Luoyang Qiao
At the edge of the northeastern suburbs, this 11th-century bridge is reached by a short walk from the terminus of bus no. 19, up winding Fengguan Jie, through a village of mixed modern and ancient housing, down to where the bridge runs for 1.1km (3/4 mile) across stinking mud flats.
Built between 1053 and 1059, this is no technological marvel. It consists of 46 spans of 11m (36-ft.) beams between large, boat-shaped piers. But its length of 1,200m (3,936 ft.) is impressive, and it weaves slightly on its way from bank to bank as if strong tides have succeeded in dragging some of its massive piers out of place. There are guardian figures at the entrance and ancient stelae on an island a short way across, where there's also a memorial to the bridge's architects. The mud flats are alive with fiddler crabs, and farmers sink thigh-deep in the foul-smelling ooze checking nets and slabs of stone that attract the mollusks; the crabs are said to act as a living glue within the crevices of the piers, holding them together.
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| Transportation | Bus: no. 19 from center (passes new bus station, Tombs of the Islamic Saints, and railway station) to terminus at Qiao Nan (about 40 min.) | |
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| Prices | Admission ¥2 (25¢) | |
