Price:

¥ 40

Hours:

8am-5:30 pm

Location:

Zhaoxian county, Shijiazhuang city

China’s oldest stone segmental arch bridge, the Zhaozhou Bridge, has spanned the Jiao River for 1,400 years. As the world’s first stone segmental arch bridge (its arch is a segment of a circle, as opposed to a complete semicircle), it predates other bridges of its type throughout the world by 800 years. In excellent condition, and part of a riverside, landscaped park, it is 50.82 meters long and 9.6 meters wide, with a span of 37 meters.

Twenty-two stone posts are topped with carvings of dragons and mythical creatures, with the center slab featuring a magnificent taotie (an offspring of a dragon).

The bridge is in Zhaoxia county, about 40 kilometers southeast of Shijiazhuang and 2 kilometers south of Zhaoxian town.