Where is Yongji Bridge?

Yongji Bridge is located on the Juma River in the north of Zhuozhou City, Baoding City, Hebei Province.

Yongji Bridge, originally named Juma River Bridge, also known as Big Stone Bridge, is located on the Juma River in the north of Zhuozhou City, Baoding City, Hebei Province. The Yongji Bridge was started in the second year of Wanli in the Jianming Dynasty (1574), and the bridge was named "Juma River Bridge". In the 25th year of Qianlong's reign in the Qing Dynasty (1760), the new bridge was built under the supervision of Fang Guancheng, the governor of Zhili, south of the old bridge. , and connected with the old bridge, it was renamed "Yongji".

Yongji Bridge is a nine-hole stone bridge, with each hole having a different span. It is composed of three parts, namely the main bridge and the north and south approach bridges. The south approach bridge of Yongji Bridge is 271.5 meters long, the north approach bridge is 205 meters long, the main bridge is 151.15 meters long, and the total length of Yongji Bridge is 627.65 meters. The bridge body is entirely made of rectangular boulders, and the railings are decorated with white marble carvings.

The bridge deck is paved with strips of square stones, and there are floor coverings, railings, and square pillar-shaped pillars on both sides of the bridge deck. The Yongji Bridge adopts Chinese arching techniques due to its large arch span and spans the Juma River like a rainbow with nine holes. It is known as the "Juma Changhong" and is one of the eight scenic spots in Zhuozhou.

Cultural Relics

1. Stone stele: There is a stone stele of "Big Stone Bridge" at the north end of Yongji Bridge. On the back of the stele is "Qianlong Gengchen Year of Qing Dynasty".

2. Imperial Stele: The Zhuozhou Municipal Tourism and Cultural Heritage Bureau conducted preliminary exploration and test excavation of the Yongji Bridge and the embankment-shaped approach bridges at both ends, and discovered the remains of the Imperial Stele Pavilion platform and the "Imperial System Reconstruction" written by Emperor Qianlong. "Zhuozhou Stone Bridge" Imperial Monument. The inscription describes the creation history, shape and scale of Yongji Bridge in Manchu and Chinese characters. The excavated bridge body is composed of three parts: the main bridge and the north and south approach bridges, with a total length of about 27.65 meters.

3. Iron pillar: There is a square iron pillar on the right side of the main culvert on the west side of Yongji Bridge, with a side length of 25 cm and a weight of several tons. It has a square button cast on the top and is 6.8 meters above the river bottom. There is an inscription engraved on it: In the third month of Gengchen, the twenty-fifth year of Qianlong's reign in the Qing Dynasty, Fang Guan, the governor-general of Zhili, was rebuilt according to the decree. The iron pillars lean against one side of the bridge, and grooves are cut into the bridge stones to fix the iron pillars.

Relevant information calls it a "town bridge", and this shape is the only one seen in Yongji Bridge in Zhuozhou. Another iron pillar stored in the Zhuozhou Museum is the same as the iron pillar used in the original Yongji Bridge in the Ming Dynasty. The inscription is: It was built on the auspicious day of Wuchen in the fourth year of the Ming Dynasty, Jiazi, March, and Wuchen.

Reference for the above content: Baidu Encyclopedia-Yongji Bridge