Inventions & Discoveries · Building and engineering

Anji Bridge

595–605 · 6th century · Also known as Zhaozhou Bridge, Great Stone Bridge

The Anji Bridge, or Zhaozhou Bridge, is a stone bridge over the Xiaohe River in Zhao County, Hebei, built in 595–605 under the Sui dynasty and credited to the craftsman Li Chun; it is the world's oldest open-spandrel segmental arch bridge of stone. Its shallow arch spans 37.37 metres and saves about 40 per cent of the material a semicircular arch would need. Two small arches at each end lighten it and let floodwater through. It is the oldest standing bridge in China and influenced later Chinese bridges.

Anji Bridge
Image: Siyuwj · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

On the inventions tree

First known
595–605
Where
Zhao County, Hebei, China
Credited to
Li Chun · Sui dynasty

NoteNo record from the time of its building survives; the credit to Li Chun comes from later chronicles.

Built onArchbefore 3800 BCE

See it on the inventions tree →

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Anji Bridge. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/anji-bridge
MLA
“Anji Bridge.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/anji-bridge. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Anji Bridge.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/anji-bridge.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Anji Bridge’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/anji-bridge (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻