How many stone lions are there on Marco Polo Bridge?

There are 501 stone lions on Marco Polo Bridge.

The Marco Polo Bridge was built in 1189 and completed in 1192. There are 281 pillars and 501 stone lions on this oldest existing stone bridge in Beijing. But the Marco Polo Bridge stone lions were not completed in one era. The sculptures of the Marco Polo Bridge stone lions spanned six eras: the Jin Dynasty, the Yuan Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty, the Qing Dynasty, the Republic of China and New China. The youngest lion was only 20 years old.

The Marco Polo Bridge has gone through many disasters over the past 800 years since it was built. Floods destroyed part of the bridge during the Yongzheng period of the Qing Dynasty, and it was rebuilt in 1732. In 1937, the "July 7th Incident" broke out, and this became an anti-Japanese battlefield. In 1967, in order to solve the problem of poor traffic, the bridge deck was widened, 91 pillars were replaced, and the lions on the capitals were re-carved.

In 1985, Marco Polo Bridge was officially decommissioned. In 1986, the widened trail and other features were removed and the historical features were restored. In 1991, Marco Polo Bridge was closed to management.

Extended information

The lion forms of Marco Polo Bridge:

The postures of the stone lions of Marco Polo Bridge are different. There are male and female lions, the female plays with the lion cubs, and the male plays with the hydrangeas. Some large lions have many small lions carved on them. The smallest ones are only a few centimeters long, and some only show half of their heads and a mouth. Therefore, there has long been a saying that "there are countless lions in Marco Polo Bridge".

According to statistics, there are 281 large stone lions and 211 small stone lions on the pillars. There are 492 stone lions on the bridge. There are also stone lions on the east end of the bridge supporting the railings, one on each side. There are one pair of Huabiao at both ends of the bridge, and one pair of stone animals on the top of the Huabiao (a pair of lions on the east side and a pair of elephants on the west side). There are 496 stone lions in total, and there is a stone tablet on each side: one tablet records the reconstruction of Marco Polo Bridge in the 27th year of Emperor Kangxi's reign (1698).

People's Daily Online - The first generation of lions at Marco Polo Bridge? 501 stone lions carved in six eras