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The archaeological gallery roads () were roads through remote mountain areas of
Gallery road, also known as cliff road, plank road, is a creative building in Chinese history. The main use of the gallery road is to establish a traffic route over a cliff in a steep mountainous area. The Shu Road is the most typical representative. It passes through some of the most rugged and desolate terrains in China, such as the Qinling Mountains and the Daba Mountain ranges, linking the Wei river valley with the ancient capital of Chang'an. Using the plank road technology to fasten the road to the cliff and cross the steep ravine.
The structure of the gallery road is usually built according to the structure of the mountain, so each section of the gallery road is different. Generally, the most common gallery road is the wooden plank road, which is dug holes on the cliff, tamped with thick wooden piles, and covered with wooden boards. The stone road is to cut the stone and carve the cliff stone into a gallery road.
The modern gallery road is reconstructed based on the original ancient damaged or dangerous plank road using steel, stone, etc. In order to make the plank road more beautiful and exciting, some use glass to build the gallery road, so that tourists can enjoy more scenery.
Shu dao is the general name of the historical road that was constructed through the Qinling, Micang and Daba mountainous barrier. The main function of the Shu dao is to connect the Wei river valley (Today's Guan zhong) with the ancient capital Chang’An (Today's Xi’An) in the north with Shu (Today's Chengdu) in the south. Shu Road passes through the most rugged and desolate terrains in China. The first of the major highways was most likely built in the Warring States (481-221 BCE) period. During the Qin (221-206 BCE) and Han (206 BCE to 220 CE) dynasties, they started massive and advanced road building. For the most part, they took advantage of natural corridors discovered and used by ancient peoples earlier. In order to build these important paths along the steep and dangerous cliff, the ancients used the innovative road building technique “Gallery Road” to fix the roads on the rock walls and cross the mountains, rivers and valleys.
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
. They consisted of wooden planks erected on holes cut into the sides of cliffs. They were most notably used in the Qin Mountains
The Qinling () or Qin Mountains, formerly known as the Nanshan ("Southern Mountains"), are a major east–west mountain range in southern Shaanxi Province, China. The mountains mark the divide between the drainage basins of the Yangtze and Yellow ...
linking the Wei River
The Wei River () is a major river in west-central China's Gansu and Shaanxi provinces. It is the largest tributary of the Yellow River and very important in the early development of Chinese civilization.
The source of the Wei River is close to ...
and the Han River valleys. The first gallery roads were built during the Warring States period
The Warring States period () was an era in History of China#Ancient China, ancient Chinese history characterized by warfare, as well as bureaucratic and military reforms and consolidation. It followed the Spring and Autumn period and concluded ...
(476-221 BC) and used by Qin to invade Shu and Ba. They were fully consolidated into a thriving network during the Han Dynasty
The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by th ...
. Before the 20th century, very primitive versions were used in the western gorges of the Pamir Mountains
The Pamir Mountains are a mountain range between Central Asia and Pakistan. It is located at a junction with other notable mountains, namely the Tian Shan, Karakoram, Kunlun, Hindu Kush and the Himalaya mountain ranges. They are among the wor ...
.
Introduction
Gallery road, also known as cliff road, plank road, is a creative building in Chinese history. The main use of the gallery road is to establish a traffic route over a cliff in a steep mountainous area. The Shu Road is the most typical representative. It passes through some of the most rugged and desolate terrains in China, such as the Qinling Mountains and the Daba Mountain ranges, linking the Wei river valley with the ancient capital of Chang'an. Using the plank road technology to fasten the road to the cliff and cross the steep ravine.
The structure of the gallery road is usually built according to the structure of the mountain, so each section of the gallery road is different. Generally, the most common gallery road is the wooden plank road, which is dug holes on the cliff, tamped with thick wooden piles, and covered with wooden boards. The stone road is to cut the stone and carve the cliff stone into a gallery road.
The modern gallery road is reconstructed based on the original ancient damaged or dangerous plank road using steel, stone, etc. In order to make the plank road more beautiful and exciting, some use glass to build the gallery road, so that tourists can enjoy more scenery.
Historical evidence of Gallery Road
See also
* Stone Cattle Road *Covered bridge
A covered bridge is a timber-truss bridge with a roof, decking, and siding, which in most covered bridges create an almost complete enclosure. The purpose of the covering is to protect the wooden structural members from the weather. Uncovered woo ...
* Archaeology in China
* Shudao
References
Ancient roads and tracks Transport in China Plank road {{PRChina-archaeology-stub