The Marco Polo Bridge or Lugou Bridge () is a stone bridge located 15 km southwest of

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...

's city center in the

Fengtai District Fengtai District () is a district of the municipality of Beijing. It lies mostly to the southwest of the city center, extending into the city's southwestern suburbs beyond the Sixth Ring Road, but also to the south and, to a smaller extent, the s ...

. It bridges the Yongding River, a major tributary of

Hai River The Hai River (海河, lit. "Sea River"), also known as the Peiho, ("White River"), or Hai Ho, is a Chinese river connecting Beijing to Tianjin and the Bohai Sea. The Hai River at Tianjin is formed by the confluence of five watercourses: the ...

. Situated at the eastern end of the bridge is the Wanping Fortress, a historic 17th-century fortress, with the

Museum of the War of Chinese People's Resistance Against Japanese Aggression The Museum of the War of Chinese People's Resistance Against Japanese Aggression () or Chinese People's Anti-Japanese War Memorial Hall is a museum and memorial hall in Beijing. It is the most comprehensive museum in China about the Second Sino-Ja ...

inside. In recent years, the water of Yongding River has been diverted to different areas of Beijing, so there is often no water under the bridge.

Names

The name "Marco Polo Bridge" derives from the appearance, before its reconstruction, in

Marco Polo Marco Polo (, , ; 8 January 1324) was a Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in '' The Travels of Marco Polo'' (also known as ''Book of the Marv ...

book of travels ''Book of Travels'' is a role-playing video game currently under development by Might and Delight for Windows, Mac, and Linux through Steam. The early access version of the game was originally scheduled to be released in October 2020, but it ...

, where he praised it highly. The names "Lugou" or "Lukou Bridge" and "Lugouqiao" or "Lukouchiao" derive from Lugou, a former name of the Yongding. In old bilingual plates, the bridge was also named as "Lu Kow Kiao"..

History

Construction of the original bridge on this site commenced in 1189, the final year of Emperor Shizong of Jin's reign and was completed under his successor in 1192. Following damage from a flooding, the bridge was reconstructed under the

Kangxi Emperor The Kangxi Emperor (4 May 1654– 20 December 1722), also known by his temple name Emperor Shengzu of Qing, born Xuanye, was the third emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1661 to ...

of the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

in 1698. The Marco Polo Bridge is well-known because it was highly praised by the

Venetian Venetian often means from or related to: * Venice, a city in Italy * Veneto, a region of Italy * Republic of Venice (697–1797), a historical nation in that area Venetian and the like may also refer to: * Venetian language, a Romance language s ...

traveler

during his visit to China in the 13th century (leading the bridge to become known in Europe simply as the ''Marco Polo Bridge''), and for the 20th century

Marco Polo Bridge Incident The Marco Polo Bridge Incident, also known as the Lugou Bridge Incident () or the July 7 Incident (), was a July 1937 battle between China's National Revolutionary Army and the Imperial Japanese Army. Since the Japanese invasion of Manchuri ...

, which marked the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945). Following the

Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...

takeover of China in 1949, the bridge was decked in asphalt and carried motor vehicular traffic. To alleviate traffic on the bridge, the New Marco Polo Bridge () located about 1 km to the south was completed in 1971. Later, due to the cultural and historical significance of the old bridge, it was decided that the old bridge be preserved, and another new bridge was to be built to take over the vehicular traffic. The new bridge, which carries the Jingshi Expressway, was built next to the New Marco Polo Bridge in 1985. After the completion of the Jingshi Expressway bridge, vehicular traffic was shifted to the two new bridges and the old Marco Polo Bridge was closed to motor vehicles. The asphalt surface of the old bridge was removed during a restoration in 1986.

Structure

The Marco Polo Bridge is in length and in width, supported on 10 piers and 11 segmental

arch An arch is a vertical curved structure that spans an elevated space and may or may not support the weight above it, or in case of a horizontal arch like an arch dam, the hydrostatic pressure against it. Arches may be synonymous with vau ...

es.The number of "legs", or piers, is correct here, even though with X arches one would expect X+1 piers. The "discrepancy" is that each end, or abutment, does not count as a pier. Were they to be counted, one would have the proper number of piers (12) for the 11 arches mentioned. Hundreds of artistically unique stone lions from different eras line both sides of the bridge. The most intriguing feature of these beasts is the fact that there are more lions hiding on the head, back or under the belly or on paws of each of the big lions. Investigations to determine the total number of animals have been carried out on several occasions but the results have proved inconsistent, ranging anywhere from 482 to 501. However, record has it that there were originally a total of 627 lions. The posture of each lion varies, as do their ages. Most date from the

Ming The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han pe ...

(1368–1644) and

Qing The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

(1644–1911) dynasties, some are from the earlier

Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fif ...

(1271–1368), while the few lions dating from as long ago as the

Jin dynasty (1115–1234) The Jin dynasty (, ; ) or Jin State (; Jurchen: Anchun Gurun), officially known as the Great Jin (), was an imperial dynasty of China that existed between 1115 and 1234. Its name is sometimes written as Kin, Jurchen Jin, Jinn, or Chin in ...

are now quite rare. Four ornamental columns each high and a white marble

stele A stele ( ),Anglicized plural steles ( ); Greek plural stelai ( ), from Greek language, Greek , ''stēlē''. The Greek plural is written , ''stēlai'', but this is only rarely encountered in English. or occasionally stela (plural ''stelas'' or ...

stand at the ends of the bridge. One stele, installed on top of a stone tortoise, records the reconstruction of the bridge by the

of the Qing dynasty in 1698. The other stele bears

calligraphy Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined ...

by the

Qianlong Emperor The Qianlong Emperor (25 September 17117 February 1799), also known by his temple name Emperor Gaozong of Qing, born Hongli, was the fifth Emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1735 ...

, a grandson of the Kangxi Emperor. It reads "Morning moon over Lugou" (蘆溝曉月 ''Lúgōu xiǎoyuè''). For the 800 years since its completion, the bridge has been a well known scenic spot in Beijing. As well as being famed for its aesthetic features, Marco Polo Bridge is also considered to be an architectural masterpiece. It is built of

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies un ...

, with a large central arch flanked by ten smaller ones. Each of the ten piers is protected by triangular iron pillars that have been installed to prevent damage by flood and ice.

Notes

References

External links