Hongji bridge in Henan Province

Hongji bridge in Henan Province

Hongji bridge in Henan Province is located in the north of Runan County, Henan Province, across the Ruhe River. It is called Boai bridge in Ming Dynasty, Yingen bridge in Qing Dynasty, and Tianzhong bridge because it is close to Tianzhong mountain. Now it is called Beiguan bridge in orientation. After more than 400 years, it is a famous ancient bridge in southern Henan.

Introduction to history

Hongji bridge was originally a wooden bridge, which once faced the northwest corner of the city. One summer, the Ru River rose sharply, and the wooden bridge was washed away by piles. As a result, the residents sigh about the difficulties in every trip. In 1505 A.D., leizong, the magistrate of Ruyang County, and local residents raised funds to rebuild the stone bridge. It was destroyed by the water after years. During the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, Huang Sihua, the magistrate of Runan, was rebuilt. However, from the existing bridge components, many of them are relics of the yuan and Ming Dynasties. Some people speculate that the bridge may have been built as far back as the end of Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of Ming Dynasty.

appearance

Hongji bridge is a five arch stone bridge with a total length of 55 meters from north to south, a span of 7.8 meters for the middle span and 7 meters for the side span. The bridge deck is paved with bluestone slabs. There are railings on both sides of the bridge, carved with lion, peach, monkey, pomegranate, deer, unicorn and Wusong tiger. There are 30 balustrades on both sides. The column spacing is 2 meters, and the column height is 1.3 meters. The top of the column is carved with lion and peach patterns. The carving is exquisite, vivid and exquisite. It has strong local characteristics and high artistic value. The lion's buttocks are carved with xumizuo, and the concave part of the base is decorated with Goulian pattern. The two sides are decorated with Ruyi pattern. There are mortise and tenon joints between the columns, fence boards between the columns, and patterns such as mushrooms and water hammer spray carved on them. The whole bridge is made of two meters long, 0.5 meters wide and 0.2 meters thick. The main arch stone is 1.5m high, 0.4m wide and 0.3m thick, and vertical masonry method is adopted. Each hole is horizontally connected to 22 rows with 9 pieces in each row. It is built with lime mortar and the gap is tight. Small arches are set on both sides of the main column, stone abutments are built, revetment walls are erected, and water diversion and ice breaking points are set on the pier foundation. It is a pity that the stone lions and Shoutao on the pillar of the bridge were destroyed as "old culture" in the "Cultural Revolution".

Address: North of Runan County, Zhumadian City

Longitude: 114.32556152344

Latitude: 33.029838562012