 to Qiaonan Village.
• Rent a car/bus from GGC to enjoy a hassle free private transfer from hotels in Quanzhou to Quanzhou Luoyang Bridge.

Additional travel advice on Luoyang Bridge
• Please wear comfortable shoes.