Zhaozhou Bridge is the world’s oldest and largest open-spandrel stone segmental arch bridge. It is also known as Anji Bridge or Dashi Bridge, located on the Xiaohe River in Zhaozhou County, Hebei Province.

Zhaozhou Bridge was constructed from the 1st to the 11th year of the Daye Reign (605 -616) of the Sui Dynasty (581-618). Li Chun, the designer of the bridge built the bridge with a stone arch made of massive limestone wedges reinforced with iron. The innovative main arch of the Zhaozhou Bridge curves to form a shallow arch.

The Zhaozhou Bridge is 50.82 meters long and 9.6 meters wide. The span of

its large stone arch in the middle measures 37.37 meters, which was the world’s largest arch at that time. There is also a smaller symmetrical arch at each end. This structure not only requires less building materials but also makes sluicing during the flood season much easier. The bridge floor is smooth and flat with passages for pedestrians on both sides, while carriages and carts can move through the middle. The apex of the arch is fairly high so that boats can also pass through easily.
Li Chun’s creativity and ingenuity in producing such a unique design and structure has won the admiration of many people. The Zhaozhou Bridge predates any comparable development in Europe by several hundred years. It reflects the intelligence and ability of the ancient Chinese working people.
Zhaozhou Bridge is ingeniously designed, with a well-proportioned layout, solid structure and a magnificent and attractive outward appearance. In the next 1400 years, Zhaozhou Bridge survived at least eight wars, ten major floods and numerous earthquakes. However, the support structure remains intact and the bridge is still in use.