Wumen Bridge

Wumen bridge is one of the three sceneries of Panmen. People in Suzhou call Panmen three sceneries: Panmen, Wumen bridge and Ruiguang tower. Wumen bridge is the highest single hole stone bridge in Suzhou at present. It looks a bit like the Yudai bridge (commonly known as Luoguo bridge) in the summer palace of Beijing. It is tall and uplifted, like a rainbow on the river after rain. Because the river under the bridge passes through the water gate, which is an important waterway for the passing ships, the bridge opening is quite high and wide. Shiqiao was built in 1084, the seventh year of Yuanfeng in the Northern Song Dynasty. It was named Xinqiao. At the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, it was destroyed by war. It was rebuilt in the Southern Song Dynasty and renamed wumenqiao. Now the bridge was rebuilt during the reign of Tongzhi in the Qing Dynasty. It is simple and elegant, and retains the style of that year.

Wumen Bridge

Wumen bridge, located outside the southwest Panmen gate of Suzhou ancient city, is a single hole stone bridge rebuilt in the Qing Dynasty in the early Northern Song Dynasty. The bridge is made of Jinshan granite in Suzhou, with a small amount of Wukang stone left by the old bridge in Song Dynasty. The bridge is 66.3 meters long, 4.8 meters wide, 16 meters clear span, 9.85 meters high, 10 rows of arch stones, 11 long tie stones, and built in parallel. It is 11 meters high from the stone face of shuipan to the top of the bridge. Crossing the ancient canal (moat), it is the only way for land access to Panmen. It is the highest existing single hole ancient stone arch bridge in Jiangsu Province.

In 2002, wumenqiao was listed as a cultural relic protection unit in Jiangsu Province. As one of the cultural relic sites attached to the Grand Canal, it is listed as a key cultural relic protection unit in China.

Architectural features

The bridge is a single hole stone bridge rebuilt in the Qing Dynasty in the early Northern Song Dynasty. The bridge is made of Jinshan granite in Suzhou, with a small amount of Wukang stone left by the old bridge in Song Dynasty. The bridge is 66.3 meters long, 4.8 meters wide, 16 meters clear span, 9.85 meters high, 10 rows of arch stones, 11 long tie stones, and built in parallel. It is 11 meters high from the stone face of shuipan to the top of the bridge. There are 50 steps on the north and south slopes, all of which are paved with a whole stone. The bridge fence is chiseled into a concave convex shape, like a full-length back chair. The name of the bridge is inscribed in regular script on the forehead of the bridge. The middle of the gate is crowned with the word "wumenqiao". On one side of the pillar, it is engraved with the words "rebuilt by the General Administration of water conservancy of Jiangsu Province" and on the other side, it is engraved with the words "April of Renshen summer in the 11th year of Tongzhi". The north and south slopes are paved with 50 stone steps. On the left and right wings of the diamond wall at the north end, there are about 0.6 meters wide trackways, which are convenient facilities for trackers to cross the bridge.

Historical evolution

According to Wu county annals, Wumen bridge was built in the Southern Song Dynasty. In the Northern Song Dynasty, in 1084, the Shi family, a member of the county, invested in the construction of a "new bridge" to end the history of Panmen ferry. The "new bridge" was composed of two wooden bridges on the north bank and a stone bridge on the south bank. At that time, it was also called "three bridges", which was the predecessor of Wumen bridge. It was destroyed in the war in the late Northern Song Dynasty. During the Southern Song Dynasty, the "three bridges" were rebuilt into three stone bridges, which were rebuilt in shaodingzhong and renamed today. Kuang Zhong, the governor of Suzhou, was rebuilt during the Ming Dynasty. In 1498 (the 11th year of Hongzhi), Fu Chao, a water conservancy doctor, repaired the bridge. In 1646 (the 3rd year of Shunzhi in the Qing Dynasty) and 1734 (the 12th year of Yongzheng), the bridge was rebuilt as a single hole stone bridge. In 1872 (the 11th year of Tongzhi), the General Administration of water conservancy of Jiangsu Province rebuilt it. It has been preserved until now. In 1989, some of the stone arches were knocked down by ships. When repairing, it was found that the stone arches were spliced with tenon and mortise to increase fastness and avoid displacement.

Relevant information

Wumen bridge is an ancient bridge in Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province. It is also the highest existing single span stone arch bridge in Jiangsu Province. Across the moat in the south of Suzhou, it is the main channel to enter and exit Panmen. It is the largest single hole stone bridge in Jiangsu Province. Wumen bridge is an ancient bridge in Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province, China. It is also the highest existing ancient bridge in Suzhou city. Across the Beijing Hangzhou Grand Canal in the south of Suzhou, it is the main channel for Panmen. According to the picture of Pingjiang in Song Dynasty, there are three bridges connecting each other and three caves under them. It is a three hole stone arch bridge in the picture of flourishing age by Qianlong of Qing Dynasty. It is an important cultural relic tourist area in the southwest of Suzhou city. The neighboring Panmen tower and Ruiguang tower form a group of scenery in the south of Suzhou.

Address: on the moat outside panmenwai, ancient city of Suzhou

Longitude: 120.616597

Latitude: 31.286583