Скачать или смотреть Visiting the ancient Beijing Baliqiao Bridge on the Grand Canal in the rain

Yongtong Bridge, also known as Baliqiao, is a renowned ancient bridge in Beijing.

It is located at the junction of Chaoyang District and Tongzhou District, spanning the Tonghui River. Built in 1446 (the 11th year of Zhengtong in the Ming Dynasty), it is one of the "Four Great Bridges Guarding the Capital in the Ming Dynasty". The bridge is a stone - built three - hole arch bridge, running from north to south, with a total length of 50 meters and a width of 16 meters. There are 33 pairs of baluster columns on both sides of the bridge, and each column is carved with a stone lion. The stone lions are of various shapes and vivid, comparable to those on the Lugou Bridge.

Yongtong Bridge is an important cultural relic along the Beijing section of the Grand Canal. In history, it was the starting point of the 40 - li stone road from Beijing to Tongzhou built in 1729 (the 7th year of Yongzheng in the Qing Dynasty), and was known as the "Gateway to the East of the Country", controlling the grain transportation route between Beijing and Tongzhou. It has witnessed two tragic battles against foreign invasions, the Battle of Baliqiao in 1860 and the resistance against the Eight - Nation Alliance in 1900.

In 2018, a modern concrete bridge was built 152 meters away to reduce the traffic load on the ancient bridge. After that, the restoration work of Yongtong Bridge started in 2021 and was completed in 2024.