A zig-zag bridge is a

pedestrian A pedestrian is a person traveling on foot, by wheelchair or with other mobility aids. Streets and roads often have a designated footpath for pedestrian traffic, called the '' sidewalk'' in North American English, the ''pavement'' in British En ...

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

composed of short segments, each set at an angle relative to its neighbors and usually with an alternating right and left turn required when traveling across the bridge. It is used in standard crossings for structural stability; and in traditional and contemporary Asian and Western

landscape design Landscape design is an independent profession and a design and art tradition, practiced by landscape designers, combining nature and culture. In contemporary practice, landscape design bridges the space between landscape architecture and garde ...

across water gardens. When constructed of wood, each segment is formed from planks and is supported by posts. When constructed of stone, the bridge will use short or long rectilinear slabs set upon stone footings.

Garden and ceremonial bridge

A zig-zag bridge is often seen in the Chinese garden,

Japanese garden are traditional gardens whose designs are accompanied by Japanese aesthetics and philosophical ideas, avoid artificial ornamentation, and highlight the natural landscape. Plants and worn, aged materials are generally used by Japanese garden desig ...

, and Zen rock garden. It may be made of stone slabs or planks as part of a pond design and is frequently seen in rustic

garden A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate bot ...

s. It is also used in high art modern

fountain A fountain, from the Latin "fons" ( genitive "fontis"), meaning source or spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. Fountains were o ...

gardens, often in public

urban park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a city park, municipal park (North America), public park, public open space, or municipal gardens (United Kingdom, UK), is a park or botanical garden in cities, densely populated suburbia and oth ...

and

botanic garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is ...

landscape A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or human-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes th ...

s. The objective in employing such a bridge, constructed according to

Zen Zen (; from Chinese: ''Chán''; in Korean: ''Sŏn'', and Vietnamese: ''Thiền'') is a Mahayana Buddhist tradition that developed in China during the Tang dynasty by blending Indian Mahayana Buddhism, particularly Yogacara and Madhyamaka phil ...

philosophy and teachings, is to focus the walker's attention to the

mindfulness Mindfulness is the cognitive skill, usually developed through exercises, of sustaining metacognitive awareness towards the contents of one's own mind and bodily sensations in the present moment. The term ''mindfulness'' derives from the Pali ...

of the current place and time moment – "being here, now". As it often has no railings, it is quite possible for an inattentive walker to simply fall off an end into the water. The zig-zag of paths and bridges also follows a principle of Chinese

Feng Shui Feng shui ( or ), sometimes called Chinese geomancy, is a traditional form of geomancy that originated in ancient China and claims to use energy forces to harmonize individuals with their surrounding environment. The term ''feng shui'' mean ...

Standard bridge

The post and plank version has an advantage when employed as a crossing of a muddy bottom or

marsh In ecology, a marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous plants rather than by woody plants.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p More in genera ...

: It is structurally stable, where a straight bridge might tend to tip due to the posts moving in the soft mud. Each segment of walkway mutually supports the next from twisting and tipping by being securely fastened to it. This is the same advantage possessed by a zig-zag split rail

fence A fence is a structure that encloses an area, typically outdoors, and is usually constructed from posts that are connected by boards, wire, rails or net (textile), netting. A fence differs from a wall in not having a solid foundation along its ...

References

External links

* {{Garden features Footbridges Stone bridges Garden features Stonemasonry Chinese gardening styles Japanese style of gardening Bridges

Garden and ceremonial bridge

Standard bridge

See also

References

External links