page_title: Eastern Zhejiang Canal
section_title: Ancient bridges
hierarchical_section_title: Eastern Zhejiang Canal / Important Remains / Ancient bridges
caption_attribution_description: English: The Tongji Bridge in downtown Yuyao, China
context_page_description: The Eastern Zhejiang Canal is located in Zhejiang province, China. Its west end is in Xixing Street, Binjiang District, Hangzhou City, crossing Cao'e River and Shaoxing City to its east end, the Yong River estuary in Ningbo City. The canal is 239 kilometres long. Early canal construction took place in the Shanyin old canal in Shaoxing City, in the Spring and Autumn period. In the third century AD, an official named He Xun supervised the construction of Xixing Canal, establishing the complete Eastern Zhejiang Canal.
  In the Southern Song dynasty, the capital was established at Linan, which meant that the Eastern Zhejiang Canal became an important shipping channel. From the Yuan Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, the Eastern Zhejiang Canal lost its privilege but still remained navigable. In recent years, because of newer modes of transportation, the canal has been gradually replaced. The reconstruction of the canal began in 2002, by 2007 it was partially navigable, and the renovation project finished in 2009, though the Ningbo section was not navigable until the end of 2013.
context_section_description: Numerous ancient bridges stand across the Eastern Zhejiang Canal with various bridge forms, including semicircular arch, seven-polygonal arch, U-shaped arch, overpass and other forms. Many bridges are now protected as historical and cultural sites. Among these bridges, under the name of Ancient Bridge Groups of Shaoxing, some bridges of this city are protected as key historical and cultural sites at national level. 
  The Bazi Bridge is located in Yuecheng District, Shaoxing. It was originally constructed in the Southern Song dynasty and the bridge was reinforced in 1982. It stands across three water courses with two slopes on both sides.
  The Taiping Bridge is located in Shaoxing. Its construction was first started in the forty – eighth year during the reign of the Wanli emperor and was reconstructed in the eighth year during the reign of the Xianfeng emperor. It is a combination of single-span bridge and eight-span stone beam bridge design. You can see gallery roads beneath the bridge. Its construction form is viewed as representative of early overpasses in ancient China.
  The Guangning Bridge is located in Shaoxing, which was originally constructed in the Northern Song dynasty and reconstructed during the reign of Wanli in the Ming dynasty. It is the longest single-span seven-polygonal arch in Shaoxing.
  The Jingkou Bridge is located in Keqiao District, Shaoxing. It is a combination of three-span U-shaped arch bridge and three-span stone beam bridge design. The current bridge was reconstructed during the reign of the Xuantong emperor in the Qing dynasty.
  The Tongji Bridge is located in Yuyao, the current bridge was reconstructed during the reign of the Yongzheng emperor in the Qing dynasty. It is a stone arch bridge which is made up of two piers and three spans and became famous because of its big central/main span. People used to call it the Most Prominent Bridge of Eastern Zhejiang.
caption: The Tongji Bridge of Yuyao
exif: {}