Pontoon bridges have been used by militaries for two thousand years on the Yangtze, but until the completion of the
Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge in 1957, there were no permanent bridges along the main stretch of the river known as Chang Jiang (the "
Long River"), from
Yibin to the river mouth in
Shanghai, a distance of 2,884 km (1,792 mi). Since then, over 75 bridges and six tunnels have been built over this stretch, the overwhelming majority since 1990. They reflect a broad array of bridge designs and, in many cases, represent significant achievements in modern bridge engineering. Several rank among the world's longest
suspension,
cable-stayed,
arch bridges,
truss and
box girder bridges as well as some of the
highest and
tallest bridges.
Upriver from Yibin, bridge spans are more common along the
Jinsha and
Tongtian sections where the Yangtze is much narrower, although numerous new bridges are being added. The oldest bridge still in use is the Jinlong, a
simple suspension bridge over the Jinsha section of the river in
Lijiang,
Yunnan that was originally built in 1880 and rebuilt in the 1936.[1]
Due to changes in the designation of the source of the Yangtze, various sections of the river have been thought of as distinct rivers with different names. The bridges and tunnels of the Yangtze have compound names consisting of the location name and the river section name. Today, the river has four sectional names in (in Chinese) : (1) Tuotuo, (2) Tongtian, (3) Jinsha and (4) Chang Jiang.
The Tuotuo River, considered the official headstream of the Yangtze, flows 358 km (222 mi) from the glaciers of the
Gelaindong massif in the
Tanggula Mountains of southwestern
Qinghai to the confluence with the
Dangqu River to form the
Tongtian River.
The Tongtian continues for 813 km (505 mi) to the confluence with the
Batang River at
Yushu in south central Qinghai.
The
Jinsha or Gold Sands River continues for 2,308 km (1,434 mi) along the border of western
Sichuan with Qinghai,
Tibet, and
Yunnan, through northern Yunnan and southern Sichuan to the confluence with the
Min River at
Yibin in south central Sichuan.
Chang Jiang or the "Long River" refers to the final 2,884 km (1,792 mi) of the Yangtze from
Yibin through southeastern Sichuan,
Chongqing, western
Hubei, northern
Hunan, eastern Hubei, northern
Jiangxi,
Anhui and
Jiangsu to the river's mouth in Shanghai. Chang Jiang is generally substituted by "Yangtze" in English usage.
For example, the Nanjing Chang Jiang Bridge is translated as the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge. The
Taku Jinsha River Bridge is a bridge along the Jinsha section of the Yangtze.
History
The Yangtze River forms a major geographic barrier dividing
northern and southern China. For millennia, travelers crossed the Yangtze by ferry. In the first half of the 20th century, rail passengers from Beijing to Guangzhou and Shanghai had to disembark, respectively, at
Hanyang and
Pukou, and cross the river by steam ferry before resuming journeys by train.
Bridges in antiquity
Pontoon bridges
The earliest recorded
pontoon bridge over the Yangtze was the Jiangguan Pontoon Bridge built in AD 35 by
Gongsun Shu, the ruler of
Sichuan, in the war with the
Han Emperor Liu Xiu.[2][3] Gongsun Shu built the pontoon across a narrow part of the river between
Jingmen and
Yichang in (modern
Hubei Province) to block the Han Emperor's navy from sailing upriver into Sichuan.[3] The pontoon was burned in battle and Liu Xiu went on to capture Sichuan.[3]
In 570, the
Northern Zhou general Chen Teng built a crude suspension bridge across the
Xiling Gorge using thick rope and reeds to carry food and provisions for his troops on the south bank. The bridge was cut apart by boats lined with sharp knives sent down river by the
Chen general Zhang Shaoda.[4]
During the Tang dynasty, a pontoon bridge was built in Sangouzhen in the
Qutang Gorge in 619.[2][4]
In 974, during the
Song Emperor Zhao Kuangyin's conquest of the
Southern Tang, a pontoon over 1,000 meters long linked together by bamboo chains was erected in just three days at Caishiji (
Ma'anshan,
Anhui Province) and enabled the Song Army to advance swiftly across the river and capture
Nanjing, the Southern Tang capital.[2][3]
The
Taiping rebels made extensive use of pontoons on the Yangtze in their campaign against the Qing dynasty in the Yangtze Basin.[3] On 30 December 1852, they built two pontoons nearly 3,000 meters long in a fortnight's time at Baishazhou and Yingwuzhou in
Wuhan to move troops from Hanyang on the north bank to the
Wuchang on the south bank.[3] The Taipings tied together small boats into twos and threes and steered these preassembled pieces simultaneously into the river, and used iron anchors to set the pontoons instead of chains. They added leather-covered walls to the bridges and added towers and firing positions.[3]
Pontoon bridges have not been a feasible long-term solution to cross river transport because they block boat traffic on the Yangtze, a major conduit for travelers and cargo between the coast and the Chinese interior.
Iron chain bridges
Dating back to 3rd century, militaries of antiquity have stretched iron chains across the Yangtze in the
Three Gorges to block invading armies. Notable examples include the
iron chain defense of the
Wu Kingdom in the
Xiling Gorge against the
Jin dynasty in 280, the
Former Shu's chain across Kuimen in the Qutang Gorge against the
Jingnan in 925, and Song general Xu Zongwu's seven-link chain at the same location against the Mongols in 1264.[4]
The first documented iron chain bridge across the river was built in the 7th century by the
Tibetan Empire over the Jinsha. The Shenchuan Iron Bridge, a simple suspension bridge, stood at what is today Tacun of
Weixi Lisu Autonomous County in the
Dêqên Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of northwestern
Yunnan Province, and was probably built to help the Tibetan military advance against the
Kingdom of Nanzhao during its invasions between 682 and 704.[6] The Tibetans stationed a frontier command office in the town called the Shenchuan Iron Bridge jiedushi.[6] The bridge facilitated trade between the two countries until 794 when the Nanzhao realigned with the
Tang dynasty and destroyed the bridge in a war with the Tibetan Empire.[6][7]
The oldest bridge still in use on the Yangtze is the
Jinlong Bridge in
Lijiang, a simple iron chain suspension bridge first built during the
Qing dynasty from 1876 to 1880.[8] It was destroyed in a flood in 1935 and rebuilt the following year.[8] The bridge was named a National Historical Site in 2006.[8]
Iron chain bridges are more durable than pontoon bridges and allow for year-round use, although when the river level is high during the flood season, boards on the bridge deck must be removed.[9]
Only two bridges opened in the 1980s, the
Chongqing's First Shibanpo Bridge in 1980 and the
Luzhou Road Bridge in 1982. Both were in the upper reaches of Changjiang in Sichuan Province, to which Chongqing Municipality belonged at the time.
Bridge-building resumed in the 1990s and accelerated in the first decade of the 21st century due to the rapid growth of the
Chinese economy.
Jiangxi Province had its first bridge in 1993 with the opening of the
Jiujiang Bridge. The first bridge in
Anhui Province, the
Tongling Bridge, opened in 1995. Six of the 11 bridges built in the 1990s and half of the 40 bridge crossings added in the 2000s were built in Chongqing Municipality, which became a
directly controlled municipality in 1997 to facilitate the construction of the
Three Gorges and experienced a building boom.
By 2005, there were over 50 bridges across the Yangtze River between Yibin and Shanghai. The rapid pace of bridge construction has continued. The
first tunnel under the Yangtze opened in Wuhan in 2008.
As of December 2014, urban Chongqing has 18 bridges, Wuhan has nine[10] bridges and three tunnels, and Nanjing has five bridges and two tunnels. About a dozen other bridges are now under construction.
In December 2020 a new bridge is planned to be opened, the Wufengshan Yangtze River Bridge with 4 + 4 highway lanes on the upper deck and 4 railway tracks in the lower deck.[11]
Upstream sections
In the upper reaches of the Yangtze above Yibin, the
Jinsha (Gold Sands),
Tongtian, and
Tuotuo sections of the river are narrower and bridges are more numerous. As of December 2014,
Yibin had 10 bridges across the Jinsha and
Panzhihua had 16.
With the advent of economic growth around the country and widespread use of heavy freight
trucks, bridges along the Yangtze have been bearing greater load, leading to greater strain on older bridge structures. The Jiujiang Yangtze River Bridge was originally designed to carry trucks weighing up to 30 t (33 short tons).[13] In 2008, the tonnage limit was raised to 55 t (61 short tons).[13] In November 2011, a crack was discovered in the bridge's steel structure and forced the authorities to close the bridge to freight traffic.[14] In February 2012, the tonnage limit was lowered to 20 t (22 short tons).[13] Truck traffic had to be re-routed to neighboring provinces. In 2012, a crack was discovered in one girder of the Luzhou Yangtze River Bridge, leading to bridge closure and emergency repairs.[15]
Longest and tallest bridges
Bridges over the Yangtze including some of the longest and tallest bridges in the world.
The
Yangsigang Bridge [2019] has a main span of 1,700 metres (5,600 feet). It is the second longest suspension bridge in the world and the longest with a double-deck configuration.[17]
^The
Taizhou Bridge complex crosses two branch streams of the Yangtze and the Yangzhong island in the middle of the river. The bridge over the left stream is a suspension bridge with three towers and two spans. The bridge over the right stream is a pair of box-girder bridges configured as 85+125x3+85 = 545 m (1,788 ft) and 85+125x2+85=420 m (1,380 ft)
^Runyang Bridge complex crosses the Yangtze via Shiye Island and consists of two main bridges. The Runyang North Bridge is a suspension bridge over the north branch stream between the island and
Yangzhou. The Runyang South Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge over the south branch stream between the island and
Zhenjiang.
^The
Ma'anshan Bridge complex crosses two branch streams of the Yangtze and the Xiaohuangzhou island in the middle of the river. The bridge over the left stream is a suspension bridge with three towers and two spans. The bridge over the right stream is a cable-stayed bridge with three towers and two spans.
^The upstream span of the New Midi Bridge opened in 2011 and the downstream span opened in 2013
^The Jinlong Bridge was first built in 1880. It was destroyed in a flood in 1935 and rebuilt in 1936.
^The Old Zhubalong Bridge has been closed to vehicular traffic.
^The Qumarlêb Tongtian River Bridge, a rigid frame bridge that built in 2012, replaced a beam bridge built in 1989.
^The G109 Tuotuo River Bridge, first built in 1958, was rebuilt in 1987 and 2002.
^The Qinghai-Tibet Railway Tuotuo River Bridge was completed in 2002 and opened to rail traffic in 2006.
^Changjiang Weekly 2018.01.05 pp.6. Zhuankou Yangtze River Bridge Opens to traffic "The Zhuankou River Bridge, now the ninth bridge across the Yangtze in Wuhan, opened to traffic..."
^第003版.
"重庆几江长江大桥通车". paper.people.com.cn. Archived from
the original on 31 December 2017. Retrieved 30 December 2017.{{
cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (
link)
Pontoon bridges have been used by militaries for two thousand years on the Yangtze, but until the completion of the
Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge in 1957, there were no permanent bridges along the main stretch of the river known as Chang Jiang (the "
Long River"), from
Yibin to the river mouth in
Shanghai, a distance of 2,884 km (1,792 mi). Since then, over 75 bridges and six tunnels have been built over this stretch, the overwhelming majority since 1990. They reflect a broad array of bridge designs and, in many cases, represent significant achievements in modern bridge engineering. Several rank among the world's longest
suspension,
cable-stayed,
arch bridges,
truss and
box girder bridges as well as some of the
highest and
tallest bridges.
Upriver from Yibin, bridge spans are more common along the
Jinsha and
Tongtian sections where the Yangtze is much narrower, although numerous new bridges are being added. The oldest bridge still in use is the Jinlong, a
simple suspension bridge over the Jinsha section of the river in
Lijiang,
Yunnan that was originally built in 1880 and rebuilt in the 1936.[1]
Due to changes in the designation of the source of the Yangtze, various sections of the river have been thought of as distinct rivers with different names. The bridges and tunnels of the Yangtze have compound names consisting of the location name and the river section name. Today, the river has four sectional names in (in Chinese) : (1) Tuotuo, (2) Tongtian, (3) Jinsha and (4) Chang Jiang.
The Tuotuo River, considered the official headstream of the Yangtze, flows 358 km (222 mi) from the glaciers of the
Gelaindong massif in the
Tanggula Mountains of southwestern
Qinghai to the confluence with the
Dangqu River to form the
Tongtian River.
The Tongtian continues for 813 km (505 mi) to the confluence with the
Batang River at
Yushu in south central Qinghai.
The
Jinsha or Gold Sands River continues for 2,308 km (1,434 mi) along the border of western
Sichuan with Qinghai,
Tibet, and
Yunnan, through northern Yunnan and southern Sichuan to the confluence with the
Min River at
Yibin in south central Sichuan.
Chang Jiang or the "Long River" refers to the final 2,884 km (1,792 mi) of the Yangtze from
Yibin through southeastern Sichuan,
Chongqing, western
Hubei, northern
Hunan, eastern Hubei, northern
Jiangxi,
Anhui and
Jiangsu to the river's mouth in Shanghai. Chang Jiang is generally substituted by "Yangtze" in English usage.
For example, the Nanjing Chang Jiang Bridge is translated as the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge. The
Taku Jinsha River Bridge is a bridge along the Jinsha section of the Yangtze.
History
The Yangtze River forms a major geographic barrier dividing
northern and southern China. For millennia, travelers crossed the Yangtze by ferry. In the first half of the 20th century, rail passengers from Beijing to Guangzhou and Shanghai had to disembark, respectively, at
Hanyang and
Pukou, and cross the river by steam ferry before resuming journeys by train.
Bridges in antiquity
Pontoon bridges
The earliest recorded
pontoon bridge over the Yangtze was the Jiangguan Pontoon Bridge built in AD 35 by
Gongsun Shu, the ruler of
Sichuan, in the war with the
Han Emperor Liu Xiu.[2][3] Gongsun Shu built the pontoon across a narrow part of the river between
Jingmen and
Yichang in (modern
Hubei Province) to block the Han Emperor's navy from sailing upriver into Sichuan.[3] The pontoon was burned in battle and Liu Xiu went on to capture Sichuan.[3]
In 570, the
Northern Zhou general Chen Teng built a crude suspension bridge across the
Xiling Gorge using thick rope and reeds to carry food and provisions for his troops on the south bank. The bridge was cut apart by boats lined with sharp knives sent down river by the
Chen general Zhang Shaoda.[4]
During the Tang dynasty, a pontoon bridge was built in Sangouzhen in the
Qutang Gorge in 619.[2][4]
In 974, during the
Song Emperor Zhao Kuangyin's conquest of the
Southern Tang, a pontoon over 1,000 meters long linked together by bamboo chains was erected in just three days at Caishiji (
Ma'anshan,
Anhui Province) and enabled the Song Army to advance swiftly across the river and capture
Nanjing, the Southern Tang capital.[2][3]
The
Taiping rebels made extensive use of pontoons on the Yangtze in their campaign against the Qing dynasty in the Yangtze Basin.[3] On 30 December 1852, they built two pontoons nearly 3,000 meters long in a fortnight's time at Baishazhou and Yingwuzhou in
Wuhan to move troops from Hanyang on the north bank to the
Wuchang on the south bank.[3] The Taipings tied together small boats into twos and threes and steered these preassembled pieces simultaneously into the river, and used iron anchors to set the pontoons instead of chains. They added leather-covered walls to the bridges and added towers and firing positions.[3]
Pontoon bridges have not been a feasible long-term solution to cross river transport because they block boat traffic on the Yangtze, a major conduit for travelers and cargo between the coast and the Chinese interior.
Iron chain bridges
Dating back to 3rd century, militaries of antiquity have stretched iron chains across the Yangtze in the
Three Gorges to block invading armies. Notable examples include the
iron chain defense of the
Wu Kingdom in the
Xiling Gorge against the
Jin dynasty in 280, the
Former Shu's chain across Kuimen in the Qutang Gorge against the
Jingnan in 925, and Song general Xu Zongwu's seven-link chain at the same location against the Mongols in 1264.[4]
The first documented iron chain bridge across the river was built in the 7th century by the
Tibetan Empire over the Jinsha. The Shenchuan Iron Bridge, a simple suspension bridge, stood at what is today Tacun of
Weixi Lisu Autonomous County in the
Dêqên Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of northwestern
Yunnan Province, and was probably built to help the Tibetan military advance against the
Kingdom of Nanzhao during its invasions between 682 and 704.[6] The Tibetans stationed a frontier command office in the town called the Shenchuan Iron Bridge jiedushi.[6] The bridge facilitated trade between the two countries until 794 when the Nanzhao realigned with the
Tang dynasty and destroyed the bridge in a war with the Tibetan Empire.[6][7]
The oldest bridge still in use on the Yangtze is the
Jinlong Bridge in
Lijiang, a simple iron chain suspension bridge first built during the
Qing dynasty from 1876 to 1880.[8] It was destroyed in a flood in 1935 and rebuilt the following year.[8] The bridge was named a National Historical Site in 2006.[8]
Iron chain bridges are more durable than pontoon bridges and allow for year-round use, although when the river level is high during the flood season, boards on the bridge deck must be removed.[9]
Only two bridges opened in the 1980s, the
Chongqing's First Shibanpo Bridge in 1980 and the
Luzhou Road Bridge in 1982. Both were in the upper reaches of Changjiang in Sichuan Province, to which Chongqing Municipality belonged at the time.
Bridge-building resumed in the 1990s and accelerated in the first decade of the 21st century due to the rapid growth of the
Chinese economy.
Jiangxi Province had its first bridge in 1993 with the opening of the
Jiujiang Bridge. The first bridge in
Anhui Province, the
Tongling Bridge, opened in 1995. Six of the 11 bridges built in the 1990s and half of the 40 bridge crossings added in the 2000s were built in Chongqing Municipality, which became a
directly controlled municipality in 1997 to facilitate the construction of the
Three Gorges and experienced a building boom.
By 2005, there were over 50 bridges across the Yangtze River between Yibin and Shanghai. The rapid pace of bridge construction has continued. The
first tunnel under the Yangtze opened in Wuhan in 2008.
As of December 2014, urban Chongqing has 18 bridges, Wuhan has nine[10] bridges and three tunnels, and Nanjing has five bridges and two tunnels. About a dozen other bridges are now under construction.
In December 2020 a new bridge is planned to be opened, the Wufengshan Yangtze River Bridge with 4 + 4 highway lanes on the upper deck and 4 railway tracks in the lower deck.[11]
Upstream sections
In the upper reaches of the Yangtze above Yibin, the
Jinsha (Gold Sands),
Tongtian, and
Tuotuo sections of the river are narrower and bridges are more numerous. As of December 2014,
Yibin had 10 bridges across the Jinsha and
Panzhihua had 16.
With the advent of economic growth around the country and widespread use of heavy freight
trucks, bridges along the Yangtze have been bearing greater load, leading to greater strain on older bridge structures. The Jiujiang Yangtze River Bridge was originally designed to carry trucks weighing up to 30 t (33 short tons).[13] In 2008, the tonnage limit was raised to 55 t (61 short tons).[13] In November 2011, a crack was discovered in the bridge's steel structure and forced the authorities to close the bridge to freight traffic.[14] In February 2012, the tonnage limit was lowered to 20 t (22 short tons).[13] Truck traffic had to be re-routed to neighboring provinces. In 2012, a crack was discovered in one girder of the Luzhou Yangtze River Bridge, leading to bridge closure and emergency repairs.[15]
Longest and tallest bridges
Bridges over the Yangtze including some of the longest and tallest bridges in the world.
The
Yangsigang Bridge [2019] has a main span of 1,700 metres (5,600 feet). It is the second longest suspension bridge in the world and the longest with a double-deck configuration.[17]
^The
Taizhou Bridge complex crosses two branch streams of the Yangtze and the Yangzhong island in the middle of the river. The bridge over the left stream is a suspension bridge with three towers and two spans. The bridge over the right stream is a pair of box-girder bridges configured as 85+125x3+85 = 545 m (1,788 ft) and 85+125x2+85=420 m (1,380 ft)
^Runyang Bridge complex crosses the Yangtze via Shiye Island and consists of two main bridges. The Runyang North Bridge is a suspension bridge over the north branch stream between the island and
Yangzhou. The Runyang South Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge over the south branch stream between the island and
Zhenjiang.
^The
Ma'anshan Bridge complex crosses two branch streams of the Yangtze and the Xiaohuangzhou island in the middle of the river. The bridge over the left stream is a suspension bridge with three towers and two spans. The bridge over the right stream is a cable-stayed bridge with three towers and two spans.
^The upstream span of the New Midi Bridge opened in 2011 and the downstream span opened in 2013
^The Jinlong Bridge was first built in 1880. It was destroyed in a flood in 1935 and rebuilt in 1936.
^The Old Zhubalong Bridge has been closed to vehicular traffic.
^The Qumarlêb Tongtian River Bridge, a rigid frame bridge that built in 2012, replaced a beam bridge built in 1989.
^The G109 Tuotuo River Bridge, first built in 1958, was rebuilt in 1987 and 2002.
^The Qinghai-Tibet Railway Tuotuo River Bridge was completed in 2002 and opened to rail traffic in 2006.
^Changjiang Weekly 2018.01.05 pp.6. Zhuankou Yangtze River Bridge Opens to traffic "The Zhuankou River Bridge, now the ninth bridge across the Yangtze in Wuhan, opened to traffic..."
^第003版.
"重庆几江长江大桥通车". paper.people.com.cn. Archived from
the original on 31 December 2017. Retrieved 30 December 2017.{{
cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (
link)